Do I need to purchase an antivirus for a Dell Desktop PC?

[soilovelinustechtips]

Hello! I am buying a Dell PC (desktop) and I need to know if purchasing an antivirus is necessary.

 

Note: please respond with an honest answer

[pythonmegapixel]

What are you using the computer for?

 

Whatever the case, don't purchase the antivirus as an add-on from Dell. It will NOT be good value for money.

[WereCatf]

2 minutes ago, soilovelinustechtips said:

Hello! I am buying a Dell PC (desktop) and I need to know if purchasing an antivirus is necessary.

No, it's not. Windows 10 does have a built-in antivirus which is perfectly adequate for most people. That said, if you decide that you want a separate antivirus, avoid buying Norton.

[Stahlmann]

Dell probably already has trial versions of 5 different anti malware apps pre-installed.

 

But jokes aside. While Windows has it's built in Windows Defenrer anti malware, i'd always recommend to use additional anti malware software. I can recommend Kaspersky internet security.

[soilovelinustechtips]

2 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

What are you using the computer for?

 

Whatever the case, don't purchase the antivirus as an add-on from Dell. It will NOT be good value for money.

Hi! I’m only going to be using the computer for basic web browsing- not gaming.

[soilovelinustechtips]

N

4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

No, it's not. Windows 10 does have a built-in antivirus which is perfectly adequate for most people. That said, if you decide that you want a separate antivirus, avoid buying Norton.

Thanks for the help!!!!!

[GuiltySpark_]

My honest answer is if you need to ask that question, maybe purchasing something on top of Windows built in AV might not be a bad idea. 

[pythonmegapixel]

8 minutes ago, soilovelinustechtips said:

Hi! I’m only going to be using the computer for basic web browsing- not gaming.

In reality Windows Defender is probably fine for you.

 

If you are willing to pay you might want to take a look at Sophos (https://home.sophos.com/) or BitDefender (https://www.bitdefender.com/), which I consider to be among the less sketchy A/V providers. However, I should stress that no technical measures can come close to the level of protection afforded by simply having a bit of common sense.

 

2 minutes ago, rickeo said:

My honest answer is if you need to ask that question, maybe purchasing something on top of Windows built in AV might not be a bad idea. 

That's my line of thinking as well.

 

[RoseLuck462]

You only need to use an ad blocker.

[tkitch]

10 minutes ago, RoseLuck462 said:

You only need to use an ad blocker.

for realz.  A good ad blocker prevents ~90% of the work an AV has to do. 

[dean_5234]

 

31 minutes ago, soilovelinustechtips said:

Hi! I’m only going to be using the computer for basic web browsing- not gaming.

Off topic, but which PC are you buying? We can help you decide if its worth the money

[Gamer4714]

Even if you dont purchase an antivirus dell will probably put a free 1 year subscrition or trial antivirus  in it without your permission.

Also Windows Defender is enough if you're just using it for web browsing. 

[RejZoR]

No. Windows Defender is in Windows by default and does sufficiently well. There are also good free alternatives like avast! Free, Kaspersky Free and Bitdefender Free. They lack some features, but they are generally much better than Windows Defender.

[Dutch_Master]

1 hour ago, rickeo said:

My honest answer is if you need to ask that question, maybe purchasing something on top of Windows built in AV might not be a bad idea. 

Although factually not incorrect, there's no need to pay: ClamAV is free, also for Win-OS: Install-guide

 

HTH!

[Giganthrax]

Windows defender + free malwarebytes for occasional scan + ublock origin + sensible browsing = all you need.

 

Paid antiviruses just slow down your computer.

[Duo01]

 Malwarebytes + Defender and your all set. I agree with ^.

[dackadoo]

If you really want to be safe you could get Kaspersky, but windows defender + the free version of malwarebytes should be enough. Windows defender actually scores better than a lot of paid anti-virus/anti-malware software. It's improved a lot in recent years.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Programs, Apps and Websites

***

 

Dell will probably have trial for Norton or McAfee included. Both are something I would just uninstall and pick something better. Be it just Windows Defender or free version of BitDefender, Kaspersky etc.