Which Anti-Virus is best - uses lowest recources?

[Tyson Persall]

For a system configured for top performance, which anti-virus is best. I realize they all will use a certain number of system resources. So which one uses the least, giving Adobe CS3 the best performance?

[Mike McCarthy]

I use Trendmicro's products, and they used to be the best, but the newer releases are no longer as "slim" as they used to be. I haven't tested anything better yet. Skip McAfee and Norton for sure.

[Carl Middleton]

I've had good luck with AVG Free... seems not to hog too much memory, runs well, haven't had a virus since I've owned it... and it's free :)

C

[Giroud Francois]

for a system configured for top performance, the answer is No antivirus.
if your machine is really configured for top performance , i see no reason why it should need an antivirus (at least permanently installed)

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Mike McCarthy

Skip McAfee and Norton for sure.

I agree with that 100%! I got F-Secure and it is great!

Mike

[Chad Huntley]

I'm going to second AVG, its free and uses very little resources.

Originally Posted by Giroud Francois

for a system configured for top performance, the answer is No antivirus.
if your machine is really configured for top performance , i see no reason why it should need an antivirus (at least permanently installed)

The ONLY reason I could see you not having an anti-virus is if you are not connected to the internet (no cord, no wireless). Even if you do not visit any web pages, viruses can simply travel through open connections to your computer.

The added performance boost is not worth the security risk.

[Simon Denny]

I have tried most antivirus products and the best one is not to be connected to the internet. Get youself a cheap second computer and a cheap monitor just for internet use,you will never regeret it.
If you cant do this then I would suggest AVG as the best. Make sure when rendering that the update feature is turned of.

Cheers
Simon

[Carl Middleton]

KVM switches are a lot cheaper than second monitors, desks, mice and keyboards, too... makes it a lot more logical :)

C

[Allen Plowman]

are you actually multitasking while editing? if you are not surfing while editing, consider disconnecting from the internet, turn off antivirus and all other unnecessary aps.

[Adam Gold]

That's what I do. My network connection is disabled almost all the time. I just turn it on only to DL updates manually for Windows, CS3 and Cineform... then off it goes.

Cineform recommends not using AVG but I liked it. But now I don't have anything installed as I'm virtually never online with this machine.

[Ervin Farkas]

Originally Posted by Carl Middleton

KVM switches are a lot cheaper than second monitors, desks, mice and keyboards, too... makes it a lot more logical :) C

Another vote for two computers and a $30-40 switch. Tap-tap on the Scroll Lock key and I'm going back and forth between the two machines; one of them fully armed with ZoneAlarm and connected to the world, the other one exclusively in the video business; it's a joy to see it work at lightening speed - when I start it up, it only has something like 15 processes running... the other one has almost 40, no wonder it's slow.

When I have to wait a few minutes for a render or encode, I switch over and check e-mail, surf the web... No headaches, both machines working as expected.

[John Hewat]

Originally Posted by Ervin Farkas

Another vote for two computers and a $30-40 switch. Tap-tap on the Scroll Lock key and I'm going back and forth between the two machines; one of them fully armed with ZoneAlarm and connected to the world, the other one exclusively in the video business; it's a joy to see it work at lightening speed - when I start it up, it only has something like 15 processes running... the other one has almost 40, no wonder it's slow.

When I have to wait a few minutes for a render or encode, I switch over and check e-mail, surf the web... No headaches, both machines working as expected.

Can you explain what gizmos are needed for this to work? I'm about to purchase a new editing computer and was considering getting a hot-swappable system drive bay so that I can change from one system to the other by restarting, pulling out one drive and putting in the next - but your idea sounds much better. I'd love to be able to have the editing machine still running whilst I load up the alternate operating system. Can you fill us in on what it is and how it works?

[Carl Middleton]

Search for "KVM" on just about any computer hardware retailer's site.

It stands for Keyboard Video Mouse, You plug these devices into the switch, and it splits them to the 2 (or more) computers. You hit a certain button, or flip a switch, and it points the keyboard, monitor and mouse to the other computer - instantly switching your workstation. :)

I want to design a similar system, but integrating a PC, a Mac, a deck or two, and a preview monitor - all on a switching system of some sort. A guy can dream, can't he? :D

Carl

[Dave Robinson]

The ideal option is no anti virus at all, but unless you are totally anal about checking everything you download on a seperate machine I'd say the best bet is AVG free.

Also I'm putting a guide together for people who have old PC's lying around on how to turn them into bomb proof firewall systems using only three LAN cards and a UNIX like operating system called PFSense. When it's done I'll post a link up somewhere for you guys to have a look.

[Ervin Farkas]

Originally Posted by John Hewat

Can you explain what gizmos are needed for this to work? I'm about to purchase a new editing computer and was considering getting a hot-swappable system drive bay...

I'm not sure it would do what you need as I'm not much of a computer person (I know just enough to be dangerous). But a KVM switch is a wonderful little gizmo that switches multiple computers while still lets you use only one monitor, one keyboard, and one mouse; the newer models labelled "multimedia KVM switch" would also switch your speaker and a USB port or two where you can plug in a printer for example. They come in different flavors, some for older computers and PS2 ports, others are all USB for keyboard/mouse. The largest I've seen can switch 8 computers.

In my case the switch solves a big problem reported by many part time videographers (professionals use dedicated computers with no other software installed whatsoever), as this thread details it. Using one computer for editing and one for general office tasks (web surfing, e-mail, Word/Excell/etc) is a much better setup than using the same machine for everything, no matter how fast that machine might be.