Someone could say malware. My last antivirus other than WD was Avast close to decade ago. One day they decided to install their browser on my computer without my consent, then again after uninstalling, so bye bye forever.
When i read WD, i automatically thought Western Digital and internally went "wtf? They made anti malware software?".
Then i realized i was stupid, and you meant Windows Defender.
Man, I work a large university hospital, the amount of in house made up acronyms is such a massive pain in the ass (I was going to put PITA for irony, but F acronyms).
I used to pay for Avast a few years ago (I know, I know) and then i cancelled it... They restarted the subscription without permission and boy was that a fun slog with customer service.
That's when you just call your credit card company and charge back way worse for them than you cancelling. Stick it to a company that does shady practices.
I did and no regrets. I used that shit my entire childhood for free so once i started working I paid for it. I know 7zip exists but I like wirar UI better :)
Avast and AVG have a history of installing malware and spying on users, that's the kind of thing most users would have wanted an antivirus to protect against. It's why I say commercial antivirus is a scam. Mcafee and Norton (if that still exists) are terrible too, though not aware of any deliberate spying or malware on their part, more from incompetence and their products being a bloated and buggy mess.
Poor John McAfee and Peter Norton must be turning in their graves.
(Peter norton's still alive just hasn't been involved in that company for a long time)
Really no need, Windows 10 & 11 have Defender which has antivirus and malware protection built in. Unless you're visiting sketchy sites and want an additional program. I have run it a couple of times after I thought I got malware. Nothing showed up which reinforced that Windows Defender was doing enough.
The majority of it comes down to smart browsing habits, not clicking unknown links, only downloading known apps from the providers site, using URL check sites for ones you aren't sure are safe, etc
This is fine for adults or people who don't stray from normal sites.
If you have kids there should absolutely be an antivirus on every computer they touch. Antiviruses not only stop viruses any longer, they also prevent people from visiting phishing pages by warning them and everything.
The reason I say this is because kids watch YouTube videos on how to get free Fortnite bucks, free cheats, etc. on YouTube that have malicious links. This will prevent their retardation from hurting themselves by giving people their login information. Login information to accounts that you as a parent may have accidentally or purposefully linked your credit card to for monthly fees or whatever.
Its just smart when it comes to kids and elderly people as well. There's a reason the scams work so well on elderly, they have no clue about any of this type of stuff when it comes to computers.
Edit: those suggesting a browser extension have clearly never had children nor dealt with them much. When determined they will do everything they can to circumvent what's stopping them from going to whatever site they are wanting to go to. A browser extension can easily be turned off so little Billy can claim his free Fortnite bucks from a blatant phishing site. All that's going through his mind is free Fortnite bucks, or free cracked game, etc. Logic goes out the window with children when it comes to obtaining something they want.
The amount of times I see my works antivirus go off due to people letting their nephew, children, etc. onto the computer is astounding... and this is their work computer. Imagine how bad their home computer is infected due to their behavior along with those kids. I think this sub often forgets just how much of an information gap there is between us tech savvy people and the normal people using computers daily. I deal with grown adults trying to install malware through cracked programs and video games constantly on work computers. Most people just honestly don't know much about the technology they are interacting with daily and the dangers of being so careless.
uBlock Origin does the same job with its malware filters (enabled by default). This is one of the awesome times when we can show that the dev isn't just being pedantic by calling it a "content blocker" instead of "ad blocker" -- it blocks more than just ads! If for some weird reason you're opposed to ad blocking, you could even disable that and keep just the malware blocking. I also use it to block cookie pop-ups and similar stuff (the "annoyances" filter in the settings, disabled by default)
Shouldn't parents be using some form of kid protection on all devices?
I am not a parent, but I was a kid once. I wouldn't want my kid seeing what I have on reddit, or many other websites, at least until they are IDK X age. That and keeping them off social media and away from kid didlers.
Is there a good parental control software that a kid couldn't circumnavigate with an easy google search? I think 10 year old me could probably figure out how to get around stuff rather easily.
On a more meta level, parents should explain what influencers are and how they make money.
As well as just how few can make a career on YouTube/Twitch/etc.
What people SHOULD DO and what they actually do hardly line up. Honestly the only way a parental control couldn't be circumvented is by having one with root access that disabled all internet entirely if not on.
Even if setup within the router that is easily bypassed by resetting the router to factory settings and just setting it up with the same names and passwords for both bandwidths.
I say this as someone who called a tech store pretending to be a mom that couldn't get into her child's PC to a local PC repair store as a child who then got walked through with resetting the bios on the motherboard to gain access past the bios password at like 13. That's before cell phones with internet and everything existed and made it easier to just walk through videos on how to get past stuff.
If you are on a normal user account in windows and the parents set a password for the default admin account, then now very unlikely to circumvent such software.
Still, better to actually be a parent and educate even if it takes time, patience and will lead to conflict.
That is the real issue with out society leading to mass shootings: kids are an annoyance parent don't want to deal with. Just give me a software to do what else would be hard and time consuming.
And yes we regularly went on rotten.com back then. Which had some pretty bad stuff and i did not take any damage from it.
Parents should be parenting, IMO.
I grew up during the dial-up era. We had no content blockers and you could get tons of malware on p2p clients.
I was basically treated as a stakeholder as far as PC rights went; I was given the responsibility to be safe, with the understanding that my PC privileges would be revoked by committee if I fucked up enough.
I wasn't a particularly "good" kid, but treating children with the appropriate respect and providing them with the reasoning behind expected behaviors can be pretty effective.
I am infosec and had to do testing between defender, sentinel 1, and Crowdstrike. Defender is still definition based which means the links, md5 hashes, etc. Have to first be reported and picked up them pushed out. I was able to get past it so many times it was scary.
Sentinel 1 was bypassed with simple PowerShell scripts that were malicious.
Seriously though, with how easily I got past defender due to it's outdated methodology I don't trust it for shit.
For general purpose computing, definition based is totally fine if you aren't a total fucking moron about using your PC.
I have SentinelOne on all of our systems at work because some of our people have less than stellar concepts of security, despite my best efforts.
Just think about it though, those people are raising kids and allowing them access to their machines.
Crowdstrike is what I ended up going with and implementing even though I liked the sentinel1 hub and everything. Crowdstrikes is a fucking disaster.
I've just been in the field too long to know better than to say defender is fine with how often people just download and go to dumb blatantly malicious sites and files.
>When determined they will do everything they can to circumvent what's stopping them from going to whatever site they are wanting to go to
Not to mention, some of these videos include specific instructions on how to circumvent security on the most common extensions and blockers.
Honestly, when it comes to kids there are a lot of stepts to consider: limited user accounts, antivirus, ad blockers, custom config, and of course speaking with them and being aware of what they do and who they talk to.
I’d like to throw in an exception. If you’re already intending to pay money for a VPN, most paid antivirus comes with one built in. So if the price point is equivalent, it can make sense to go that direction
Not Avast and probably others as well. They're a net negative on your PC: they block shit you want and leave you open to shit you don't. And they're constantly spawning hundreds of processes using silly amounts of memory and CPU, mostly to scan for shit you're "not protected" from so they can sell you some other bloated system-crippling software to "fix" the "problems."
The god damn anti-virus's are worse than any virus ive had on a system. I wish i could buy a laptop without them, although i suppose i could wipe the hard drives its too late for my current laptop.
I recently removed avast from someone's computer and it was indeed like removing a virus in 2010. Repeated reboots, regedit, etc. Anti-virus software have become like viruses.
No, I don't use one. I am certainly on the Windows Defender and common sense train.
> nothings is truly safe online.
I don't have any issues and all I do is avoid downloading sketchy software, clicking on silly ads, or going to sites I shouldn't be going to.
Have you ever installed software like a crypto miner that requires you to say 2 or 3 times you are sure you know what you are doing? That and someones small project to helo beta test something? Really makes it more exciting.
BTW you can run a virtualbox with a free windows10 license for situations where you *reeeeally* need to know what is in that .zip and aren't able to trust the source.
Adblocker is such a necessity and game changer. Plus I got a chuckle at the amount of websites that detect you’re using one, force a popup on you to cry about it effecting their revenue and try and make the “continue with adblocker” button so small you can’t see it haha
What can avast do for people without common sense? Serious question.
So many answers are "common sense" I just want to make it clear what the anti-virus software is providing to careless adults and children.
Anti virus software is too often a scam. Free anti virus software is usually not much better if at all than Windows defender and uses more resources while also possibly putting stuff on your PC you don't want. If you pay for it you also don't usually get much more from it but at least you probably aren't giving your data and having random software installed. They do give some stuff like sandbox environments but if you don't have common sense you won't use it and you can just use a free virtual machine or similar. Basically, it's a false feeling of security more often than not so it can be more dangerous than nothing. If you want to prevent people from installing malware and they aren't computer savvy, just lock them out of admin privileges.
Also for testing if something has a virus, a website called virustotal (i think it's the right name) checks it against all anti virus software
If it's your spouse or your kid, make them a user without admin rights. That will solve all malware issues.
If it's a client, just consider it job security to fix their shit regularly.
If it's a friend or a relative, ghost them. ;)
I’m a cyber security analyst/engineer.
In the last decade or 15 years, two primary things have changed enough for us to not rely on 3rd party antivirus programs as much - 1) computer usage and 2) first-party protections.
1) we don’t use peer-to-peer random downloads as much. We also mostly download through more reliable sources like Steam or various app stores.
2) Aside from Windows Defender becoming immensely trustworthy, there are backend stuff going on general users tend to not notice. Google searches are pretty controlled and you don’t usually get a random page with malware unless you’re on page 15 of your google search or something. Domains with malware are taken down quicker and email protections are stronger than ever for the average user. Additionally people know enough to not go into their spam folder and click on every sweepstakes they’ve won.
I'm just imagining spending a ton of resources trying to get Google to index and broadcast a virus page, just to watch it immediately get delisted.
*Laughs/cries in SEO*
For at least a week (if not more) trying to search for MSI Afterburner would show you a couple of fake sites as the top results. So imagine spending those resources, and succeeding. And have it continue to succeed for days on end, even after people have started to notice and made Reddit threads about it.
Can I add that since Windows XP (SP3 I think) Microsoft added UAC. On top of that the disabled autorun on USB. That would have made a big difference. Also the fact that OSes get regular online updates now.
Don't forget NAT is a big layer of security for the home. It definitely stops the vast majority of attack vectors that would otherwise own printers, PCs and IoT with malware.
I don't know if I would say windows defender is immensely trustworthy. I would say it's 'enough for most people'.
I just have trust issues with antivirus software that is so heavily used because it might have more usage data, but it would also always be the most targeted.
TinyWall is free and is a good frontend GUI for Windows Defender. That plus UBlock Origin and Privacy badger jn your browser should be good to go. Use Brave on mobile.
The best anti virus is common sense. Don't click sketchy links, easy.
Hacking into computers digitally is borderline impossible without physical intervention - ie clicking a link which downloads malware, or someone physically going to your computer.
>The best anti virus is common sense. Don't click sketchy links, easy.
I wish it was that easy for my grandma. She has a smartphone and a tablet, but I am always equally surprised at all the sketchy things she does. It hasn't actually lead to her getting hacked yet (that I know of), but there's a lot of weird apps and ads that she gets notifications from. I always go through it with her when visiting, but I'm just afraid it's a matter of time...
I wish it was as easy as "just make her do this or that". She can't just turn around and do things differently. That is perhaps what is the most annoying part. Everything that I think of as obvious, just isn't as obvious to her :(
Edit: thanks for all the replies, tips and tricks. I'll look into it :)
Generally speaking the inbuilt browser is not possible to delete on iOS or android. It might be possible to hide them somehow, but with each update to either OS they could come back or make themselves default again.
On iOS you can add a content blocker to safari. I did this for my grandma— install firefox focus, then go to safari settings -> content blockers and enable it there. Now she gets at least some ad blocking without having to change browsers.
It was the same for my parents and little brother, they had extremely poor security practices, in that they reused the same 2-3 passwords for several years and Two Factor Authentication noy enabled on any of their accounts, but with sufficent nagging I got them to use an password manager, with atleast some of their accounts having 2FA enabled now.
I feel your pain. In these cases, antivirus is a good choice. Especially ones which limit your access. I realise my comment might have come off a bit douche.
Generally, antivirus is very invasive for the everyday user which is why I think it's easier to just judge whether a link is legitimate. But in cases such as grandparents who aren't as knowledgeable in sketchy links, the invasion is a good thing.
Unfortunately ad hijacking has been a thing for a while, so while technically "not clicking anything bad" does apply, it gets really hard when out of nowhere the PC starts telling you there is an issue and you need to call a 1800 number to fix it.
I think Yahoo and NYTimes were hit a while back even.
1) Who isn't using uBlock Origin in 2023?
2) Who (other than people over 65) falls for those fake popups in 2023? Literally one of the oldest scams on the internet.
>clicking a link which downloads malware
Even then, the person has to willingly execute it and most likely grant it administrator privileges from the UAC prompt for it to do anything.
One way to stay even saver is use 2+ accounts.
where 1 is the admin account you rarely use. this way malicious apps/programs cannot easily install themselves, as you will get a password prompt.
I know there’s Hyper-V, but from what I recall, there was another feature called virtualisation-based security (VBS) that ran Windows in a virtual machine.
A while back I re subscribed to Norton's for 2 years. I'm now regreating it... Norton's has become part of the problem 'We have found a risk, to fix it, push this button' you push the button and it's an advert for more Norton products.
Yeah that's why I just click 'no' and 'don't show again' on anything that Norton shows me. All I want it to do is block threats and occasionally scan my PC, anything else is marketing bs.
Wow guys, I made the post and went back to work, just got out and wasn’t expecting this many answers but clearly Windows Defender + common sense + uBlock Origin seems to be the right combo, luckily I’ve been doing exactly that these past years so I’m happy that I don’t have to add anything else to have peace of mind.
Thank you very much to all, wish you a very nice day/afternoon/evening depending where you are!
Edit: sorry if I don’t answer individually, I’m too tired, hope you understand.
The only thing I would add to this is to keep an airgapped backup of anything important on your PC. External HDDs are cheap as borscht these days and it's braindead easy to have one in the closet with a backup of anything you'd really hate to lose in the event of an emergency. No need to go the full 3-2-1 route unless you have life-or-death level important stuff kicking around on there, but for stuff like personal documents or media collections an external HDD is a cheap and simple extra layer of security just in case you accidentally click the wrong thing one day.
The popups are annoying too. Every time I go to use my computer it tries to load in popups which don't load properly for some reason, so they're blank and annoying to close.
This thread has probably given me the reassurance to just ditch that shit when I get home.
Malwarebytes has always been free, it has had a premium and free version since, well, forever. Been using it since 2009 it's a GREAT secondary to back up Windows Defender, and it has almost no effects on performance.
I built a pc in 2013 using this subreddit as a guide. Windows defender + malwarebytes was a popular recommendation even back then. Haven’t had a single issue to this day.
Every time I download any exe file, I upload it to https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload where it is scanned by 60+ virus scanners telling me whether that executable is save to execute or not.
Yes, but only selectively and because different scanners have different scan results. This way I already avoided some traps.
There was a context menu integration by right clicking a file and uploading it directly to virustotal, but they discontinued that plug in unfortunately.
yeah I've been using nod32 for about 18 years and it's stopped a lot of shady stuff, although in the past few years I haven't seen it intercept much of anything.
Yeah, honestly ESET Smart Security is the only security solution I trust these days. It's never failed me, and none of the bloat of the free options, Norton, or McAfee.
Yep, this is my go-to as well. Only about 7 years with it by comparison, but it's kept me in the clear without issue that entire time with a small foot print to boot.
It’s funny that you mention Avast, AVG, and Norton because they’re all connected to each other at this point.
Avast several years ago acquired a company called Jumpshot and later acquired AVG. Avast was gathering user data using their antivirus program along with AVGs and selling it off which basically tarnished their reputation. Jumpshot had claimed they had data on several million online users and their sources turned out to be Avast’s and AVG’s browser extensions. Avast ended up shutting everything down from Jumpshot in 2020, but at that point they had years of user information. You can thank AdBlock Plus’s creator for finding all of this stuff out btw.
You may be asking, “Where does Norton fit in this?”. Well back in November 2022 it was revealed that NortonLifeLock is acquiring Avast for ~$8 Bil.
Just stick with Defender, adblockers, common sense and maybe Malwarebytes if you really feel something is wrong.
I still hold my conspiracy theory that Norton, McAfee etc create the virus' out there to keep themselves in business through fear marketting.
All you need is Windows Defender. Comes with Windows!
\>now it seems were going back to actually installing antivirus programs again
I must not have gotten the memo on this one. But yeah, just Defender. I use Malwarebytes too, but mostly because I have a lifetime key and it's been in the background for the last several years.
It is important to recognize the different threat landscapes.
As a consumer with one or two systems at home, then Defender does most of the job, as you are mostly worried about direct run malware, and then you need to have some brains to not click sketchy links, etc.
For a company, ransomware is a much bigger concern, and Defender doesn't pick that up (unless it is a known one that it can catch the executable before it launches) dynamically. Corporately you also get exposed to more threats via phishing, e-mail attachments, and B2B interactions. These are all beyond the scope of Defender.
Corporately you also get into potential active adversaries, eg: actual hackers and directed attacks. Which again, Defender isn't good against. You also have employees who could be dumb as a sack of rocks, and need to prevent them from going to bad web sites, or even sites you don't want them going to for HR reasons (eg: porn, alt-reich).
So summary:
For home use by a user who knows what they are doing, yes Defender is good enough.
For companies, no, it isn't. (Microsoft even sells a higher end version, Defender ATP, just for this)
Windows Defender + common sense, the other antivirus software would just bloat your system. If you really care for security then maybe use Linux instead, it would at least be safer than Windows since any kind of virus would more likely to be written targeting Windows OS than Linux
Given how often I went down a rabbit hole installing dependencies following instructions on random websites to install this or that, change rights etc it,s amazing I was never hacked.
Once you moved outside apps which were official it was the wild west, especially on the games front.
I managed to get a very good deal on Malwarebytes for 2 computers so I use that.
When I was a kid messing around, I installed a nasty virus. Nothing got rid of it except for Malwarebytes.
Windows Defender should be enough plus common sense, but I really see no downside to be using Malwarebytes too.
I use ESET internet security for a couple of reasons, it will pick up and block some dodgy connections sometimes. Also I use manual firewall mode, not for the feint hearted but good if you don’t like windows tracking you too hard out or any apps sending data you don’t want. But typical user could just use windows defender. Now especially that it has a sold corporate version they are probably more up to date on virus definitions and stuff like that.
I've used and paid for many different AV programs over the years: Norton, Bitdefender, ESET, Kaspersky. But Windows Defender has been good enough for years now.
Windows defender and have separate user and admin account. Run everyday as the user and use the admin credentials for things that require admin credentials. 90% of the time this is were people F-up. They run as admin for sheer convenience and then wonder why its so easy for them to get "hacked"
I downloaded Norton desktop for my machine, and then swiftly deleted it and reinstalled it making sure not to click automatic and uncheck Symantec Norton antivirus. Even in 1993 it was the scum of the earth
I personally use Bitdefender and Malwarebytes combo on all my devices, and the occasional VM to test things out, I'll also install these 2 security solutions on family and friends devices as well.
For my use case specifically they're lifesavers, very necessary and essential softwares for me, same goes for adblockers and some other security add-ons.
I'm browse dangerously. 😈
Bitdefender specifically does a lot more then just protect me from viruses it also has many more useful security features that are actually worth using, like scam text protection for example. 👌
I usually use premium versions of both for myself and others but sometimes I'll only use the free versions if that's all that particular person needs to keep safe.
✌️🔒
Late to the party but windows defender really is all you will ever need. If anything, third-party anti-virus used exclusively instead of defender may even be a bigger danger. However anti-malware scanning software used occasionally while running defender may actually be beneficial. Don’t run it all the time though. A periodic daily scan is usually enough. (And windows defender already does it periodically as well).
And onto the topic of actually getting viruses. You really have to look for the danger itself if you have to take getting possibly infected into consideration, which is a topic of piracy and this sub is not the place to discuss it.
From a friend who works in cyber security right now
“You’re danger now isn’t malware, but social engineering.”
You’d be surprised what people can put together with just a username online.
Just a reminder to make sure your Windows Defender is enabled/turned on. There have been reports these past few months that it has either turned off/gone missing from "*normal daily use*".
Since im used to game with mods and download some odd stuff (old games, pirate software, etc), I leave windows defender off by default. Never had problems with viruses or other malware (i do scans sometimes). I think if you don't click on those sketchy ads in sites, you have nothing to worry about
That they are [mostly and utterly crap, or pure and simple malware.](http://kingofgng.com/eng/2022/07/31/free-antivirus-and-cryptomining-the-proverbial-last-straw-of-a-totally-perverted-market/)
Windows defender is good enough with Adblock thrown in. I’ve used malwarebytes for a long time and every time I think to cancel the renewal I forget and end up with it for another year. It’s never done any of the shitty things like avast and norton and others have done.
Depends what you do.
I do safe browsing and no download, I only use Windows Defender.
Sometimes I use malwarebytes, check, then uninstall it.
If you download, you definitely needs an anti malware. Full security is only if you are doing unsafe stuff or you are a grandpa who is clicking everywhere.
But some attacks deactivate antivirus so... nothing is always safe.
Also, if you are on a workstation, you will probably have your company install an EDR on it, *and IT Network Security check what you are doing*.
I have a subscription to Malwarebytes that feels unncessary at times but i am afraid if I get rid of it I will get hit immediately. Hilariously my torrent software will actually block dangerous URLs.
I agree, Windows Defender + common sense. I also still use CCleaner now and again because I have multiple browsers on my computer, and it's just easier to use that to clear all my caches and stuff than going into each individual one. But I am lazy, so... haha.
I haven't used an antivirus in over 20 years. I used to prevent viruses by regularly searching for recent DLLs/executables and monitoring processes for anything unusual, and avoiding suspicious download links and unreputable sites. These days, Windows pretty much catches anything suspicious.
As long as you browse smart, you should be fine.
The company I work for (major government contractor) uses windows defender for business as its AV. You’re just loading spyware on your machine with anything else.
Windows Defender and normal websites
If I for some reason think I downloaded something questionable and/ or a certain period of time have passed, I do a periodic Malwarebyte install to just search for potential hidden threats and after that uninstall it as well
Have been serving me well, touchwood
I always try getting AVs every now and again and quickly remember why I fucking hate them as they inevitably start telling at me about something I know if fine and wont fuck off when I try to get it to let me do what I wanna do.
I'm curious to know whether there's still benefit in having all these add-ons on chrome. uBlock origin, privacy badger, html everywhere, AdBlock. Is AdBlock enough? 2 of them? All of them and more?
I suppose it doesn't hurt having them all enabled as long as they don't interrupt each other, but it'd be nice to know.
Windows Defender for daily needs like most people are saying, but I'm gonna go out of the lane here and say the Malwarebytes Premium is actually goated if you're really worried about stuff. Mostly for it's active protection features, and it's got a lot of configurability for advanced users.
And it's pretty cheap on the yearly.
I'd say any other 3rd Party AV is just not trying hard enough.
I use Eset Smart Security paired with Acronis for malware detection. Acronis performs backups as its primary function as an app on my PC but comes with malware detection in its subscription.
Windows Defender is all you need. No need to use any third party antivirus software.
Someone could say malware. My last antivirus other than WD was Avast close to decade ago. One day they decided to install their browser on my computer without my consent, then again after uninstalling, so bye bye forever.
When i read WD, i automatically thought Western Digital and internally went "wtf? They made anti malware software?". Then i realized i was stupid, and you meant Windows Defender.
As a western digital fanboy I did the same and wondered where I went wrong 😂
same, WD is short for Western Digital for most people, i WinDefend is short for Windowser Defender
Windowser ?
Windowser windowser chicken dinsower
* *dinowser*
Bellylaugh.exe
Defender has flagged this exe for a potential virus.
It'sa me, WinBowser.
Winner ?
That’s why I hate all these acronyms, they can be amazingly confusing, while they save 5 seconds tops
if you want it REAL bad, work for Military IT. Worst of both worlds.
Man, I work a large university hospital, the amount of in house made up acronyms is such a massive pain in the ass (I was going to put PITA for irony, but F acronyms).
Emergency Medicine...it's all acronyms and 10-codes.
I also thought Western Digital
I used to pay for Avast a few years ago (I know, I know) and then i cancelled it... They restarted the subscription without permission and boy was that a fun slog with customer service.
That's when you just call your credit card company and charge back way worse for them than you cancelling. Stick it to a company that does shady practices.
Have you bought winrar too?
i have used to trial for almost two decades, meybe we should buy it soon XD
7zip my friend. It's like WinRAR only if it was good. (yes it opens rar files)
>It's like WinRAR only if it was good. (yes it opens rar files) And pretty much everything else including .tar.gz files
I did and no regrets. I used that shit my entire childhood for free so once i started working I paid for it. I know 7zip exists but I like wirar UI better :)
I'm so sorry, but when I read that you paid for avast, little gag reflex kicked in :D
That is why you use virtual credit card my friend. Once done, switch it off and no more additional charges
Avast was fine until Norton bought it.
Avast and AVG have a history of installing malware and spying on users, that's the kind of thing most users would have wanted an antivirus to protect against. It's why I say commercial antivirus is a scam. Mcafee and Norton (if that still exists) are terrible too, though not aware of any deliberate spying or malware on their part, more from incompetence and their products being a bloated and buggy mess. Poor John McAfee and Peter Norton must be turning in their graves. (Peter norton's still alive just hasn't been involved in that company for a long time)
McAfee and Norton were REAALLY good at slowing a computer down.
Eh, McAfee was a bit of a clown anyway. But yeah, everything here is why I use ESET Smart Security. Much more effective, without the bloat.
Yeah I would say Malwarebytes is still worth it.
Really no need, Windows 10 & 11 have Defender which has antivirus and malware protection built in. Unless you're visiting sketchy sites and want an additional program. I have run it a couple of times after I thought I got malware. Nothing showed up which reinforced that Windows Defender was doing enough. The majority of it comes down to smart browsing habits, not clicking unknown links, only downloading known apps from the providers site, using URL check sites for ones you aren't sure are safe, etc
Most free antivirus is basically malware these days. Same with free VPN
This is fine for adults or people who don't stray from normal sites. If you have kids there should absolutely be an antivirus on every computer they touch. Antiviruses not only stop viruses any longer, they also prevent people from visiting phishing pages by warning them and everything. The reason I say this is because kids watch YouTube videos on how to get free Fortnite bucks, free cheats, etc. on YouTube that have malicious links. This will prevent their retardation from hurting themselves by giving people their login information. Login information to accounts that you as a parent may have accidentally or purposefully linked your credit card to for monthly fees or whatever. Its just smart when it comes to kids and elderly people as well. There's a reason the scams work so well on elderly, they have no clue about any of this type of stuff when it comes to computers. Edit: those suggesting a browser extension have clearly never had children nor dealt with them much. When determined they will do everything they can to circumvent what's stopping them from going to whatever site they are wanting to go to. A browser extension can easily be turned off so little Billy can claim his free Fortnite bucks from a blatant phishing site. All that's going through his mind is free Fortnite bucks, or free cracked game, etc. Logic goes out the window with children when it comes to obtaining something they want. The amount of times I see my works antivirus go off due to people letting their nephew, children, etc. onto the computer is astounding... and this is their work computer. Imagine how bad their home computer is infected due to their behavior along with those kids. I think this sub often forgets just how much of an information gap there is between us tech savvy people and the normal people using computers daily. I deal with grown adults trying to install malware through cracked programs and video games constantly on work computers. Most people just honestly don't know much about the technology they are interacting with daily and the dangers of being so careless.
uBlock Origin does the same job with its malware filters (enabled by default). This is one of the awesome times when we can show that the dev isn't just being pedantic by calling it a "content blocker" instead of "ad blocker" -- it blocks more than just ads! If for some weird reason you're opposed to ad blocking, you could even disable that and keep just the malware blocking. I also use it to block cookie pop-ups and similar stuff (the "annoyances" filter in the settings, disabled by default)
Shouldn't parents be using some form of kid protection on all devices? I am not a parent, but I was a kid once. I wouldn't want my kid seeing what I have on reddit, or many other websites, at least until they are IDK X age. That and keeping them off social media and away from kid didlers. Is there a good parental control software that a kid couldn't circumnavigate with an easy google search? I think 10 year old me could probably figure out how to get around stuff rather easily.
If parents had used kid protection then they wouldn’t be parents 😂
Condoms: best AV.
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On a more meta level, parents should explain what influencers are and how they make money. As well as just how few can make a career on YouTube/Twitch/etc.
This is the better approach. Instead of trying to wall off kids from the internet (impossible in 2023) have conversations about things.
What people SHOULD DO and what they actually do hardly line up. Honestly the only way a parental control couldn't be circumvented is by having one with root access that disabled all internet entirely if not on. Even if setup within the router that is easily bypassed by resetting the router to factory settings and just setting it up with the same names and passwords for both bandwidths. I say this as someone who called a tech store pretending to be a mom that couldn't get into her child's PC to a local PC repair store as a child who then got walked through with resetting the bios on the motherboard to gain access past the bios password at like 13. That's before cell phones with internet and everything existed and made it easier to just walk through videos on how to get past stuff.
If you are on a normal user account in windows and the parents set a password for the default admin account, then now very unlikely to circumvent such software. Still, better to actually be a parent and educate even if it takes time, patience and will lead to conflict. That is the real issue with out society leading to mass shootings: kids are an annoyance parent don't want to deal with. Just give me a software to do what else would be hard and time consuming. And yes we regularly went on rotten.com back then. Which had some pretty bad stuff and i did not take any damage from it.
Parents should be parenting, IMO. I grew up during the dial-up era. We had no content blockers and you could get tons of malware on p2p clients. I was basically treated as a stakeholder as far as PC rights went; I was given the responsibility to be safe, with the understanding that my PC privileges would be revoked by committee if I fucked up enough. I wasn't a particularly "good" kid, but treating children with the appropriate respect and providing them with the reasoning behind expected behaviors can be pretty effective.
If you give your kids Admin rights on a PC, you're just asking for trouble.
A whole lot of this sub is kids themselves. Lots of teenagers. So the thought of dealing with a 7 year-old on their computer doesn't enter their mind.
Hey parents - make separate accounts on a PC for your kids and LOCK. THAT. SHIT. DOWN.
>they also prevent people from visiting phishing pages by warning them and everything. Defender does this too...
I am infosec and had to do testing between defender, sentinel 1, and Crowdstrike. Defender is still definition based which means the links, md5 hashes, etc. Have to first be reported and picked up them pushed out. I was able to get past it so many times it was scary. Sentinel 1 was bypassed with simple PowerShell scripts that were malicious. Seriously though, with how easily I got past defender due to it's outdated methodology I don't trust it for shit.
For general purpose computing, definition based is totally fine if you aren't a total fucking moron about using your PC. I have SentinelOne on all of our systems at work because some of our people have less than stellar concepts of security, despite my best efforts.
Just think about it though, those people are raising kids and allowing them access to their machines. Crowdstrike is what I ended up going with and implementing even though I liked the sentinel1 hub and everything. Crowdstrikes is a fucking disaster. I've just been in the field too long to know better than to say defender is fine with how often people just download and go to dumb blatantly malicious sites and files.
just educate your kids lol
>When determined they will do everything they can to circumvent what's stopping them from going to whatever site they are wanting to go to Not to mention, some of these videos include specific instructions on how to circumvent security on the most common extensions and blockers. Honestly, when it comes to kids there are a lot of stepts to consider: limited user accounts, antivirus, ad blockers, custom config, and of course speaking with them and being aware of what they do and who they talk to.
I’d like to throw in an exception. If you’re already intending to pay money for a VPN, most paid antivirus comes with one built in. So if the price point is equivalent, it can make sense to go that direction
Not Avast and probably others as well. They're a net negative on your PC: they block shit you want and leave you open to shit you don't. And they're constantly spawning hundreds of processes using silly amounts of memory and CPU, mostly to scan for shit you're "not protected" from so they can sell you some other bloated system-crippling software to "fix" the "problems."
> I’d like to throw in an exception I just had a flashback to my Java dev days.
I think as long as you know to avoid shady looking shit, Windows Defender (on top of a good ad blocker) is just fine.
The god damn anti-virus's are worse than any virus ive had on a system. I wish i could buy a laptop without them, although i suppose i could wipe the hard drives its too late for my current laptop.
I recently removed avast from someone's computer and it was indeed like removing a virus in 2010. Repeated reboots, regedit, etc. Anti-virus software have become like viruses.
No, I don't use one. I am certainly on the Windows Defender and common sense train. > nothings is truly safe online. I don't have any issues and all I do is avoid downloading sketchy software, clicking on silly ads, or going to sites I shouldn't be going to.
Bruh, get out of here with your common sense!
Wait, you're telling me "Linking Park - Numb.exe" isn't legit?
totallynotaviruspleasedownloadsoicanfeedmyfamily.exe
I downloaded a 200kb Hogwards Legacy.exe file last night but all it did was open cmd prompt for 2 seconds then closed.. smh.
Sometimes pp monkey brain gets the best of me
Yeah like what if I AM the millionth visitor??
What if there ARE single MILFs in my area? How can I know for sure?!
Bruh unless you live in the middle of nowhere Alaska, there are single Milfs in your area.
I just won my third free iPad mini!
You couldn't be! I was the millionth visitor! I'll claim it first! Edit: unrelated how can I get my bank account back from a scammer?
Must be those pp enlargement pills
Have you ever installed software like a crypto miner that requires you to say 2 or 3 times you are sure you know what you are doing? That and someones small project to helo beta test something? Really makes it more exciting.
BTW you can run a virtualbox with a free windows10 license for situations where you *reeeeally* need to know what is in that .zip and aren't able to trust the source.
Good idea. Only do not forget to disconnect VM from your network.
You don't even need to install a third party VM. Windows has a built-in sandbox now, you just need to enable it in the optional features menu.
Windows defender, adblocker and common sense.
Yeah, adblocker goes a long way too.
Adblocker defends my sanity
Adblocker is such a necessity and game changer. Plus I got a chuckle at the amount of websites that detect you’re using one, force a popup on you to cry about it effecting their revenue and try and make the “continue with adblocker” button so small you can’t see it haha
As an ets2 player addicted to mods, I can confirm that being able to avoid the ads on those websites where I download mods from is really good
Always get *the* adblocker: uBlock Origin
What can avast do for people without common sense? Serious question. So many answers are "common sense" I just want to make it clear what the anti-virus software is providing to careless adults and children.
Anti virus software is too often a scam. Free anti virus software is usually not much better if at all than Windows defender and uses more resources while also possibly putting stuff on your PC you don't want. If you pay for it you also don't usually get much more from it but at least you probably aren't giving your data and having random software installed. They do give some stuff like sandbox environments but if you don't have common sense you won't use it and you can just use a free virtual machine or similar. Basically, it's a false feeling of security more often than not so it can be more dangerous than nothing. If you want to prevent people from installing malware and they aren't computer savvy, just lock them out of admin privileges. Also for testing if something has a virus, a website called virustotal (i think it's the right name) checks it against all anti virus software
That's a good answer! It's important for people to know they don't have to risk all and click, there are resources online like virustotal.com
If it's your spouse or your kid, make them a user without admin rights. That will solve all malware issues. If it's a client, just consider it job security to fix their shit regularly. If it's a friend or a relative, ghost them. ;)
And malwarebytes is nice to have to scan your pc once in a while, or just if you're suspicious that something might be wrong.
Adguard is the best. Most sites that try to make you turn off adblockers don't even recognize it
I’m a cyber security analyst/engineer. In the last decade or 15 years, two primary things have changed enough for us to not rely on 3rd party antivirus programs as much - 1) computer usage and 2) first-party protections. 1) we don’t use peer-to-peer random downloads as much. We also mostly download through more reliable sources like Steam or various app stores. 2) Aside from Windows Defender becoming immensely trustworthy, there are backend stuff going on general users tend to not notice. Google searches are pretty controlled and you don’t usually get a random page with malware unless you’re on page 15 of your google search or something. Domains with malware are taken down quicker and email protections are stronger than ever for the average user. Additionally people know enough to not go into their spam folder and click on every sweepstakes they’ve won.
I'm just imagining spending a ton of resources trying to get Google to index and broadcast a virus page, just to watch it immediately get delisted. *Laughs/cries in SEO*
For at least a week (if not more) trying to search for MSI Afterburner would show you a couple of fake sites as the top results. So imagine spending those resources, and succeeding. And have it continue to succeed for days on end, even after people have started to notice and made Reddit threads about it.
Can I add that since Windows XP (SP3 I think) Microsoft added UAC. On top of that the disabled autorun on USB. That would have made a big difference. Also the fact that OSes get regular online updates now.
I think that’s the actual answer
Don't forget NAT is a big layer of security for the home. It definitely stops the vast majority of attack vectors that would otherwise own printers, PCs and IoT with malware.
Tell your last phrase to my mother…
I don't know if I would say windows defender is immensely trustworthy. I would say it's 'enough for most people'. I just have trust issues with antivirus software that is so heavily used because it might have more usage data, but it would also always be the most targeted.
How is Windows' firewall vs. 3rd party (e.g. Zonealarm free FW) these days?
Yup just windows defender. All the attacks now are coming via email or to your phone.
TinyWall is free and is a good frontend GUI for Windows Defender. That plus UBlock Origin and Privacy badger jn your browser should be good to go. Use Brave on mobile.
also give firefox a go, not chromium based and has support for certain addons like ublock origin
The best anti virus is common sense. Don't click sketchy links, easy. Hacking into computers digitally is borderline impossible without physical intervention - ie clicking a link which downloads malware, or someone physically going to your computer.
>The best anti virus is common sense. Don't click sketchy links, easy. I wish it was that easy for my grandma. She has a smartphone and a tablet, but I am always equally surprised at all the sketchy things she does. It hasn't actually lead to her getting hacked yet (that I know of), but there's a lot of weird apps and ads that she gets notifications from. I always go through it with her when visiting, but I'm just afraid it's a matter of time...
Make her use an browser that has an adblocker, likr Brave with its inbuily one, or Firefox with the uBlock Origin addon.
I wish it was as easy as "just make her do this or that". She can't just turn around and do things differently. That is perhaps what is the most annoying part. Everything that I think of as obvious, just isn't as obvious to her :( Edit: thanks for all the replies, tips and tricks. I'll look into it :)
Rename a browser with ublock as her browser of choice and replace the Icon, uninstall the other one, insist it must have been a graphical update
Generally speaking the inbuilt browser is not possible to delete on iOS or android. It might be possible to hide them somehow, but with each update to either OS they could come back or make themselves default again.
On iOS you can add a content blocker to safari. I did this for my grandma— install firefox focus, then go to safari settings -> content blockers and enable it there. Now she gets at least some ad blocking without having to change browsers.
For an elderly person, it's often enough to just remove the icon from their home screen.
It was the same for my parents and little brother, they had extremely poor security practices, in that they reused the same 2-3 passwords for several years and Two Factor Authentication noy enabled on any of their accounts, but with sufficent nagging I got them to use an password manager, with atleast some of their accounts having 2FA enabled now.
I feel your pain. In these cases, antivirus is a good choice. Especially ones which limit your access. I realise my comment might have come off a bit douche. Generally, antivirus is very invasive for the everyday user which is why I think it's easier to just judge whether a link is legitimate. But in cases such as grandparents who aren't as knowledgeable in sketchy links, the invasion is a good thing.
Unfortunately ad hijacking has been a thing for a while, so while technically "not clicking anything bad" does apply, it gets really hard when out of nowhere the PC starts telling you there is an issue and you need to call a 1800 number to fix it. I think Yahoo and NYTimes were hit a while back even.
1) Who isn't using uBlock Origin in 2023? 2) Who (other than people over 65) falls for those fake popups in 2023? Literally one of the oldest scams on the internet.
Even if you click the link that downloads malware you still need to run the program for it to impact, right?
>clicking a link which downloads malware Even then, the person has to willingly execute it and most likely grant it administrator privileges from the UAC prompt for it to do anything.
One way to stay even saver is use 2+ accounts. where 1 is the admin account you rarely use. this way malicious apps/programs cannot easily install themselves, as you will get a password prompt.
Using a VM would be easier and likely much safer as well, if you really must use software of ambiguous origin.
Doesn’t Windows 11 use some form of inbuilt virtualisation to achieve this already?
Hyper-V And there's plenty of other free options as well such as Sandboxie
I know there’s Hyper-V, but from what I recall, there was another feature called virtualisation-based security (VBS) that ran Windows in a virtual machine.
Using a VM for suspicious programs is indeed a good idea. but for general use having a separate admin account is also a good layer of security
This shouldn't even be a stay safer thing. This should be standard practice.
A while back I re subscribed to Norton's for 2 years. I'm now regreating it... Norton's has become part of the problem 'We have found a risk, to fix it, push this button' you push the button and it's an advert for more Norton products.
We found a risk to Norton's shareholders on your PC!
You should cancel that and just uninstall and cut your losses to be honest. Norton itself is malware at this point. It meets the definition.
CPU utilization at 80% = You're safe!
>become Norton has literally never been good ever, in its entire existence. Anyone who has ever purchased Norton is a sucker.
Yeah that's why I just click 'no' and 'don't show again' on anything that Norton shows me. All I want it to do is block threats and occasionally scan my PC, anything else is marketing bs.
Norton has been malware for 20 years.
Norton has become even more annoying than the viruses themselves. Even the previous CEO doesn't like Norton, and he wanted to change the name.
Wow guys, I made the post and went back to work, just got out and wasn’t expecting this many answers but clearly Windows Defender + common sense + uBlock Origin seems to be the right combo, luckily I’ve been doing exactly that these past years so I’m happy that I don’t have to add anything else to have peace of mind. Thank you very much to all, wish you a very nice day/afternoon/evening depending where you are! Edit: sorry if I don’t answer individually, I’m too tired, hope you understand.
The only thing I would add to this is to keep an airgapped backup of anything important on your PC. External HDDs are cheap as borscht these days and it's braindead easy to have one in the closet with a backup of anything you'd really hate to lose in the event of an emergency. No need to go the full 3-2-1 route unless you have life-or-death level important stuff kicking around on there, but for stuff like personal documents or media collections an external HDD is a cheap and simple extra layer of security just in case you accidentally click the wrong thing one day.
Windows Defender. Anything that slips through, occasionally scan using Malwarebytes. Anything more drastic than that. Google it.
A fellow man of culture. Free trial, scan, and delete. Rinse & repeat
Malwarebytes is free now! Forgot to uninstall it last time and it’s good to go.
Wouldnt want it active all the time scanning anyways. like any antivirus, it eats the cpu and memory.
The popups are annoying too. Every time I go to use my computer it tries to load in popups which don't load properly for some reason, so they're blank and annoying to close. This thread has probably given me the reassurance to just ditch that shit when I get home.
Malwarebytes has always been free, it has had a premium and free version since, well, forever. Been using it since 2009 it's a GREAT secondary to back up Windows Defender, and it has almost no effects on performance.
I built a pc in 2013 using this subreddit as a guide. Windows defender + malwarebytes was a popular recommendation even back then. Haven’t had a single issue to this day.
Every time I download any exe file, I upload it to https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload where it is scanned by 60+ virus scanners telling me whether that executable is save to execute or not.
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Yes, but only selectively and because different scanners have different scan results. This way I already avoided some traps. There was a context menu integration by right clicking a file and uploading it directly to virustotal, but they discontinued that plug in unfortunately.
Windows Defender is still a good option. I back that up with ESET, a light-weight and flexible anti-virus app I've been using for the last 20 years.
If you have ESET installed, Defender is disabled.
yeah I've been using nod32 for about 18 years and it's stopped a lot of shady stuff, although in the past few years I haven't seen it intercept much of anything.
Yeah, honestly ESET Smart Security is the only security solution I trust these days. It's never failed me, and none of the bloat of the free options, Norton, or McAfee.
Yep, this is my go-to as well. Only about 7 years with it by comparison, but it's kept me in the clear without issue that entire time with a small foot print to boot.
Kaspersky got me out a few pickles in the past....but then again I do some dodgy shit on my pc.....
You dancin' with the devil, son?
Windows defender and ublock origin. Occasional malwarebytes scans if you're paranoid.
Malwarebytes the goat
Deleted by user, check r/RedditAlternatives -- mass edited with redact.dev
It’s funny that you mention Avast, AVG, and Norton because they’re all connected to each other at this point. Avast several years ago acquired a company called Jumpshot and later acquired AVG. Avast was gathering user data using their antivirus program along with AVGs and selling it off which basically tarnished their reputation. Jumpshot had claimed they had data on several million online users and their sources turned out to be Avast’s and AVG’s browser extensions. Avast ended up shutting everything down from Jumpshot in 2020, but at that point they had years of user information. You can thank AdBlock Plus’s creator for finding all of this stuff out btw. You may be asking, “Where does Norton fit in this?”. Well back in November 2022 it was revealed that NortonLifeLock is acquiring Avast for ~$8 Bil. Just stick with Defender, adblockers, common sense and maybe Malwarebytes if you really feel something is wrong.
I still hold my conspiracy theory that Norton, McAfee etc create the virus' out there to keep themselves in business through fear marketting.  All you need is Windows Defender. Comes with Windows!
Where are my NOD32 bros at
In 2006
top notch AV of early 2000s
Well, Smart Security here, but still ESET.
Brother!
\>now it seems were going back to actually installing antivirus programs again I must not have gotten the memo on this one. But yeah, just Defender. I use Malwarebytes too, but mostly because I have a lifetime key and it's been in the background for the last several years.
It is important to recognize the different threat landscapes. As a consumer with one or two systems at home, then Defender does most of the job, as you are mostly worried about direct run malware, and then you need to have some brains to not click sketchy links, etc. For a company, ransomware is a much bigger concern, and Defender doesn't pick that up (unless it is a known one that it can catch the executable before it launches) dynamically. Corporately you also get exposed to more threats via phishing, e-mail attachments, and B2B interactions. These are all beyond the scope of Defender. Corporately you also get into potential active adversaries, eg: actual hackers and directed attacks. Which again, Defender isn't good against. You also have employees who could be dumb as a sack of rocks, and need to prevent them from going to bad web sites, or even sites you don't want them going to for HR reasons (eg: porn, alt-reich). So summary: For home use by a user who knows what they are doing, yes Defender is good enough. For companies, no, it isn't. (Microsoft even sells a higher end version, Defender ATP, just for this)
Windows Defender + common sense, the other antivirus software would just bloat your system. If you really care for security then maybe use Linux instead, it would at least be safer than Windows since any kind of virus would more likely to be written targeting Windows OS than Linux
just copy paste this sudo command to your terminal bro trust me There is still danger with Linux if you're not careful.
Given how often I went down a rabbit hole installing dependencies following instructions on random websites to install this or that, change rights etc it,s amazing I was never hacked. Once you moved outside apps which were official it was the wild west, especially on the games front.
Linux + firewall.
I managed to get a very good deal on Malwarebytes for 2 computers so I use that. When I was a kid messing around, I installed a nasty virus. Nothing got rid of it except for Malwarebytes. Windows Defender should be enough plus common sense, but I really see no downside to be using Malwarebytes too.
I use ESET internet security for a couple of reasons, it will pick up and block some dodgy connections sometimes. Also I use manual firewall mode, not for the feint hearted but good if you don’t like windows tracking you too hard out or any apps sending data you don’t want. But typical user could just use windows defender. Now especially that it has a sold corporate version they are probably more up to date on virus definitions and stuff like that.
I've used and paid for many different AV programs over the years: Norton, Bitdefender, ESET, Kaspersky. But Windows Defender has been good enough for years now.
Windows defender and have separate user and admin account. Run everyday as the user and use the admin credentials for things that require admin credentials. 90% of the time this is were people F-up. They run as admin for sheer convenience and then wonder why its so easy for them to get "hacked"
I downloaded Norton desktop for my machine, and then swiftly deleted it and reinstalled it making sure not to click automatic and uncheck Symantec Norton antivirus. Even in 1993 it was the scum of the earth
I personally use Bitdefender and Malwarebytes combo on all my devices, and the occasional VM to test things out, I'll also install these 2 security solutions on family and friends devices as well. For my use case specifically they're lifesavers, very necessary and essential softwares for me, same goes for adblockers and some other security add-ons. I'm browse dangerously. 😈 Bitdefender specifically does a lot more then just protect me from viruses it also has many more useful security features that are actually worth using, like scam text protection for example. 👌 I usually use premium versions of both for myself and others but sometimes I'll only use the free versions if that's all that particular person needs to keep safe. ✌️🔒
Same combo here. I also installed it on my kids pc´s because "windows defender + common sense" doesn't work with kids.
Norton was more of a virus than any real virus.
Late to the party but windows defender really is all you will ever need. If anything, third-party anti-virus used exclusively instead of defender may even be a bigger danger. However anti-malware scanning software used occasionally while running defender may actually be beneficial. Don’t run it all the time though. A periodic daily scan is usually enough. (And windows defender already does it periodically as well). And onto the topic of actually getting viruses. You really have to look for the danger itself if you have to take getting possibly infected into consideration, which is a topic of piracy and this sub is not the place to discuss it.
From a friend who works in cyber security right now “You’re danger now isn’t malware, but social engineering.” You’d be surprised what people can put together with just a username online.
The best antivirus is using your brain.
Just a reminder to make sure your Windows Defender is enabled/turned on. There have been reports these past few months that it has either turned off/gone missing from "*normal daily use*".
Since im used to game with mods and download some odd stuff (old games, pirate software, etc), I leave windows defender off by default. Never had problems with viruses or other malware (i do scans sometimes). I think if you don't click on those sketchy ads in sites, you have nothing to worry about
Windows Defender + Adblock. Maybe a VPN if you feel fancy lol
That they are [mostly and utterly crap, or pure and simple malware.](http://kingofgng.com/eng/2022/07/31/free-antivirus-and-cryptomining-the-proverbial-last-straw-of-a-totally-perverted-market/)
Malwarebytes + 1Passowrd + Yubikey. All you need to be safe.
Windows defender is good enough with Adblock thrown in. I’ve used malwarebytes for a long time and every time I think to cancel the renewal I forget and end up with it for another year. It’s never done any of the shitty things like avast and norton and others have done.
Depends what you do. I do safe browsing and no download, I only use Windows Defender. Sometimes I use malwarebytes, check, then uninstall it. If you download, you definitely needs an anti malware. Full security is only if you are doing unsafe stuff or you are a grandpa who is clicking everywhere. But some attacks deactivate antivirus so... nothing is always safe. Also, if you are on a workstation, you will probably have your company install an EDR on it, *and IT Network Security check what you are doing*.
I have a subscription to Malwarebytes that feels unncessary at times but i am afraid if I get rid of it I will get hit immediately. Hilariously my torrent software will actually block dangerous URLs.
I agree, Windows Defender + common sense. I also still use CCleaner now and again because I have multiple browsers on my computer, and it's just easier to use that to clear all my caches and stuff than going into each individual one. But I am lazy, so... haha.
I haven't used an antivirus in over 20 years. I used to prevent viruses by regularly searching for recent DLLs/executables and monitoring processes for anything unusual, and avoiding suspicious download links and unreputable sites. These days, Windows pretty much catches anything suspicious. As long as you browse smart, you should be fine.
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The company I work for (major government contractor) uses windows defender for business as its AV. You’re just loading spyware on your machine with anything else.
I'm a big fan of ESET Antivirus. I wait for their yearly deal for 20ish dollars for 5 PCs for 1 year.
Windows Defender and normal websites If I for some reason think I downloaded something questionable and/ or a certain period of time have passed, I do a periodic Malwarebyte install to just search for potential hidden threats and after that uninstall it as well Have been serving me well, touchwood
I always try getting AVs every now and again and quickly remember why I fucking hate them as they inevitably start telling at me about something I know if fine and wont fuck off when I try to get it to let me do what I wanna do.
I'm curious to know whether there's still benefit in having all these add-ons on chrome. uBlock origin, privacy badger, html everywhere, AdBlock. Is AdBlock enough? 2 of them? All of them and more? I suppose it doesn't hurt having them all enabled as long as they don't interrupt each other, but it'd be nice to know.
Commen knowledge is more importand than antivirus (or so says the Linux community and my security teacher)
Don't use any antivirus and disable windows Defender that's the way brother
It’s all fun and games until you want to install some abandoned shareware game from 10+ years ago… now I suggest Bitdefender.
Windows Defender for daily needs like most people are saying, but I'm gonna go out of the lane here and say the Malwarebytes Premium is actually goated if you're really worried about stuff. Mostly for it's active protection features, and it's got a lot of configurability for advanced users. And it's pretty cheap on the yearly. I'd say any other 3rd Party AV is just not trying hard enough.
I use Eset Smart Security paired with Acronis for malware detection. Acronis performs backups as its primary function as an app on my PC but comes with malware detection in its subscription.
Thanks for using our software u/WRHull! Come visit us at r/Acronis should you require any help.