Best anti virus for desktop and android?

Randel1980 · February 6, 2021

I will get into crypto investment soon, so I want to fortify my devices. What are the best antivirus for desktop and android? License price does not matter.

Only_CORE · February 6, 2021

Desktop: Windows Defender

Android: None, please don't install any "anti-virus" programs on your phone

AnirbanG007 · February 6, 2021

46 minutes ago, Randel1980 said:

I will get into crypto investment soon, so I want to fortify my devices. What are the best antivirus for desktop and android? License price does not matter.

As long as you don't go for sus looking free stuff on sketchy sites, Windows Defender is more than enough. If however, you need some peace of mind, something like Bitdefender AV or Kaspersky or Malwarebytes should be more than enough. There are different tiers of each of those AV, and you should get the one which suits you the best.

Akolyte · February 6, 2021

1 hour ago, Randel1980 said:

I will get into crypto investment soon, so I want to fortify my devices. What are the best antivirus for desktop and android? License price does not matter.

Before I start, the only antivirus I'd recommend would be Sophos Home Premium, it's the only antivirus I know that has real enterprise level security and quality that we use in the industry, not to mention it's actually made by an enterprise vendor and is probably used as an upstream to their enterprise security suites.

I'm going to suggest that if you want to fortify your devices you should not use an antivirus, use what is built into Windows. On Android simply avoid downloading any apps that aren't widely known and recognised, and don't install any third-party APKs.

Most malware for Android comes from third parties and not from the Playstore. Still, malware on the Play Store does exist, and there will be Android exploits that may allow people to gain root or whatever access to your phone. The same thing goes for Windows.

Generally your best guide for hardening is:

Practice strong security habits - use strong and different passwords for applications and sites, don't give any program access to your PC (don't accept UAC prompt for random apps), keep all of your software up-to-date and use reputable software.
Always run the latest software and patches - frequently check for updates for software on your computer, and do not install any software that is unsupported.
Run your browser in a sandbox unless you can't - There is a feature in Windows 10 which can be enabled for Microsoft Edge which will launch Edge in a sandbox, effectively meaning any exploits that execute in your browser won't reach your machine or if they do they won't persist.
Frequently audit your system - Check your system logs, what software do you have installed? What processes are running? What files do you have on your C:\ drive? Has any of these files changed, do you remember changing this? Ensure you check this regularly (monthly, bi-monthly) because if a hacker hacks into your machine or you get malware they will usually leave behind some form of trace, even if it's just a random file in appdata or some weird log entry in Event Logs.

The reasons you want to avoid commercial antivirus:

Free antivirus is not free - they often make money off your data and are more concerned with advertising than effectiveness. Even if it's a good free antivirus, the trackers and drivers they use can be hacked by a third party and used to compromise your machine. (This has happened with MANY antivirus vendors over the years, at least 3 I know of had severe exploits last year.)
Antivirus is very low level - by low level I mean deep. It installs drivers and modules which sit very close or aligned to your Operating System kernel. This means that once again, if this software gets hacked or has a vulnerability. Your system will be toast and you'll have a very difficult time getting rid of them.
Data Harvesting - This may sound paranoid but it's VERY true. Security companies have some of the closest connections to governments and frequently harvest data from your machine - they may not send it to the government but they have access to it.

For example, most antivirus vendors install a root certificate on your machine. This means they can see ALL of your encrypted HTTPS traffic, and could even possibly set-up a secure backdoor to their servers on your machine and you would never know. Imagine what would happen if there was a vulnerability in the software.

Believe me, have strong security practices. Don't rely on antivirus, it's old it's lame and nobody in the security industry takes it seriously anymore. Security companies are all working on AI heuristic detection software, Sandbox applications, and technology to enforce company confidentiality and access policies. That's what's trending now, and MS puts some of that into Windows 10.

Eigenvektor · February 6, 2021

On a regular Android phone, an application can only access its own files and, if given permission, some "public" files like downloads. Afaik Google is going to restrict that even further in the future.

So, realistically, a virus scanner on Android can mostly only scan its own files, nothing else. It can't really protect you against other apps, at most it can report apps that have "suspicious" permissions but it can't revoke or block those. It's up to you not to install those apps and/or not grant their (runtime) permissions when asked. Ideally, use a phone with a recent Android version that has runtime permissions, so you don't have to grant all of them during installation.