Jump to content

What are some good antivirus/antimalware programs to use instead of Norton?

22 hours ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

My solution is a good Windows Firewall setup, Windows defender and Malwarebytes for system scans. Viruses and Malware are different, but they do overlap in their definitions. Malwarebytes will catch some viruses, but it will not catch everything on its own. 

 

I find most anti-virus programs to be annoying (as well as Malwarebytes when its in active protection mode), so I have Malwarebytes with active protection turned off and just use it to run system scans every week or so. I found Windows Defender isn't very intrusive like most anti-virus, so that's why I use it (as well as for system scans). With my setup I haven't had (at least, I haven't found) any malware or viruses for at least a year and a half. 

I forgot to ask: what did you mean by a good Windows Firewall setup?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

What does a "premade HOSTS file" do?

 

Does it save any money to set up a yearly subscription to Malwarebytes vs buying a copy from a store or Amazon?

That doesn't save you from viruses, malware or the likes. It will mostly do the same job as an AdBlocker but for the entire system. And it's not perfect either, as it will only block content to/from a specific IP address. 

That and if there's a lot of lines in the HOSTS file, it will slow down your network access. Like when you boot your PC, you might not have internet for a few minutes until your DNS refresh itself with all the redirects for a massive list of blocked IPs.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3700x / GPU: Asus Radeon RX 6750XT OC 12GB / RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4-3200
MOBO: MSI B450m Gaming Plus / NVME: Corsair MP510 240GB / Case: TT Core v21 / PSU: Seasonic 750W / OS: Win 10 Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

@wkdpaul

@Ryan_Vickers

 

I looked on Amazon but they only seem to have the 2016 version of Bitdefender.

 

When I'd looked on Bitdefender's site it shows they have 2017 available.

 

Any idea when Amazon might get 2017?

 

 

 

Second question: Is 2016 going to just be differences to the actual program features but still have the same protection definition updates?  Or will protect worse than 2017 would?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

What does a "premade HOSTS file" do?

 

Does it save any money to set up a yearly subscription to Malwarebytes vs buying a copy from a store or Amazon?

A HOSTS file is basically like a local DNS resolver. You can spoof your computer into thinking that going to say www.google.com resolves to whatever Bing's IP is. Most premade HOSTS files redirect known suspect URLs to your computer, so every time something wants to connect to that URL, the network connects to itself rather than the outside world.

 

You can find one at http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/

 

43 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

That doesn't save you from viruses, malware or the likes. It will mostly do the same job as an AdBlocker but for the entire system. And it's not perfect either, as it will only block content to/from a specific IP address. 

It doesn't offer active protection sure, but it offers a passive one so your computer doesn't inadvertently contact a suspect URL that downloads stuff to your computer.

 

Quote

That and if there's a lot of lines in the HOSTS file, it will slow down your network access. Like when you boot your PC, you might not have internet for a few minutes until your DNS refresh itself with all the redirects for a massive list of blocked IPs.

I had a quick into this and I don't think having a large HOSTS file does anything to that effect. From what I gathered, a HOSTS file is a local domain name resolver and if anything you'll just have a small bit of overhead because the network stack has to look in this table first every time a connection is being made.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, TetraSky said:

That doesn't save you from viruses, malware or the likes. It will mostly do the same job as an AdBlocker but for the entire system. And it's not perfect either, as it will only block content to/from a specific IP address. 

That and if there's a lot of lines in the HOSTS file, it will slow down your network access. Like when you boot your PC, you might not have internet for a few minutes until your DNS refresh itself with all the redirects for a massive list of blocked IPs.

Sorry, I was just asking what a hosts file (or a custom one specifically) does.  I wasn't trying to make it sound like I was thinking it'd virus proof my computer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

A HOSTS file is basically like a local DNS resolver. You can spoof your computer into thinking that going to say www.google.com resolves to whatever Bing's IP is. Most premade HOSTS files redirect known suspect URLs to your computer, so every time something wants to connect to that URL, the network connects to itself rather than the outside world.

 

You can find one at http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/

 

It doesn't offer active protection sure, but it offers a passive one so your computer doesn't inadvertently contact a suspect URL that downloads stuff to your computer.

 

I had a quick into this and I don't think having a large HOSTS file does anything to that effect. From what I gathered, a HOSTS file is a local domain name resolver and if anything you'll just have a small bit of overhead because the network stack has to look in this table first every time a connection is being made.

Sorry but what is DNS?  

I've heard the term before but I don't what it means, is, or does.

 

Related question: what's a DNS resolver?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Sorry but what is DNS?  

I've heard the term before but I don't what it means, is, or does.

 

Related question: what's a DNS resolver?

 

A DNS is basically the thing that make it so when you type google.com in your browser, it goes to the IP associated to that website instead of having to remember and type in 216.58.198.46 when wanted to search something. A DNS resolver basically tell you the IP behind a domain.

 

3 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I had a quick into this and I don't think having a large HOSTS file does anything to that effect. From what I gathered, a HOSTS file is a local domain name resolver and if anything you'll just have a small bit of overhead because the network stack has to look in this table first every time a connection is being made.

How large have you tried to make it? I found that it was mostly an issue when I used a very large list, like the one from hpHosts along with a few other lists (using Hostsman), this resulted in a HOSTS file size of 15MB+ with well over 450k different hostnames.

Heck, I patched my hosts file just now, I was essentially 40+ minutes without any internet access because my DNS client just refused to accept such a large HOSTS file apparently(was giving it time, nope... screw it, that's too long), had to go in safemode and get rid of it. :| (using MVPS hosts, hpHosts (the big file, not partial or just ads), Peter Lowe's adservers, Cameleon and Malware domain list, I believe it's mostly the hpHosts's list that cause this issue as it is just way too massive)

 

But generally if it's like 2~4MB with something like less than 50k different IPs, it doesn't pose too much problem.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3700x / GPU: Asus Radeon RX 6750XT OC 12GB / RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4-3200
MOBO: MSI B450m Gaming Plus / NVME: Corsair MP510 240GB / Case: TT Core v21 / PSU: Seasonic 750W / OS: Win 10 Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

A DNS is basically the thing that make it so when you type google.com in your browser, it goes to the IP associated to that website instead of having to remember and type in 216.58.198.46 when wanted to search something. A DNS resolver basically tell you the IP behind a domain.

 

How large have you tried to make it? I found that it was mostly an issue when I used a very large list, like the one from hpHosts along with a few other lists (using Hostsman), this resulted in a HOSTS file size of 15MB+ with well over 450k different hostnames.

Heck, I patched my hosts file just now, I was essentially 40+ minutes without any internet access because my DNS client just refused to accept such a large HOSTS file apparently(was giving it time, nope... screw it, that's too long), had to go in safemode and get rid of it. :| (using MVPS hosts, hpHosts (the big file, not partial or just ads), Peter Lowe's adservers, Cameleon and Malware domain list, I believe it's mostly the hpHosts's list that cause this issue as it is just way too massive)

 

But generally if it's like 2~4MB with something like less than 50k different IPs, it doesn't pose too much problem.

Altering this HOSTS file seems like it's a good idea as part of a layered defense but I'm not sure I'm comfortable enough to attempt it.

 

Currently I'd be too worried I'd mess up my computer...  ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, selihandevri said:

I use bitdefender and suggest you , use it , now they present good price and 2016 version can be upgraded to 2017 as free

 

bitdefender total security 2016 19 usd for 3 PC

 

https://upucuza.com/shop/bitdefender-total-security-2016/ 

So I could buy the 2016 version and then update it to 2017 for free on the same subscription?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×