2015-05-27 02:53:13

Having many antivirus scanners is fine.
Having a layered protection system doesn't work conflicts with many things running at once can make things interesting.
Now there is probably a way to handle this without issues but I have maintained several family systems loaded with layers of antispyware, antivirus and other things.
Lets just say, that all this stuff slowed things down a lot.
Not to mention all the other issues associated with all of it.
I had to remove all the antivirus and security, and then because I couldn't reformat and reinstall those systems.
Now I have heard of clam win there is supposed to be a module called centinal which is supposed to do the protection thing.
I havn't had time of late to try other scanners though its a combination of my laziness, the fact  I get easily distracted and life in general and more towards the second of the 3 things.
It does not help that I can get distracted quite easily even in real life outside the online community.
I sometimes can stare at the wall for hours on end and wander why time has past.
Msse was good now its not so good anymore.
The viper sounds good, if you can afford the cash for full time protection for each system you do then its fine.
However with subscription based security you can only manage 1 or 2 packages which is why I havn't moved just yet.
I have also had my bad experiences with security programs both free and commercial everything from bad programs to misconfigured programs to false positives and such avg did this a lot especially when I converted text files from Linux to windows.
And as a result my confidence with all security programs bar msse which has not much protection but does not bug me every 5 minutes is the deal.
Some day I will actually do something about it but I never seem to have enough time to do things even when I do if that makes sence which it probably doesn't.

2015-05-27 06:00:51

I'm surprised you guys are recommending Avira free. That program, while good, has a persistent "buy the pro version" advertisement that's always active. JAWS and NVDA won't read it normally, since it's some kind of nonstandward bubble, but doing an OCR of your screen shows that it's laid over everything. If you ever have to screen share with people, it's right there, trouncing whatever you want to screen share. If you, like me, want to OCR things like Steam, you can't.

I'm sure the pro version is great, but the free version, based on this intrusiveness alone, isn't worth it in my book.

Kai

Spill chuck you spots!

2015-05-27 18:51:06

hi xoren,
The add in avira antivirus was removed  completely.  The latest version does not have it. Also, were you able to figure out a way to read out the virus alerts that avira pops up when malware is found?

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."

2015-05-28 07:43:32

Hi,
I'm using avira as well, it's not that I like it, but I can't use Avast because it removes one of my programs on my PC as soon as I open it. I've been using Avast for about 5 years so far and it is a good alternative if you are not willing to pay anything. Reading a survey of PC adviser regarding the best free antiviruses of 2015, Panda was the first one in the list. Could anyone tell me if it's accessible?
As far as Avira goes, you can use it with jaws through Touch cursor but still it's not such accessible.
While in the paid version, I think Bitdefender is the best of all.
Microsoft security essentials is nothing more than a basic antivirus, as its last word states "essentials", so it doesn't offer a good security.

2015-05-28 12:31:34

hi,
actually the avira interface is mostly accessible.  My concern is with the virus slideup alerts.  They are inaccessible since version 10 of avira.

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."

2015-05-28 12:40:25

Hi,
For new Avast! users, there's a module you need to turn off for best accessibility. At least, this applied back when I used it last year. I forget how exactly to do it, but there was a post somewhere that gave exact keystrokes from the main window. Try googling for nvda avast self defense.
That hardly seems like any sort of best practice to me, though. You need to turn off a good security component to use the thing!

"Actually, they're just super-advanced holograms created for the sole purpose of enriching a children's cardgame."

2015-05-28 15:43:30

I got AVG Internet Security 2015 last night, and it's suited my needs quite nicely. While it's not the slickest antivirus program I've used, it certainly is accessible - although the metro interface is starting to seriously make me mad since I hate metro style apps, and have hated them ever since they were released.

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out ?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."    — Charles Babbage.
My Github

2015-05-28 18:55:47

wait, avast is free? I thought that it was always payed.

2015-05-28 22:11:17

Yeah, there's a free version of Avast.

"Actually, they're just super-advanced holograms created for the sole purpose of enriching a children's cardgame."

2015-05-31 05:42:32

I have no idea why a 4-year-old topic was dragged back from the dead, but it is an interesting one, so I'll add my two cents.

I personally use both Esat Smart Security and Clamwin. The reason for this is that, by itself, Clamwin doesn't have real-time protection, but does do a good job with catching things if you're doing manual scans. Plus, it has a scheduler now, so if you want to forget about it and stay reasonably protected, you can do so.
With Smart Security, I had read that Vipre was no longer very good, so, when my license was up this past January, I ditched it. I really didn't want to, since the interface is very accessible, but I would much rather have a half-accessible antivirus that does its job than a fully accessible one that only gives you an illusion of security (cough-cough-Security-Essentials-cough.)
Seriously, Microsoft has stated that Security Essentials is not to be used as more than a first responder, if you will. I do understand that there are a ton of circumstances in which a person might not be able to pay for an antivirus, and for us blind people, it really sucks. We're kind of caught between a rock and a hard place. You have three options: A. use Security Essentials, and know you're at risk; B. use any number of free programs, which may or may not work well, but you'll never know it, because they're not accessible; or C. shell out some cash for something like Smart Security or Nod32. The difference between the two is that Smart Security includes a firewall, which was something I personally wanted, but most end users can get by just fine with Nod32, if that's the path they choose to take.
I say all of this because antivirus solutions are an ever-changing game, especially for blind folks. What's accessible this month may very well not be with the next update of the program, and, by the same token, if you really care about the security of your computers, you'll read the latest benchmark scores about antivirus software to see how they are rated. Certain programs tend to score consistently well, but some, like Vipre, have really fallen over sideways.
I guess what I'm trying to say, in this very disorganized ramble, is that you probably have to make some compromises, and try to make an informed decision if possible. Read about them, compare feature lists. Get an idea of how well they're supposed to work. Test out demos of programs if you're unsure. If it seems to bring your system to a grinding halt, or just takes up more system resources than you would like, doesn't work well with your screen reader, costs too much, seems overly passive or aggressive, I would say just keep trying until you find one that meets your needs. The one thing to keep in mind, though, is that a lot of these programs, Norton and Avast in particular, from what I remember, tend to firmly implant themselves in your system once they're on there. So if you want to get rid of them, you may very well need to boot into safe mode to make sure they're gone, which is not a fun task for most people.

The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's just holding half the amount it can potentially hold.

2015-06-02 11:11:55

Hi.

I use vipre myself and find it to be very accessible. It meats my needs perfectly. I've not got any viruses for the whole year so for me that's good enough. I really like, how vipre went from kind of sort of accessible, to 100% accessible.

I'm gone for real :)

2015-06-28 21:55:47

I used the free version of Avast since v4, considering how long ago it was, it's hard to believe that that was only two versions ago.

But when I lost my vision, I switched to Security Essentials, because I'd heard it was pretty good and I had doubts about Avast being accessible because it was becoming heavily skinned.

But, in the two years I've been using Security Essentials, I know it has dropped the ball several times and let something nasty through.

So now I'm thinking of going back to Avast, because I remember that I really liked it.

2015-06-29 06:58:35

Hi.

Good luck. From what i remember Avast is not accesssible. Saying that though, they may have updated there program and made it more accessible. Just one thing, the uninstaller program might not be acccessible.

I'm gone for real :)

2015-06-29 12:19:42

Hi GeneWarner,
If you're using jaws, Avast will be accessible. You might face some problems, but it's still very good.

2015-06-29 18:30:54

Thanks, afrim;

I try going back to Avast then, the worst that can happen is that I keep using Security Essentials.

To whomever said you should pay for anti valware software, I disagree, I used to pay for these programs, but after being screwed my most of the comapnies offering these programs, I'm no longer willing to support them financially. I support Microsoft by paying for Windows, Microsoft produces Security Essentials, that's the closest I'll come to paying for anti malware software.

2015-06-29 21:15:15 (edited by afrim 2015-06-29 21:16:59)

What I'd like to say is that Microsoft security essentials is a basic, anti! virus!
That's nothing more.
Microsoft itself has stated that, and has also said that security essentials is not recommended if you want a good protection against malware. Avast free antivirus is good, and if you register avast via your e-mail, you can get protected for a whole year, because if you simply download avast from their webpage, it will give you only 30 days of protection then you need to uninstall and reinstall it again to renew the protection.
The best antivirus, if you're willing to pay is bitdefender antitheft. I don't really know whether it is accessible or not.
Anyway good luck with avast.

2015-07-03 06:51:35

I had no idea that Avast was accessible now.
Are we talking truly accessible? Can you get to and change settings? Can you activate scans? Get things out of the quarantine if necessary?
If it takes a bit of Jaws cursoring, that's no problem. Even if NVDA works better with it, that would be OK too.
As for removing it, I think your best course of action would be to use something like Revo Uninstaller, then choose the force uninstall option. This bypasses the actual inaccessible installer. Even so, I've heard of cases where even this would not completely remove it, so I would be careful.

I'm just trying to get an idea of what's really going on with these programs. And, as I said, who knows what will change when they are updated?

The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's just holding half the amount it can potentially hold.

2015-07-03 08:33:37

Hi Turtle,
Avast is accessible and you do not need to use jaws cursor. It might create some problems for you sometimes, because jaws doesn't read any options in the first attempt, but when you try it the second time, like when you are in the scans section, and you should  hear "Quick scan", you should press tab twice, and shift tab to return to that menu again, and jaws will read it.
Uninstalation of Avast is done in a simple way. when you go to programs and features, or "Uninstal a program", and you hit enter over the avast, first it'll ask you what would you like to do? and you have options like update, repair, change and uninstall. This is fairly accessible, and click uninstall. When I tried myself uninstalling avast for the first time, after I clicked that what I mentioned (uninstall), it showed a dialog box, but jaws didn't read it. It wrote something like "Are you sure you want to uninstall Avast?" and I asked my brother to do this. He told me that I should press just enter or space, because the cursor gets focused on the yes button, and then everything afterwards is very accessible. This is what I can say about avast.

Never try using Avast with NVDA, it'll not work. Guaranteed 100%.

2015-07-03 09:40:33

Besides being more than I'm willing to pay for an anti-virus program, especially when there are quite a few very good ones for free, Bit Defender's web site brought the usually very fast Internet Explorer to a . crawl.

Sounds like Avast is accessible with a minimal amount of work, I liked Avast, when I was using it, I'll just go back to it.

2015-07-04 01:03:10

Well, that was about as much fun as a root canal.

Since I've used Avast for years before I lost my vision, after installing it, I proceeded to go through to set the options how I wanted them. What I encountered were lots of unlabeled buttons, and lots of keystroke being eaten, apparently by JAWS, as it does with games written with BGT.

After fighting with it and encountering areas I couldn't navigate through or around, I decided that if Avast had been accessible, it wasn't any more, so I decided to remove it, and, for now, keep using Microsoft Security Essentials.

Avast would not uninstall itself, so I had to use System Restore to go back to before Avast was installed to get rid of it.

So the search for a good and accessible anti-virus continues.

2015-07-04 08:38:53

Use the touch cursor mode if you have jaws 15 or 16 installed. It might help.

2018-07-30 14:23:31 (edited by Alie Dena 2018-10-27 12:46:23)

I use the Paid version of  Bitdefender which is a fully integrated system.

I set it up and set to "Autopilot" and rarely hear from it, or even know it's running, except for a weekly report and a few Anti-ransomware alerts, any new program will be prevented from writing to, or modifying, any "protected" areas, until I review and allow it

As a complete system it is unlimited devices and works with Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS devices so provides a multi-point defence against threats getting onto my systems

Yes it costs money, but acceptable, and the free version uses the same technologies as this version, but without the integration, and BD is regularly at the top of the Comparative sites and has been for a long time

2018-07-30 14:41:19

Yeah, but how accessible is it? Some people say that avast is accessible, but what they don't tell you is you have to use object navigation, or some such. That's why I keep using MSE, it's very accessible with no special tricks or modes needed.

2018-07-30 18:53:50

Hi,
I am a fan of bit defender too, but I used it years ago and it did run as you said it does,but its interface was the least accessible I have ever come across.
Has that change? if it has,even a little, then I would be glad to get on it again once I get my new pc,that is.
Grryf.

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.
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2018-07-30 19:06:23

Heh, it's interesting to see that my earlier point from 3 years ago still holds true. I had to stop using Eset because the accessibility of it went to hell. And it's also amusing that Windows Defender, on 10 at least, is a viable option now, thanks to Microsoft trying to beef it up and make it more competitive. That's what I'm using now, and if I'd tried to tell myself that even 3 years ago, I never would have listened. I did bounce back and forth between it and Sophos for awhile in the interim, but, while Sophos has a very accessible web interface, for some reason my exceptions that I was adding to it weren't sticking, and it was doing the same thing with BGT games that Defender does. The difference being, at least now I can tell it not to eat them. It's sad when you have to base your decision on which antivirus is the best on what games you can play!

The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's just holding half the amount it can potentially hold.