FS2004 and antivirus

**klf** · 10-03-2004, 12:10 AM

What is a good antivirus that does not effect the performance of FS2004. I am running Norton AV 2003. It works well, but I need to upgrade. Norton AV does not work well with SP2 which I plan on upgrading to in the near future. I have heard bad things about Norton AV 2004 and 2005.

Does anyone have any thoughts, experience or ideas?

Ken

**sandokan** · 10-03-2004, 04:58 AM

hi,
I use Mc Afee antivirus and I set the automatic updating.
I think Norton antivirus also works very well and it has available the automatic updating option.
Sandokan

**cianpars** · 10-03-2004, 06:12 AM

I thought it was advisable to turn off anti virus and any other services you did not need before running FS. All anti virus applications will cause stutters in FS will they not?

**sandokan** · 10-03-2004, 06:21 AM

hi,
During the use of FS2004 Mc Afee antivirus still working without any problem.
Sandokan

**AJW** · 10-03-2004, 09:37 AM

>I thought it was advisable to turn off anti virus and any
>other services you did not need before running FS. All anti
>virus applications will cause stutters in FS will they not?

It is not an AV program that will cause stutters, it is an underpowered computer. I run Norton all the time, and have no problem with stutters.

Anthony

**noell** · 10-03-2004, 01:15 PM

I use a free anti-virus program called AVG Antivirus. I see absolutely no difference in the performance of the sim with AVG enabled or disabled so I leave it running all the time.

....noell

**arniepie** · 10-03-2004, 01:59 PM

I am running PANDA anti virus software, used to run NORTON but it was imbedded to deep in WINDOWS.
I am running PANDA now already 9 months and I have the feeling that it tracks bassically all virus and worms, it also blocks pop-ups pretty good while surfing the net.
Last but not least it seems to have no noticable effect on my framerates while running fs9 with a lot off scenery addons, full AI traffic and complex addon aircraft in cloudy weather.

**klf** · 10-03-2004, 07:08 PM

Thanks for the replies. I was really interested in Norton AV 2004 or 2005. Since I have Norton already, I would like to stick with it. But I am not going to unless I hear some favorable responses from others in this forum.

Ken

**FalconAF** · 10-03-2004, 09:49 PM

Pertaining to your original question, there are a couple different factors to consider (and I use Norton Anti-Virus Auto-Detect Enabled, with Automatic Updates enabled):

1. If you are flying offline, and do NOT have an "always connected" Internet connection like cable modem, you can disable all the Norton Anti-Virus functions when using FS9 and you will be OK. You aren't connected to the Internet in this case and should not be receiving emails, etc with attachments that could infect your computer during your flight sim session. Just remember to turn it back ON before connecting to the Internet again.

2. If flying online (or with an "always connected" 'net connection) you should never disable it. You are playing with fire if you do. The only thing that might slow down your FS session in this case is if the Auto Update kicks in and starts downloading an update in the background. But if your computer is configured correctly and in good health, the impact should be minimal on your FS9 session (a small drop in frame rates at the time, but nothing drastic should be happening in FS9. If it is, something isn't right on your computer).

**newflyer** · 10-04-2004, 05:33 AM

I also use AVG and it is free. Have used it for years and highly recommend it. Updates can be automated and no annual renewal fee. Why not save your money.