Microsoft Security Essentials vs Avira vs avast! vs AVG: Best free anti-virus/anti-malware program for Windows [3rd Edition]
December 18, 2011 402
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Without a doubt one of the most popular questions I am asked is “which security software should I use for my computer?” Often times the person asking me the question is looking for a free security solution as opposed to a paid one. To address this question, I have already created a post on best security software. However, now – in this article – I am going to directly address the issue of “should I use Avira, avast!, or AVG?” Of course there are many other free anti-virus/anti-malware software. However, I feel these three are the most popular and most commonly inquired about, hence why I picked them.
Update on December 3, 2010: Because of its growing popularity, and requests made to me by many people, Microsoft Security Essentials is now included in this comparison.
When evaluating security software and trying to decide which one you want to use, there are two main areas which you should look at: Features and performance. So, lets get started.
This review is part of our Best Free Windows Software section. Check out more articles on the best free Windows programs from here.
Table of Contents
Summary of Update
Features Comparison
Performance Comparison
Detection Rates
Malware Removal Effectiveness
Computer Impact
In the 3rd edition of dotTech’s guide on Best Free Windows Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware the following changes have been made:
- Features Comparisonsection has been updated to reflect new features added to Avira Free, avast! Free, AVG Free, and Microsoft Security Essentials since the 2nd edition of this article was written. All four made tweaks and modifications to their existing features; the major new features are:
- Avira Free – “WebGuard”
- avast! Free – Behavior blocker, “Auto Sandbox”, “Script Shield”, “WebRep”
- AVG Free – Largely unchanged
- Microsoft Security Essentials – Behavior blocker, “Network Inspection System”
- Performance Comparison section has been updated to reflect new on-demand and retrospective detection rates for Avira Free, avast! Free, and Microsoft Security Essentials. AVG Free did not participate in the latest retrospective tests so AVG Free’s detection rates have been updated only for on-demand tests.
- Performance Comparison’s sub-section Speed and Computer Usage has been rewritten with a new source and renamed to Computer Impact.
- Performance Comparison now includes a new sub-section, Malware Removal Effectiveness.
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
In terms of features, as you can see in the chart above, all four programs provide the necessary fundamental protection. However, it is worth noting that neither of the programs provide full/advanced phishing protection; you will have to cough up money for paid versions to get full/advanced phishing protection. Or, you could just be careful about what links you click; and double-check to make sure the website you are at is who it claims to be since phishing success heavily depends on social engineering and user ambivalence.
Furthermore, while all four programs provide the fundamentals, avast! is the most notable one for going “above and beyond” the basics and providing a little extra bang for the buck (or lack thereof). In other words, avast! provides more “extra” features than the other three, although AVG Free also has some nice extras. It also should be noted Avira Free’s “WebGuard” requires users to install Avira Toolbar, which is powered by Ask.com; and Microsoft Security Essentials has an interesting feature called “Network Inspection System” — a guard against network-based exploits.
Lastly, even though Microsoft Security Essentials is the only one to not prompt users with advertisements it must be noted that the ads in avast! Free are non-intrusive and embedded within the main console window – they are not the popup ads Avira Free is notorious for and AVG Free sometimes displays.
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
When viewing the above test results, keep a few things in mind:
- The On-Demand Anti-Malware Tests are tests done on the security software with all their features enabled (with all settings set to the highest possible). The Retrospective/Proactive Anti-Malware Tests are tests done specifically on the security softwares’ heuristics capabilities; their capabilities to protect against unknown/new malware that have no signatures. It needs to be mentioned that heuristics is not the only feature that security software use against unknown/new malware. Other feature, such as behavior blocking, also help detect unknown/new malware; however only the heuristics feature (and no other features, such as behavior blocking) was tested in the Retrospective/Proactive Anti-Malware Tests.
- For the The On-Demand Anti-Malware Tests
- Microsoft Security Essentials had “very few” false positives; Avira had “few” false positives; avast! had “few” false positives; and AVG had “many” false positives.
- Avira scanned at “fast” speed; avast! scanned at “fast” speed; AVG scanned at “average” speed; and Microsoft Security Essentials scanned at “slow” speed.
- The tests were conducted 1-5 months ago. In other words, Avira, avast!, AVG, and MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) may have improved (or degraded) their performance since these tests were conducted. These are the versions of each program used for both of the above tests:
- The tests were conducted using the free version of Avira (“Avira AntiVir Personal” is another name for Avira Free); free and paid version of AVG, respectively for each test; and free version of avast!. Microsoft Security Essentials, of course, is free by definition.
Because of the above mentioned points,
- The performance of each software today may be different than when the tests were conducted.
- The performance of the free edition AVG may perform slightly differ than what is shown above since paid version for AVG was used for one test.
However, keeping that in mind, for the purposes of a simple comparison these test results work just fine because they give general indications, which is what we are looking for.
That being said, the results are a clear indication of Avira’s detection superiority. Not only does Avira have the highest on-demand detection rates, but it also tops the chart for retrospective tests; all with fast scanning and few false positives. avast! comes in a close second with healthy on-demand and retrospective rates, fast scanning, and few false positives. MSE is fourth in on-demand detection but does very well in retrospective tests and comes out on top when it comes to false positives. (It should be noted MSE’s lower on-demand rates help it do better in terms of false positives: It detects less so there is less chance of it to have false positives.) AVG, in my opinion, is the most disappointing of the lot. It doesn’t do too badly in on-demand but does terrible for retrospective and has many false positives.
Based off just these test results, Avira and avast! are definitely my two top picks, with MSE a close third. However, the tests were conducted in a lab setting for benchmark purposes. In other words, they don’t exactly reflect “real life”. In real-life usage the protection between all four program will be similar because most user activity will fall within areas covered by all four. I may be a bit bold when I say this but the differences between all four software will typically only be felt when conducting benchmarks or tests.
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
Being able to detect malware has value in of itself; simply knowing you are infected is worthwhile. However, an anti-virus/anti-malware program that cannot remove malware is probably one you don’t want to have. Hence in the 3rd edition of dotTech’s guide on Best Free Windows Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware we look at the results of a malware removal effectiveness test.
Before we discuss the results it must be noted this malware removal effectiveness test had limited scope — it only used ten samples. It is hard, and frankly not fair or logical, to draw authoritative conclusions based on a test that only used ten samples. However, for the purposes of a non-authoritative indicator, this test will do just fine… as long as you keep in mind the limited scope.
That said, Avira once again tops the charts. MSE comes in a close second with AVG and avast! lagging as distant third and fourth, respectively. As I said, this test used only ten samples so we can’t say avast! or AVG are incompetent at removing malware while Avira or MSE are the best. The results very well could have been different if different ten malware samples were picked. (That is why having a large, randomized sample size is important in any test.) However, I believe it is fair to say with its combined stellar performance on-demand and retrospective detection rates and malware removal effectiveness, Avira more than makes up in performance what it lacks in features.
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
(Click on the chart to view it in full size.)
NOTE: Avira Free 2012, avast! Free v6, AVG AntiVirus 2012, and Microsoft Security Essentials v2.1 were used for the above tests.
Generally speaking, the computer impact of all four software is about the same. True, avast! does come out on top but only by a small margin; and this small margin will only be noticed when benchmarking — not in real-life usage. Really the only test worth noting is opening Word and opening PDF. In this test avast! out shines the other three on the first run (subsequent run they all perform the same). All other aspects of the Computer Impact test end up with results that are too close to draw lines between.
(For those that don’t know, PC Mark is a professional, industry-recognized benchmarking tool. The higher PC Mark score, the better. However, when it comes to PC Mark, few points here and there have no significant meaning. If PC Mark scores were drastically different, such as 50 or more, then it would be worth looking at.)
Note: All tests referenced in all Performance Comparison sub-sections of this article were not conducted by dotTech. They (the tests) were conducted by AV-Comparatives.org, an authority on security software testing. I attained permission to re-publish AV-Comparatives’ results on dotTech when I originally wrote this article.
While there are some noteworthy aspects – such as Microsoft Security Essential’s low false positive count or avast!’s lowest computer impact or Avira’s best detection and removal performance – there is no one “winner” between Microsoft Security Essentials, Avira Free, avast! Free, and AVG Free. To try to determine which one is the “best” is like trying to split hairs; it is hard to do and it hurts. In real-life situations, all four programs will provide users with excellent protection.
However, with that being said, if I were to rank these four I would rank Avira and avast! as my top two picks; Avira for its detection and malware removal and avast! for its features and lowest computer impact. Microsoft Security Essentials and AVG come after Avira and avast!, with each providing one or two unique features that have potential to win over users.
Now, what program you should use comes down to your specific needs and desires. Want the most features? avast! Free is the way to go. Are you looking for the best detection rates and don’t care about anything else? Avira Free is for you. Want a simple anti-malware program that provides great protection without nagging ads? Microsoft Security Essentials beckons you. Worried about network security? Microsoft Security Essentials’ “Network Inspection System” may serve you well. Are you a social network addict? Go with AVG Free for it has “Social Network Protection”. Hate false positives? Avoid AVG and consider Microsoft Security Essentials. Dislike slow scan times? Don’t get Microsoft Security Essentials. Surf the web a lot, besides your frequent websites? avast! Free’s “Web Shield” provides better specialized protection in that area than the other three programs. Download lots of software? avast! Free’s “Auto Sandbox” may be your next best friend.
I have provided you with the facts; now the choice of Microsoft Security Essentials, Avira Free, avast! Free, or AVG free is in your hands. Whichever one you pick, rest assured all four will serve you well.
Avira Free AntiVirus
Supported OS: Windows 2000+
Avira AntiVir Personal homepage [download link]
avast! Free Antivirus
Supported OS: Windows XP+
avast! Free Antivirus homepage [download link]
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
Supported OS: Windows 2000+
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition homepage [download link]
Microsoft Security Essentials
Supported OS: Windows XP and higher
Microsoft Security Essentials homepage
Originally written on February 14, 2010. 2nd edition posted on December 3, 2010. 3rd edition posted on December 18, 2011.
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there may be some other problems to ur computer. i m also using MSE with real time protection running and my start menu icons load very quickly without any flickering. no problem at all.
Nice blog right here! Additionally your website loads up fast!
What web host are you using? Can I get your associate hyperlink on your host?
I wish my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol
great article and nicely presented. i use avast 7 and it is awesome. thanks.
I really don’t find this analyze too trustworthy. Firstly, you use different versions in all tests, many of which are clearly outdated, and in some you even use pay-versions. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that any ASK-powered toolbar is not recomended as an install, as it tend to include unpleasant “visitors”.
I found the people at MicroAge Laval to be very helpful. Especially for big businesses that have a lot of information to protect. It’s a little more intense than just downloading a simple virus removal program. This company will consult you with different options depending on how your business is structured. They also helped up set up our printer.
Thanks for the information! Very useful-
I hate other free antivirus for their nagging screen, only AVG and Microsoft doesn’t have them
I am fixing up a laptop for a friend (Win 7 Pro).
It does not have an anti virus.
I am using Avast on my XP PCs, and had serious trouble some time ago when there was a major program update (Not latest but the previous Program version jump).
I notice on Gizmo there are a couple of comments concerned about Avast, and now some concerns about Avira are being raised.
Those of you using Win 7 Pro, and either of those two free programs, which would you recommend (for gentleness to our Win 7 Pro system) ?
Avira or Avast ?
Hi Ashraf
Thank you for all your sterling work.
It might be wishfull thinking on my part!!
Would it be possible to keep these reviews of viable and free ant-virus programs uptodate.
Thanks you
Surprised no one mentioned Comodo- Internet security free can’t be beaten version 6 is the best yet!
[@Carl]
Ashraf and Gizmo both have something in common -
Neither of them mentioned Comodo.
Gizmo does have a separate (very) brief page where he says -
“can be somewhat intrusive when first installed”
Did you find that ?
How intrusive is it now (for you) ?
Are you using all it’s features (Firewall, Antivirus, etc) ?
(What have you disabled, or avoided ?)
Do you have a link to a comprehensive review ?
How good is it’s antivirus detection ?
Are you using any other security at the same time ?
Have you turned off your Windows firewall ?
What version of Windows are you running ?
This post is semi related (anti virus protection).
I browsed Comodo’s other free programs.
We can download Comodo IceDragon, which is based on FF, but has some extra Comodo security built into the browser.
AND during the Install, you can elect to make it a PORTABLE program (I did).
Ashraf, you might care to post this on your other threads where DotTechies were desiring portable FF
Rob
PS Comodo also has a Chrome based version.
(Chrome will never darken my PC door step again.)
If you’re leaning towards AVG, read this March 2013 article by Ashraf first. Very important.
http://dottech.org/101609/avg-secure-search-toolbar-is-malware
[@Alan]
Other aspects may come into consideration on daily use. After thoroughly experimenting all three (Avira, Avast!, AVG) on realtime protection, I personally fixed my choice on the theoretically lesser performer, AVG. Simply because Avira would consistently block some current executable programs (dictionaries, etc.), and Avast! would turn my computer into an awfully slow machine!
Hi.
For those who wouldn’t be aware of it, Ashraf recently wrote an article which could easily be considered as an addendum to the actual one :
http://dottech.org/102416/why-i-switched-from-avast-to-avira-better-computer-performance-and-speed-opinion/
In this article he explains why he left Avast (free) for Avira (free). I share with Ashraf the exact same opinion because I have experienced the exact same things with Avast and Avira.
Some comments made about this article concerned a recent new version of BitDefender Free Antivirus which now includes an active protection.
I invite everybody which is interested to read that comment of mine about this new version of BitDefender Free :
http://dottech.org/102416/why-i-switched-from-avast-to-avira-better-computer-performance-and-speed-opinion/comment-page-4/#comment-1001632
I must confess that I am an old fan of Avira which I use since 6 or 7 years I think. I have always been well protected with it, its impact on the system has always been minimal, there is a good bunch of options available and as long as things will go this way I will stick to this very good antivirus.
That said, I have absolutely no problems at all in face of persons who would say they prefer another antivirus : it is a matter of taste and as is its a kind of personal point of view. I also have no problems about discussing, with respect, with someone who doesn’t share the same point of view than mine.
I have made a comment on another dottech’s page about the best choice someone can make about an antivirus or any other security software.
Those interested may take a look at this place :
http://dottech.org/102416/why-i-switched-from-avast-to-avira-better-computer-performance-and-speed-opinion/comment-page-4/#comment-1001803
Note that I will always be respectful towards anybody who does the same with me…
Following the discussion on the other thread about firewalls — where BitDefender AV Free was mentioned — I decided to install it. Last week. I was very impressed with it: it seemed light and effective. Yesterday, I installed Online Armor Free Edition. No problems. And it looks impressive. Both firewall and AV appeared to play nicely.
This morning, I’ve been hit with various error messages and .dmp files from BitDefender AV Free. I (wrongly) assumed there was a conflict with yesterday’s Online Armor Free install.
I spent a couple of hours this morning, messing around using the BitDefender Free ‘repair’ (which didn’t work) and an uninstall and then a fresh install. That effort achieved nothing. BitDefender AV Free isn’t functioning.
I now discover, late in the day, that the developers of BitDefender AV Free posted on the user forum at around 10am UK time today that a problem is affecting it resulting in error messages and .dmp files which users are invited to upload for analysis (but not if you’re running the Free version, which has no Support back-up.)
The problem isn’t specified. Users are, apparently, expected to, er. . . wait. Users are told that BitDefender AV Free is actually functioning — despite the fact that on my computer, it repeatedly warns that it is not. That there is *no* antivirus defence.
I’ve just uninstalled it and installed Avast Free. The development team behind the BitDefender AV Free edition clearly have some way to go in maturing this product if it’s taking them all day to sort out a fix. (Note: though the developer is insisting today that only the Free edition is affected, other users are reporting that the registered, licensed, commercial version is also affected.)
[@MikeR]
Hi MikeR !
When you wrote that BitDefender Free was mentioned in the thread about the firewalls, I think you were maybe thinking about this other thread :
http://dottech.org/102416/why-i-switched-from-avast-to-avira-better-computer-performance-and-speed-opinion/comment-page-1/
In this thread a certain “ovl” extolled the merits of this recent new version of BitDefender Free which has an active shield against viruses and he was saying something like that this was the best free antivirus on the market.
But if we now follow its own logic, the one from its comment #50 on the thread I’ve just spoke about, where he was saying that Avira was not a good antivirus maker because they had a problem at a certain moment with their paid version, we must now conclude that BitDefender Free must be dumped right now by everyone who use it because it’s now proven that it is only a piece of s..t.
Note that I don’t personally really say that BitDefender Free is a piece of s..t, I am just saying that it is what we must conclude on the basis of ovl’s logic…
Because BitDefender was still a relatively new product, that’s why I said, in my comment #62 : “If this is the case, I think it would be a good thing to wait for the surely upcoming reports on this new version before using it as our main antivirus solution…”
It’s a good thing from your part, MikeR, that you uninstalled BitDefender Free for installing Avast Free, an antivirus which made its proofs. If Avast is slowing down your system at certain times, you should at this moment consider to use Avira Free.
[@Sputnik]
Hi Sputnik: I’ll steer clear of the ‘discussion’ you and ovl had on the other thread. All I will say is that BitDefender AV Free editioin today hit some kind of problem that evidently affected a large number of users worldwide. The developer seems not to have managed the issue at all well, seeing as there are complaints about lack of communication on BitDefender’s own forum and there even appears to be a continuing confusion as to whether the problem has been fixed anyway.
As to Avira, well: one lives according to one’s experience, and after Avira failed consistently thanks to a serious update glitch in 2010 which it consistently and repeatedly refused to acknowledge (until the time came when it, er, finally had to), and after all the nag screens, and in view of its nauseating behavior in teaming up with Ask and trying to finesse the entire toolbar issue even in its own user forums. . . thanks but no thanks, I wouldn’t go within a country mile of Avira, free or paid-for.
[@MikeR]
Hi MikeR and thank you for your answer !
As I wrote in this comment :
http://dottech.org/102416/why-i-switched-from-avast-to-avira-better-computer-performance-and-speed-opinion/comment-page-4/#comment-1001803 ,
the choice of a security software is a kind of very personal matter and this applies also to your personal choice.
But concerning Avira Free, I will just say that you can easily get rid of the nag screen with a very simple manipulation and also you may get the Web Protection module without the need of installing the Ask’s toolbar with another simple manipulation.
Concerning the “serious update glitch in 2010 which it consistently and repeatedly refused to acknowledge”, and also “in view of its nauseating behavior in teaming up with Ask and trying to finesse the entire toolbar issue even in its own user forums…”, I will agree with you that this is something which is clearly hurting many people.
Personally, as I have solved the problems of the nag screen and the Ask’s toolbar and as I personnally never had serious problems with Avira and that it has always well protected my computer agains threats, I am still sticking to this antivirus, according to the fact that this is a very personal matter…
Note that even if a manufacturer of antivirus should eventually have better business practices than that of Avira, this is not a warranty that you will not have any problem at all with their antivirus solution, as this is the case for you with BitDefender Free.
[@Sputnik]
Hi Sputnik: Yup, my BitDefender AV Free experience has proved not to have lived up to expectations: the way things have gone today, and the sheer time-wasting involved, has left me unwilling to go near that developer ever again — regardless of how well it seems to do in AV comparison tests.
I note your points about Avira and yes, you’re absolutely correct — when I had Avira, I finished up using a workaround to get rid of the nag screens. And a few months ago Raymond published on his website a link to the Avira Ask Toolbar registry fix (although when a friend of mine downloaded it, the .reg file wouldn’t merge nor could he import it — I don’t know what went wrong there.)
Avast I always favoured but dumped because it was, absolutely, definitely and without a shadow of a doubt, slowing my system to a crawl on too many occasions. Today, however, I’ve reluctantly gone back to it because I knew how good it was (as an AV, not as bloatware) and this time have run a custom install to stop the sheer pile-up on this machine of so many “shields” that I’m so weighed down with armour-plating that nothing can move.
My custom install of Avast Free has been of:
File Shield: NO
Mail Shield: NO
Web Shield: YES
P2P Shield: YES
IM Shield: NO
Network Shield: YES
Script Shield: YES
Behavior Shield: NO
Browser protection: YES
avast gadget: YES
avast remote assistance: YES
Browser cleanup: YES
Software Updater: NO.
Selection has been based on the teaming of Avast Free with Online Armor Free, which is currently running thus:
Firewall: ON
Web Shield: ON
Program Guard: ON
Anti-Keylogger: ON
Also running is Malwarebytes PRO (but note: I don’t run MBAM PRO all the time as it proved to be as great an impediment to this computer’s performance as Avast did in its former guise) and, finally, WinPatrol PRO is also running at the same time, too. That’s four defence systems in place representing rather more than a mere four layers of protection.
Finally. . . although I have the darn-near essential Sandboxie installed, I don’t run it all the time but if / when I come across something I think I’d like to download and try, then I switch to the Sandboxie/Firefox browser and DL and install and play with there — not a security consideration, I know, but an indication of how this computer operates to avoid crap programs and apps as well as malware. (Quite why anyone who uses, for example, giveawayoftheday opr bits du jour *without* sandboxing the downloads escapes me, but that’s by the by — in fact, with bdj it’s just about mandatory.)
I’m going to run this set-up for a few days and see what happens. It’s pretty much brand new really, seeing as how Online Armor Free was only installed yesterday. Fingers crossed that all of them now play nicely together — which BitDefender AV Free certainly seemed to be doing, until today’s developer-mishandled problems.
[@MikeR] File Shield is one of those you *don’t* want to turn off. From what I understand, that is your live protection against malicious files — the stuff that is traditionally thought about as anti-virus protection.
[@MikeR]
Hi MikeR !
When you say, about BitDefender Free : “the way things have gone today, and the sheer time-wasting involved, has left me unwilling to go near that developer ever again — regardless of how well it seems to do in AV comparison tests”, it’s your full right to think like this. I will never say that you are wrong : this is simply a personal matter.
Personally, even if I am an old Avira fan (I use their freeware version since about 6 years), I will not say that I will never use BitDefender Free : if BitDefender brings a couple of changes to their free antivirus and if they correct all the little initial problems, maybe I will use it instead of Avira Free.
Concerning the problem that one of your friends had with the Raymond’s solution about the Ask’s toolbar, I must admit that I also had about the same problems at the beginning, but I have finally solved these problems. Concerning the .reg file : when I downloaded this file, this one came with a .txt extension, which I only change to .reg and that solved the problem.
I also understood that you must first uninstall Avira Free before merging the previous .reg file and installing again Avira Free. Some people will surely find this solution very fastidious, but it just took me about 5 minutes to do the whole thing…
Concerning the exact configuration you choose for Avast so to avoid a slowing down of your system, I would suggest to you to go at the Avast’s forum to talk about it with other Avast’s users so to have their opinion about it. Don’t take only one opinion, but wait till you will have received a couple : after that make your own mind on it.
If you feel fine with the final configuration you will have choosen, that will be OK like that…
If you have problems with Online Armor Free, which is a very good firewall, you may try PrivateFirewall or COMODO Firewall…
I am also running Malwarebytes Pro, it is continually running with its full protection and I have no problem at all in relation with my regular activity.
I also own WinPatrol PRO but I have stopped from using it a couple of years ago.
I also use Sandboxie Pro almost the way you do, in fact I will maybe change my way of using it so to be the same that you do…
Continue all the experimentations you are doing, listen to other’s opinion and make your own final choice.
Just before sending this actual comment, I saw that Ashraf send you a comment about the File Shield. I was thinking exactly the same and that’s why I suggested to you to go to Avast’s forum. You should really go there anyway…
[@MikeR]
Hey MikeR,
I forgot to tell you something about that peculiar thing you said : “Hi Sputnik: I’ll steer clear of the ‘discussion’ you and ovl had on the other thread.”
I fully agree with you and I will also add that this is a wise thing from you… ;-)
[@Ashraf]
I’m having an off day here. In fact, I just can’t get on with it. Or I’m having an on day and can’t get off with it. Or, or, or. . . Thanks for highlighting my inability to type two simple letters; please take it that yes, that which I said was off is in fact on, and why I went off track and typed off when I meant on must mean I’m on something but I’ve no idea what it can be. Red wine, seems like. But I’ll check for malware in my supper tray, too. . .
@ Sputnik: hi sputnik, thanks for that. Re File Shield which I said was off but is on and should’ve read on not off. I’ve just tried to explain to dear Ashraf, but failed. I can’t face the prospect of another embarrassing failure here. So, just to clarify: the File Shield is ON and my brain is OFF, and may very well have been all day.
Oh, something else. I now see that OnlineArmor is causing a serious boot-time delay and blue screening. I think I may just go back to quill pen and ink pot.