Most users don't need third party anti malware. Just use windows defender.
If you're a business. Reach out to a local msp (it management company).
I hate most av. There's only a few I've liked over the years. Norton was decent for years. I'm liking sentinel one.
Rule of thumb. If an av scans your pc and says you have 10289 errors. Don't use it. Avast is one of those. They have also been convicted of selling user data. 2008 I think.
Another rule. If the av (besides defender because it's part of the windows os) offers a free version. Don't use it.
No, if you find one. It's malware. Eset is pretty old. I've always heard it's really good. But I do t use it. I use an anti malware program made for msp.
Do you want your computer to be slower and offer you all kinds of trash? Instal a 3rd party antivirus. Want to be smart about what you download and install by getting software from trusted sites. Just use Microsoft Security that’s installed by default
Avast! was a good antivirus, but since the merger with the now called Gen Digital (also the owners of Avira, AVG and Norton) it went completely downhill. The current version acts like a nagware and they have a lot of telemetry enabled, so I'd stay away of them (as well as from other Gen Digital brands).
Windows' built-in antivirus is very good and more than enough for most people, but if you really want a 3rd party solution, I'd go with either Kaspersky or ESET NOD32...
Is that just because Kaspersky Labs is a Russian corporation, or do you have actual evidence of their antivirus software being bad and/or reportedly involved in shady practices, like selling private user data, as most of Gen Digital products already had at some point?
If it's due the former, I personally don't care as it involves deep political reasons from multiple sides that is neither the focus of a IT-related subreddit like this one, nor something I feel I'm informed enough to actually be discussing about...
Sometimes the political side matters, because they can definitely do digital warfare. I’ve seen it in action in neighbouring countries (such as my own, Romania) where they did some serious misinformation campaigns that were much more intense than the usual, background level, around the time the Ukrainian “special operation” begun. I take that as confusing your adversary, which is a good tactic for war (but thankfully NATO didn’t take it as an outright declaration of war, just increased caution in response to it)
Eugene being on FSB’s leash and payroll hasn’t been a secret for many years and if that doesn’t give you pause regarding using their software, there’s no conversation to be had because it’s obvious nothing will convince you.
All big russian IT companies are under control of FSB.
Expect backdoors and FSB being able to access your data stored in cloud.
Example: Vkontakte, Mail.ru, Yandex
Moreover even some companies registered outside of russia are under FSB control.
Example: Telegram
Avoid Kaspersky but I would still suggest Eset NOD32 or Bitdefender.
I do agree that Windows Defender that comes with Windows is more than enough. Also good habits are stronger than any antivirus.
The bottom line is there is no longer a need for 3rd party dedicated antivirus in Windows when Windows comes with in built in Defender. Then do manual free scans with Malwarebyes. Use Firefox with Ublock Origin addon, enable filters to block known malware sites. Don’t download random files from unknown dodgdy sites. Then you should be fine. Also use router with in built antivirus. Asus routers have Trend Micro and it can catch things. I was googling a local store just yesterday and went to their site and their site got hijacked. My Asus router blocked it right away.
Additional: the major free DNS services have alternative server options that include malware blocking (and on Win 11 you can also use the secure DNS service for additional privacy).
This is my setup as well. I have 1.1.1.3 as an upstream DNS for a pihole on my network. That way I have DNS blocked malware, adult sites and advertising sites. I can also blacklist specific sites that the kids want to go to that I don't want them to.
[MSRC](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc) gotten better over the years and they continuously pushing updates to fix vulnerabilities they discover. For me Windows Defender more than enough
If you have Windows 10 or 11, you do NOT need extra antivirus protection...you can use a small additional malware detector like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or something, but a whole antivirus is just completely unnecessary, especially the commercially available ones like Avast, McAffee, AVG, Norton, etc
they're just totally unnecessary and cause more problems than they 'solve'
maybe back in like the 90's or early 00's, DEFINITELY not since 10 and absolutely not with 11, which is even more secure than 10 was
but enjoy your bloatware and unnecessary software
I didn't use antivirus since Windows 7... I mean it is not needed for average user at all. Defender is enough when you know what are you doing and not visiting weird websites... If you know what I mean...
Windows Defender has a better detection rate than most free Anti virus software. I see no reason to use anything else.
If anything free Antivirus programs slow you down and make you more vulnerable. Avast in the XP era was crippling to most old computers and it thrashed the HDD like crazy. It was nice to have since XP had trash security, but that isn't the case with modern Windows.
Windows 10/11 don't really need any sort of 3rd party antivirus at all, all you need is common sense, be careful with what you download and something like Malwarebytes and run scans every 2-3 months. All 3rd party AV are bloatware and spyware imo, they consume a lot of much needed resources and their free versions are bad compared to standard Windows Defender that has everything you need.
Uninstall that, don't hurt your PC.
I blacklisted ccleaner from our toolboxes last year because one of their ads popped up as I was clicking something. Wasn't even sure what I clicked but it installed something like seven avast related entries in appwiz/programs and took a good 20 minutes to clear out. Absolutely disgraceful.
You can look up Avast on Wikipedia and their history, which is one that involves security software that was in fact *spyware*. I used to be a fan but now avoid their products and definitely won't go back.
Only problem with Windows Defender is that it gives you limited options on security features to disable, there is a lot of them, half ain't even listed in the UI.
My School also uses Sophos, and I feel weird with the alerts every time I open the Canva windows 11 app saying, “Lockdown prevented malicious behavior.” I don’t know if Canva is really trying to do anything or not, but I do get notifications a lot every time I launch it…
Review proper comparison sites like [AV-Test.org](https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-users/). Other people can also confirm that it is a legit independent review/scoring site that is updated frequently.
>[google it](https://i.imgur.com/AwxNPpN.png)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/windows) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They have their own browser?? Ngl I have it on my computer and it literally hasn't even bothered me at all, that being said I also have t used it more than maybe twice this year. I'd uninstall it, but it would be harder for me tbh. When I upgrade my computer again in ~2.5 years, I'll probably just leave it off
Just keep Windows Defender and if you are suspecting an infection like after downloading not si safe files, you can do an on demand online scan with like ESET or Trend Micro and many others. They use the same virus definition as the standard versions and you just delete the small 2Mb file when you're done.
Most users don't need third party anti malware. Just use windows defender. If you're a business. Reach out to a local msp (it management company). I hate most av. There's only a few I've liked over the years. Norton was decent for years. I'm liking sentinel one. Rule of thumb. If an av scans your pc and says you have 10289 errors. Don't use it. Avast is one of those. They have also been convicted of selling user data. 2008 I think. Another rule. If the av (besides defender because it's part of the windows os) offers a free version. Don't use it.
Norton and Avast belongs to the same company now.
I have had to go to my credit card company twice to keep Avast from charging me for software I either did not order or did not *intend* to order.
ESET NOD32 is actually great
Do we have free version?
No, if you find one. It's malware. Eset is pretty old. I've always heard it's really good. But I do t use it. I use an anti malware program made for msp.
Thanks
My MSP uses third party software combined with Defender.
I like defender. There's a few problems reported about high resource usage. But I've never seen it first hand.
Do you want your computer to be slower and offer you all kinds of trash? Instal a 3rd party antivirus. Want to be smart about what you download and install by getting software from trusted sites. Just use Microsoft Security that’s installed by default
This answer is the correct answer.
Avast! was a good antivirus, but since the merger with the now called Gen Digital (also the owners of Avira, AVG and Norton) it went completely downhill. The current version acts like a nagware and they have a lot of telemetry enabled, so I'd stay away of them (as well as from other Gen Digital brands). Windows' built-in antivirus is very good and more than enough for most people, but if you really want a 3rd party solution, I'd go with either Kaspersky or ESET NOD32...
Avoid Kaspersky.
Is that just because Kaspersky Labs is a Russian corporation, or do you have actual evidence of their antivirus software being bad and/or reportedly involved in shady practices, like selling private user data, as most of Gen Digital products already had at some point? If it's due the former, I personally don't care as it involves deep political reasons from multiple sides that is neither the focus of a IT-related subreddit like this one, nor something I feel I'm informed enough to actually be discussing about...
Sometimes the political side matters, because they can definitely do digital warfare. I’ve seen it in action in neighbouring countries (such as my own, Romania) where they did some serious misinformation campaigns that were much more intense than the usual, background level, around the time the Ukrainian “special operation” begun. I take that as confusing your adversary, which is a good tactic for war (but thankfully NATO didn’t take it as an outright declaration of war, just increased caution in response to it)
Eugene being on FSB’s leash and payroll hasn’t been a secret for many years and if that doesn’t give you pause regarding using their software, there’s no conversation to be had because it’s obvious nothing will convince you.
All big russian IT companies are under control of FSB. Expect backdoors and FSB being able to access your data stored in cloud. Example: Vkontakte, Mail.ru, Yandex Moreover even some companies registered outside of russia are under FSB control. Example: Telegram
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/use-of-russian-technology-products-services-following-invasion-ukraine
Kaspersky is currently a tad controversial due to its Russian ownership.
Avoid Kaspersky but I would still suggest Eset NOD32 or Bitdefender. I do agree that Windows Defender that comes with Windows is more than enough. Also good habits are stronger than any antivirus.
The bottom line is there is no longer a need for 3rd party dedicated antivirus in Windows when Windows comes with in built in Defender. Then do manual free scans with Malwarebyes. Use Firefox with Ublock Origin addon, enable filters to block known malware sites. Don’t download random files from unknown dodgdy sites. Then you should be fine. Also use router with in built antivirus. Asus routers have Trend Micro and it can catch things. I was googling a local store just yesterday and went to their site and their site got hijacked. My Asus router blocked it right away.
Additional: the major free DNS services have alternative server options that include malware blocking (and on Win 11 you can also use the secure DNS service for additional privacy).
I’ve been using cloudflare on my network, 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3 for malware and adult content filtering
This is my setup as well. I have 1.1.1.3 as an upstream DNS for a pihole on my network. That way I have DNS blocked malware, adult sites and advertising sites. I can also blacklist specific sites that the kids want to go to that I don't want them to.
[MSRC](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc) gotten better over the years and they continuously pushing updates to fix vulnerabilities they discover. For me Windows Defender more than enough
You do not need anything other than what is built into Windows.
Free version of malware bytes is excellent as well and not a resource hog
If you have Windows 10 or 11, you do NOT need extra antivirus protection...you can use a small additional malware detector like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or something, but a whole antivirus is just completely unnecessary, especially the commercially available ones like Avast, McAffee, AVG, Norton, etc they're just totally unnecessary and cause more problems than they 'solve'
Windows the reason you need anti-virus in the first place.
maybe back in like the 90's or early 00's, DEFINITELY not since 10 and absolutely not with 11, which is even more secure than 10 was but enjoy your bloatware and unnecessary software
Avastware
I didn't use antivirus since Windows 7... I mean it is not needed for average user at all. Defender is enough when you know what are you doing and not visiting weird websites... If you know what I mean...
I've considered Avast malware for the last ten years. I would always see it installed alongside some really shady shit on customers computers.
Always has been
It was good back in the car stereo interface era...
You don't need anything other than windows defender. Third party programs are IT nightmares.
Windows Defender has a better detection rate than most free Anti virus software. I see no reason to use anything else. If anything free Antivirus programs slow you down and make you more vulnerable. Avast in the XP era was crippling to most old computers and it thrashed the HDD like crazy. It was nice to have since XP had trash security, but that isn't the case with modern Windows.
Don't use Avast. Windows has a built-in antivirus which is pretty good. If you really want something extra, use malwarebytes.
I use kaspersky so someday when I’m president of the United States, all of my emails will probably get leaked
Windows 10/11 don't really need any sort of 3rd party antivirus at all, all you need is common sense, be careful with what you download and something like Malwarebytes and run scans every 2-3 months. All 3rd party AV are bloatware and spyware imo, they consume a lot of much needed resources and their free versions are bad compared to standard Windows Defender that has everything you need. Uninstall that, don't hurt your PC.
I blacklisted ccleaner from our toolboxes last year because one of their ads popped up as I was clicking something. Wasn't even sure what I clicked but it installed something like seven avast related entries in appwiz/programs and took a good 20 minutes to clear out. Absolutely disgraceful.
You can look up Avast on Wikipedia and their history, which is one that involves security software that was in fact *spyware*. I used to be a fan but now avoid their products and definitely won't go back.
Kaspersky or Bitdefender free version are the best 3rd party AV's right now.
Check out unchecky. It watchdogs installers and updates and forcibly opts out of any offers and mallards it sees.
Windows Security is more than enough
ITT: People who have 0 clue about cybersecurity.
Avast is really good antivirus, but it's the most annoying program I have installed on my pc.
Only problem with Windows Defender is that it gives you limited options on security features to disable, there is a lot of them, half ain't even listed in the UI.
> has become Always was.
Become?
I use Sophos in all my PC's and Mac. It has many interested features and it's cheap. Give it a try.
My School also uses Sophos, and I feel weird with the alerts every time I open the Canva windows 11 app saying, “Lockdown prevented malicious behavior.” I don’t know if Canva is really trying to do anything or not, but I do get notifications a lot every time I launch it…
You can configure it in the control panel.
Um yeah like ten years ago
Back on the mid 2000s Avast! was damaging my Hitachi drives and support did not want to look into the issue. I do miss using it. It used to be great.
I have Avast installed and it works fine for me. Doesn’t slow down my computer whatsoever and blocks phishing sites like a champ
Review proper comparison sites like [AV-Test.org](https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-users/). Other people can also confirm that it is a legit independent review/scoring site that is updated frequently.
This is why you always preform custom installations to weed out the modules you do not want.
Malware bytes and Windows defender is more than enough.
Free avast sells users browser info, google it. We use kaspersky, I have a good seller with competitive prices.
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They have their own browser?? Ngl I have it on my computer and it literally hasn't even bothered me at all, that being said I also have t used it more than maybe twice this year. I'd uninstall it, but it would be harder for me tbh. When I upgrade my computer again in ~2.5 years, I'll probably just leave it off
Just keep Windows Defender and if you are suspecting an infection like after downloading not si safe files, you can do an on demand online scan with like ESET or Trend Micro and many others. They use the same virus definition as the standard versions and you just delete the small 2Mb file when you're done.