Do you gamers use anti-virus/ internet security software?

[G9XFTW]

So for a long time, since vista I think. I did not wish to use antivirus for my gaming pc. It caused more problems than actually solving things. But how are things today? equally conflicting with the games, OS, etc.?

[suchamoneypit]

Im tech savvy enough where I well aware of when im taking a risk of getting a virus. I have virus scanners but run them only when I think I've taken a risk. If you are incapable of seeing when a certain website for example is pretty suspicous, or a download, then you should be running a anti-virus.

 

Using my common sense and the above tactic, I think I've gotten viruses on like 2 occasions in the last 2-5 years and every time before I got it I said "hmm well this is possibly a virus" and I did a scan right after I did what I was doing to make sure I hadn't compromised my system.

[Gamerguy207]

I have never had any problems with anti virus software and games but it does sometimes control my pc a Little more then i want it to I buy nortan anti virus I do this because im lazy but before that I would just fresh install once every so often and ran scanners to scan once a week  

[TurbulentWinds]

Yes. Always use protection. Personally I have started moving towards Linux for daily use and you really don't need anything for that but on Windows, well, Windows is Windows. My god, the detection rates for Windows Defender are horrible. My go to is the free AVG coupled with Malwarebytes.

 

Don't use Norton or Kaspersky. They are worse then anything you could get online.

[suchamoneypit]

1 minute ago, Gamerguy207 said:

I have never had any problems with anti virus software and games but it does sometimes control my pc a Little more then i want it to I buy nortan anti virus I do this because im lazy but before that I would just fresh install once every so often and ran scanners to scan once a week  

When me and my friend played games and he had Norton, Norton was constantly, on its own, deleting critical game files breaking the game install because they were suspicous. I couldn't believe It was just deleting files without asking permission. It came pre-installed on his system too.

[Gamerguy207]

Just now, suchamoneypit said:

When me and my friend played games and he had Norton, Norton was constantly, on its own, deleting critical game files breaking the game install because they were suspicous. I couldn't believe It was just deleting files without asking permission. It came pre-installed on his system too.

I guess Im just lucky with Norton there are only a few times it deleted something I wanted which was something for nichhash didn't bother me to much tho 

[Not_Sean]

I got a free Nortan key two years ago and was really impressed with how well it runs and didn't annoy the hell out of me, that said once the key expired I formatted reloaded and been like that since. but I also do wipe and re-install twice a year just to keep my windows running great. I also don't download funky stuff so windows defender has done well for me.

 

For clients, we are ESET partners and I've always been a fan of that! 

[Jasun]

Personally, I'm like @suchamoneypit, the viruses that I usually get are due to human error. I don't run a dedicated antivirus but I do occasionally run a Malwarebytes scan. 

[Princess Luna]

Yes I use ESET Nod32, it is a legit and solid antivirus applications so why not? hardly consumes resources and there is no reason to feel "ashamed" just because a handful of people will act superior saying all they need is "common sense".

 

Use what makes you feel comfortable, that simple... just do pick reliable software like mentioned ESET or Kaspersky otherwise you'll end up with more headaches than protection heheh.

[LogicalDrm]

I've always had some AV installed. Current is paid version of Bitdefender.

[Anghammarad]

I haven't installed any anti virus software since switching to windows 2000 pro.

 

Usually a little common sense was the best security. 

 

Every 3-6 months I downloaded a recent av piece to scan the system and afterwards did throw it down again.

 

With Win 10 I use the build in defender, and Adblock, Ublock, disconnect and common sense. this helps big time

[porina]

I'm also in the AV causes more problems than they prevent, at least for a tech savvy user. Number of actual real, unwanted, virus or other software detections I've had in last 10 years: zero. Number of false positives (mostly PUP reports) or other problems resulting from having AV: lots. The AV industry feeds of FUD, and there is a lot of it going around. I run the free MS one on some systems as it is low enough intrusiveness for me to tolerate. Can't stand any of the so called commercial ones.

[NMS]

Am not a gamer, but nevetheless, I no longer use any AV outside of the Windows Defender.

I just have no point in using one. The websites I visit can be counted on my both hands. Only once every 3 or so years I download a trial version of AVG or something else and run a scan.

Have yet to catch a computer virus=p

[keskparane]

Not for a long time. Like others every time I have randomly installed and run AV in the past 10 years it has not found anything.

 

However I was once young and dumb (I'm no longer young). I used to use filesharing and look for cracked software etc. In the end I actually came to the conclusion that a lot of the positives weren't viruses at all. They were simply illegal software. My theory was once a company found a version of their software out in the wild they would report the crc to the AV vendors who would then add it to their detection list.

[TAHIRMIA]

I just use Windows Defender, the only problem I have with it is when it scans it uses a lot of resources. During normal use it's fine but sometimes it does it while playing games and slows it down.

[G9XFTW]

16 hours ago, keskparane said:

Not for a long time. Like others every time I have randomly installed and run AV in the past 10 years it has not found anything.

 

However I was once young and dumb (I'm no longer young). I used to use filesharing and look for cracked software etc. In the end I actually came to the conclusion that a lot of the positives weren't viruses at all. They were simply illegal software. My theory was once a company found a version of their software out in the wild they would report the crc to the AV vendors who would then add it to their detection list.

I stick to linux for all the complicated stuff. Windows is where I game and work.

[G9XFTW]

After posting this topic I installed malware bytes to just be sure. I ran a test and deleted just PUP. An hr later my PC just froze on firefox. First the first time in a year or two, my PC froze in an unresponsive manner. I had to power off. Since then right now again it crashed on me just a day later. MWB is uninstalled but God help, PC acted funny.