What Anti-Virus should I use

[Dormant God]

I've been wondering for a long time now, what Antivirus should I use, I've been using Norton and Anti-Malwarebytes (I have the paid Norton version as it comes free with my ISP) but I've never really bothered to try anything else other than AVG, and I don't like the set up it feels weird to me.

[Electronics Wizardy]

id just use defender built in and don't be stupid.

[NTDaws]

Just use BitDefender, I heard norton is shit.

[Himommies]

Windows Defender and don't be dumb

[Appletax]

Windows Defender and be careful what you click on. ESETs has rave review. Kaspersky, Norton, AVG tend to have bad reviews. Avast is also good. 

[bakidota]

Just pay for the anti-malwarebytes full version idk what is it called. Anything beyond that i consider unreasonable. Or if malwarebytes is expensive then go for the anti virus that doesn't annoy you as much, go for an anti virus that has silent mode so it doesn't annoy the crap out of you.

[Himommies]

Just now, Appletax said:

Windows Defender and be careful what you click on. ESETs has rave review. Kaspersky, Norton, AVG tend to have bad reviews. Avast is also good. 

I dont like Avast and AVG at all.A bit cpu Hungary.Whats eset

[Appletax]

Just now, Himommies said:

I dont like Avast and AVG at all.A bit cpu Hungary.Whats eset

Avast has been good for me. I can't stand that most free AVs have ad popups that cannot be disabled. Super annoying.

 

https://www.eset.com/us/

[Himommies]

Just now, Appletax said:

Avast has been good for me. I can't stand that most free AVs have ad popups that cannot be disabled. Super annoying.

 

https://www.eset.com/us/

I know why I've never seen it.

Its not free!

[dalekphalm]

8 minutes ago, Being Delirious said:

Just use BitDefender, I heard norton is shit.

Have you ever used the modern version of it?

 

Because, frankly, the stereotype that Norton is complete shit is very old, and not true anymore.

 

It used to be well deserved. In the Win 9x and XP days, it was pretty garbage. But around 2010 or so, they revamped the software from the ground up, and it's consistently been ranked among the best since then.

 

13 minutes ago, Dormant God said:

I've been wondering for a long time now, what Antivirus should I use, I've been using Norton and Anti-Malwarebytes (I have the paid Norton version as it comes free with my ISP) but I've never really bothered to try anything else other than AVG, and I don't like the set up it feels weird to me.

I think you're totally fine with what you currently use, unless you can identify a specific problem or issue you have with your setup. Norton is fine. Malwarebytes is excellent.

 

Since Norton is free, I would personally suggest keep using that, or switch to Windows Defender (Assuming Windows 8/8.1/10) or Microsoft Security Essentials (Assuming Windows 7). Defender/MSE is decent enough.

 

I wouldn't bother actually buying another AV like Bit Defender, since it's pretty comparable in capabilities to Norton, so to me, that's a bit of a waste of money.

[NTDaws]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Have you ever used the modern version of it?

 

Because, frankly, the stereotype that Norton is complete shit is very old, and not true anymore.

 

It used to be well deserved. In the Win 9x and XP days, it was pretty garbage. But around 2010 or so, they revamped the software from the ground up, and it's consistently been ranked among the best since then.

 

I think you're totally fine with what you currently use, unless you can identify a specific problem or issue you have with your setup. Norton is fine. Malwarebytes is excellent.

 

Since Norton is free, I would personally suggest keep using that, or switch to Windows Defender (Assuming Windows 8/8.1/10) or Microsoft Security Essentials (Assuming Windows 7). Defender/MSE is decent enough.

 

I wouldn't bother actually buying another AV like Bit Defender, since it's pretty comparable in capabilities to Norton, so to me, that's a bit of a waste of money.

Personally I have always had problems with it. And you don't have to buy bitdefender there is a trustworthy free version that works like any other anti virus program, possibly better imo.

[Dormant God]

I love Norton it doesn't get in my way and It has a silent mode. Just the Scanner is bad, but the Active protection is really good and I just use Anti-Malwarebytes to replace the scanner.

[Guest Darth Revan]

Anyone who suggests Windows Defender or Security Essentials, should be instantly ignored. Since they have no idea about security.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Being Delirious said:

Personally I have always had problems with it. And you don't have to buy bitdefender there is a trustworthy free version that works like any other anti virus program, possibly better imo.

Yes there is a free version, and it has a basic Real Time scanner, but it lacks a lot of features compared to the paid versions:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/bitdefender-comparison,review-3698.html

 

Most of those, of course, are not necessary, but the Firewall is a good addition, and the Ransomware protection is very valuable.

 

Also, "works like any other, possibly better"? Yeah, no. The AV component of the Free edition works the same as the paid version. And is no better or worse than any of the other major AV's.

 

Check the independent testing sites. The major AV companies just keep going back and fourth between which one is "better" at any given moment.

 

2 minutes ago, Darth Revan said:

Anyone who suggests Windows Defender or Security Essentials, should be instantly ignored. Since they have no idea about security.

As a basic scanner combined with MalwareBytes, WD or MSE is a totally fine baseline to use. Far better than the "just use common sense!" bullshit I see all the time on here.

 

Yes, Defender certainly loses points in some tests, but it's not complete garbage, which you're making it out to be. I'd rather someone use Defender then nothing at all. If they want to shell out for Kaspersky or BitDefender? Go for it. If they want to use one of the major free ones? Sure why not. But starting with Defender is not a bad thing.

[NTDaws]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Yes there is a free version, and it has a basic Real Time scanner, but it lacks a lot of features compared to the paid versions:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/bitdefender-comparison,review-3698.html

 

Most of those, of course, are not necessary, but the Firewall is a good addition, and the Ransomware protection is very valuable.

 

Also, "works like any other, possibly better"? Yeah, no. The AV component of the Free edition works the same as the paid version. And is no better or worse than any of the other major AV's.

 

Check the independent testing sites. The major AV companies just keep going back and fourth between which one is "better" at any given moment.

 

As a basic scanner combined with MalwareBytes, WD or MSE is a totally fine baseline to use. Far better than the "just use common sense!" bullshit I see all the time on here.

 

Yes, Defender certainly loses points in some tests, but it's not complete garbage, which you're making it out to be. I'd rather someone use Defender then nothing at all. If they want to shell out for Kaspersky or BitDefender? Go for it. If they want to use one of the major free ones? Sure why not. But starting with Defender is not a bad thing.

If you know what you're doing on your PC you should be fine. If you don't then thats where paid anti virus comes in.

[Dormant God]

Yea I did, Windows has never been the best, I've figured that since I was a computer noob, as soon as I got anti-Malwarebytes I saw, I even did a test by running Windows Def first then anti-Malwarebytes I was shit then but Windows def found 10000 PUPs or threats, and Anti-malware found like almost 20 times more (I was a horrible human being and actually have no remembrance of what I did to get that much shit on my first computer) luckily it was a shitty laptop I got at Like Good will I think

[HelplmChoking]

4 minutes ago, Darth Revan said:

Anyone who suggests Windows Defender or Security Essentials, should be instantly ignored. Since they have no idea about security.

 

Windows Defender blocks anything you're going to come across on any normal site. If you start poking around in obviously dodgy places, that's your own fault.

 

24 minutes ago, Dormant God said:

I've been wondering for a long time now, what Antivirus should I use, I've been using Norton and Anti-Malwarebytes (I have the paid Norton version as it comes free with my ISP) but I've never really bothered to try anything else other than AVG, and I don't like the set up it feels weird to me.

 

All I use is Defender, and twice weekly scans with Malwarebytes. Not a single thing found in the 3 years I've been using this PC (aside from some random browser crap that got into Chrome, but that was dispatched very quickly).

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Being Delirious said:

If you know what you're doing on your PC you should be fine.

If you are referring to running without an AV? Incorrect.

 

Perfectly legitimate websites can be compromised, and will look the same as before - and without an AV to even warn you, you'd be infected and part of a BotNet before you knew it.

 

Now, someone who takes extra special care to run no plugins, no scripts, a custom hardened browser, on a VM, running through a VM, who never travels to sketchy websites ever? Yeah he's probably fine. Probably. There's still a risk that a zero day exploit will pop up that he's not prepared for though.

 

Now, an AV might not catch a zero day, but most of them have heuristic engines now that will search for suspicious behaviour, and can sometimes catch an exploit even though it's not part of the AV's database.

[Dormant God]

Just now, Rangaman42 said:

Windows Defender blocks anything you're going to come across on any normal site. If you start poking around in obviously dodgy places, that's your own fault.

 

All I use is Defender, and twice weekly scans with Malwarebytes. Not a single thing found in the 3 years I've been using this PC (aside from some random browser crap that got into Chrome, but that was dispatched very quickly).

 

True if you are the one using your computer, I can't trust anyone here, my little damn brother saw that "How to break into a computer in 5 seconds" thing and I have to have my room locked, that isn't enough to get rid of my paranoia that kid attracts more viruses on his computer than I did my first computer

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Dormant God said:

True if you are the one using your computer, I can't trust anyone here, my little damn brother saw that "How to break into a computer in 5 seconds" thing and I have to have my room locked, that isn't enough to get rid of my paranoia that kid attracts more viruses on his computer than I did my first computer

You tried a password on your account?

[HelplmChoking]

1 minute ago, Dormant God said:

True if you are the one using your computer, I can't trust anyone here, my little damn brother saw that "How to break into a computer in 5 seconds" thing and I have to have my room locked, that isn't enough to get rid of my paranoia that kid attracts more viruses on his computer than I did my first computer

 

Lol my PC is used by me and me alone. The girlfriend has her iMac on the other side of the study, and that's never had anything either. She games on my PC very occasionally (like once a month) but that's all.

[Dormant God]

I do, he got the dang USB that unlocks your password ;-; and if that doesn't make it easier he even knows how to spend a lot of his lovely time turning his computer into a freak show, I mean seriously no one can not get him away from downloading anything on the internet, I mean it's annoying and I don't want him on my computer ever, Seriously I need a solid reason to take the internet away from him

[Cyracus]

Norton is the worst/best virus I've ever seen lol

1 minute ago, Dormant God said:

True if you are the one using your computer, I can't trust anyone here, my little damn brother saw that "How to break into a computer in 5 seconds" thing and I have to have my room locked, that isn't enough to get rid of my paranoia that kid attracts more viruses on his computer than I did my first computer

well, antiviruses won't protect you from everything, it's like a condom, sometimes things go wrong and you gotta figure out what to do now, lock your computer down when you're away from it and then it's much harder to get viruses onto, of course a usb killer could still ruin your day...

[Automobili3XF]

On my personal machine i don't have any, because i don't feel the need to, but i needed one for the computers of the hall where i work, and the guys here in the forums suggested Malwarebytes, for what we usually do, its been working like a charm!

[Dormant God]

Just now, Rangaman42 said:

Lol my PC is used by me and me alone. The girlfriend has her iMac on the other side of the study, and that's never had anything either. She games on my PC very occasionally (like once a month) but that's all.

 

iMacs almost never get Viruses I mean it's impossible for a lot of windows bound viruses to activate the downside is that you can't run some games on PC but even still she is just playing games, try having to protect against a little brother that can't get away with not having a virus within a day of a full Disk Format I mean seriously I don't want him even turning on my PC