Do you use : No Antivirus , FREE Antivirus , or PAID Antivirus and why?

[Skylyne]

Gotta love Linux. We'd be nowhere without it. That said, I have used Avast, Webroot, and Norton, both free and paid versions. Webroot did the best(when I was younger and played a lot of flash based stuff. Now, Avast(free) is enough because I am a hell of a lot more careful of what I do.

The real reason I don't bother with Avast is that it will always have false alarm shit on every computer. The amount of stuff that gets flagged in just lab tests is terrible. I'd have to unblock things left and right. Sure, it might be decent enough once you get it all set, but I'll just stick with BD. It's free, and much less false alarms lol.

For more intermediate users, Avast can be good enough, but it's still gets annoying. Especially if you don't pay for it.

 

[kbgaminghd]

Eset paid with malwarebytes is working amazing for me.

 

[Skylyne]

That probably isn't too bad. Pretty good combo right now

 

[Skylyne]

I use paid antivirus , there should be a difference between unpaid and paid I think .

For some software, the difference is the extras included with paid bundles (ie: a different firewall, browser, toolbars, all that fun stuff). Not everyone will benefit from them. Some free AV software includes extras, but most either don't work that well, or are just an AV deep down. Here's the real difference I've seen after looking into this stuff over the last year...

For the most part, paid AV seems to bundle extra software, and provide better protection overall (depending on the brand). Free software (unless it's a free version of a big name), typically seems to have continuously low protection scores (excluding MSE, the rest tend to remain within industry standards). What I would recommend for most users is paid AV, or the free version of a paid AV, combined with MBAM and a few other tools. Using any of the free AVs seems to be nothing but trouble, in the long run.

As I've said a number of times, your computer can still be infected when your AV shows nothing, and you think the performance of your computer is just fine. Does that mean you will always have a malicious infection? Not entirely, but using a paid AV like Kaspersky or Bitdefender (given their better results in lab testing) will definitely give you more protection, which means less questioning of how well you're protected due to your AV software.

 

[Theminecraftaddict555]

Gotta love Linux. We'd be nowhere without it. That said, I have used Avast, Webroot, and Norton, both free and paid versions. Webroot did the best(when I was younger and played a lot of flash based stuff. Now, Avast(free) is enough because I am a hell of a lot more careful of what I do.

The real reason I don't bother with Avast is that it will always have false alarm shit on every computer. The amount of stuff that gets flagged in just lab tests is terrible. I'd have to unblock things left and right. Sure, it might be decent enough once you get it all set, but I'll just stick with BD. It's free, and much less false alarms lol.

For more intermediate users, Avast can be good enough, but it's still gets annoying. Especially if you don't pay for it.

I use paid antivirus , there should be a difference between unpaid and paid I think .

For some software, the difference is the extras included with paid bundles (ie: a different firewall, browser, toolbars, all that fun stuff). Not everyone will benefit from them. Some free AV software includes extras, but most either don't work that well, or are just an AV deep down. Here's the real difference I've seen after looking into this stuff over the last year...

For the most part, paid AV seems to bundle extra software, and provide better protection overall (depending on the brand). Free software (unless it's a free version of a big name), typically seems to have continuously low protection scores (excluding MSE, the rest tend to remain within industry standards). What I would recommend for most users is paid AV, or the free version of a paid AV, combined with MBAM and a few other tools. Using any of the free AVs seems to be nothing but trouble, in the long run.

As I've said a number of times, your computer can still be infected when your AV shows nothing, and you think the performance of your computer is just fine. Does that mean you will always have a malicious infection? Not entirely, but using a paid AV like Kaspersky or Bitdefender (given their better results in lab testing) will definitely give you more protection, which means less questioning of how well you're protected due to your AV software.

Pretty much pairing any AV paid or not with malwarebytes is more than enough for your protection unless your AV does not have real time protection/live scanning of viruses in which I don't know of any that doesn't have real time protection

BTW BD's free is the least sketchiest free AV out there and detection is one of the best...According to Skylyne too :3

Also I saw your test of compressed zip files of contained viruses ( I know they are not actually viruses and are harmless, but lets call it that for now)...you said it scored 4/6 when it comes to detecting zip files..That's a good thing isn't it?

Also I want to test my AV out against those Harmless files that you tested with...Also if you are done with those harmless files to test with the AV, do you just simply delete them and call it a day?

 

[Skylyne]

Pretty much pairing any AV paid or not with malwarebytes is more than enough for your protection unless your AV does not have real time protection/live scanning of viruses in which I don't know of any that doesn't have real time protection

Yes and no... It's a real complicated answer, and I don't expect most people to understand it...

Let's just say that pairing a quality AV (any that performs above the rest significantly) is going to give the end-user a quality experience. The reason I have such high standards for an AV is because most users genuinely aren't educated enough to use a lesser AV without experiencing problems. As I have reiterated a number of times, many users claim their computer is "fine" when I can clearly tell there is a major problem with it. Knowing how prevalent this is, even when I'm not checking out someone's computer for a repair, it's pretty disconcerting to see so many people gauging their AV protection on a simple virus scan. Not to mention, most of these people aren't doing much to make sure their computer is protected. I can't tell you how many bad habits I witness, even from those claiming "paranoid" or other "careful" types of browsing, and the amount of poor user habits just always piles on top... which leads to large numbers of people reporting bad cases of viruses, even when they have an AV installed. Make sense? And that's really just a fraction of the problem.

As far as the real time protection goes, it's definitely a bitter/sweet thing. Some computers really can't handle that, and some can. Sometimes the scanner misses things, and sometimes it just doesn't scan the right places. Real time protection is only as good as the programmers who made it; and the same goes for the virus definitions. Again, there is a reason my standards are as high as they are. Hopefully that makes sense?

BTW BD's free is the least sketchiest free AV out there and detection is one of the best...According to Skylyne too :3

Also I saw your test of compressed zip files of contained viruses ( I know they are not actually viruses and are harmless, but lets call it that for now)...you said it scored 4/6 when it comes to detecting zip files..That's a good thing isn't it?

Hate to say you took things out of context, but I think there is some clarification needed here.

The basic virus test I performed was a slightly unorthodox method. What I did was used the basic EICAR files, but the ones that went undetected by Bitdefender's live scanner were compressed using 7z compression, which is different from regular zip compression. It is worth noting that a manual scan did catch the EICAR files contained in them (with the 2 layer 7z compression virus being detected through both layers, and no help on my part). Considering the circumstances, I consider that good real time protection.

Now, there's one thing I'm not entirely positive about... I don't know if BD uses a built-in heuristics engine, which learns as it goes. If so, future tests with my current computer might be slightly compromised, because I would like to redo a portion of that test. I would like to redo the original Virus Shield test, but attempt to open the infected files, and not manually scanning them. I'm 99.9999999999% positive that I wouldn't even be able to open anything, but I might have already compromised the test results, if the heuristics engine does in fact learn as it goes.

Also I want to test my AV out against those Harmless files that you tested with...Also if you are done with those harmless files to test with the AV, do you just simply delete them and call it a day?

You can repeat these tests yourself, if you like. The test files are readily available, after all. And yeah, I don't bother with keeping them around. I do have a flash drive I use for basic security tools, and I always keep the basic test files on there. Whenever I go to do some troubleshooting, I will know if the AV on a computer is doing its job, and it gives me a nice basic starting point for gauging how well things are going. The reactions that a few people have had to their AV going nuts over my flash drive is pretty entertaining, honestly

I also tend to wipe most of the files I delete, so they'll likely get the same treatment. I just hate having old data on my drive, since deleting files doesn't actually delete anything (contrary to popular belief). Better security practice to get into as well lol.

 

[Guest]

just installed my new windows 10 and it comes with windows defender installed as default antivirus. how good is it and how does it compare to other free antivirus. it reminds me of security essentials, very very little differences as i can tell figured i would give it a try.

 

[Theminecraftaddict555]

just installed my new windows 10 and it comes with windows defender installed as default antivirus. how good is it and how does it compare to other free antivirus. it reminds me of security essentials, very very little differences as i can tell figured i would give it a try.

It's below average compared to many other free AVs mentioned in this thread (Avira, Avast, BD free)

However, if you pair it with malwarebytes premium or just malwarebytes free, it will be decent enough

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Defender never passes Certification , download Bitdefender Free and Malwarebytes Free.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2646010/free-antivirus-free-internet-security-free-antispyware-solutions.html
Available here ^

 

[Guest]

yeah i kinda figured it was below par with some of the other freeware but since it came with windows 10 i figured i would give it a try once again.

i also am using common sense antivirus and smart web habits. i also believe that the operator is the best antivirus available.

just wanted some other opinions on windows defender.

thanks.

the poorguy

 

[nokturrduk84]

How do I unsubscribe from this thread? I can't find button. I no longer want to see notifications about this thread.

 

[Guest]

How do I unsubscribe from this thread? I can't find button. I no longer want to see notifications about this thread.

in your email where you receive that someone replied to a post or thread you follow somewhere at the bottom of that message is an option to unsubscribe. just press that and it should no longer send you any more messages.

the poorguy

 

[nokturrduk84]

How do I unsubscribe from this thread? I can't find button. I no longer want to see notifications about this thread.

in your email where you receive that someone replied to a post or thread you follow somewhere at the bottom of that message is an option to unsubscribe. just press that and it should no longer send you any more messages.

the poorguy

Thank you mate.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

No fake alerts on Avast here....

 

[Skylyne]

Not everyone will suffer from false alarms; that's a common misconception about those reports. There is a very good chance you will run into them, though, if you use an AV with the high rate of false alarms Avast has. That's what people need to remember. It's better to avoid software like that, just to be safe. You never know when something legit has been infected.

 

[nokturrduk84]

I still get notifications. Not on mail, but here. How to disable here? :|

 

[Guest]

I still get notifications. Not on mail, but here. How to disable here? :|

it may take a few days to take effect.
if you are still getting them then you may have to search for forum tools to unsubscribe.
i only get notifications in my emails.
hope that this helps.

the poorguy

 

[Guest]

what is this zen crap that is in the newest version of avg free antivirus, something about connecting all of my devices and beig able to control them from a single device. sound like a big hassle to me or for me in my case.

the poorguy

found out what it is.
they want to give it to you for 30 days trial and then after the trial charge a fee just so you can control and add all of your different devices from one to the other and such.
just some more useless crap ware that in my opinion is useless.
come on avg just make free antivirus software like was done years ago without the crap ware.

 

[nokturrduk84]

I'm unable to find such tool. There's only "Tracked threads", but there's no unsubscribe or delete buttons. Only "Remove all" which doesn't work or probably it's just filter.

:|

 

[Joseph DeGarmo]

I just noticed that Kaspersky is wrecking havoc on Windows 10. Cortana will not bring up search results and even typing something in the Edge search bar does nothing. After finding a solution to the issue on the web, I had to uninstall Kaspersky from Windows 10 and install Bitdefender free version which fixed the issue. Knock on wood. Kaspersky needs to fix the issue ASAP or I'm switching to Bitdefender on both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

 

[Skylyne]

As much as I don't like Kaspersky (more for personal reasons than not), I don't think the issue will continue for too much longer. They'll likely be on top of that bug in a matter or a month, if that. But, that also depends on what lines of code are causing that problem. They're such a big company, something like that will likely get immediate attention. If you haven't written them, then they won't know how many customer it is affecting. I'd suggest writing an email, just to make sure they can keep an eye on how many people are having that problem

 

[AlexisLSM]

No I don't use anti virus for my computer just the Windows one. Just be careful of the websites you visit to avoid such virus that can harm you computer. I use Malwarebytes for malware though.

 

[Theminecraftaddict555]

No I don't use anti virus for my computer just the Windows one. Just be careful of the websites you visit to avoid such virus that can harm you computer. I use Malwarebytes for malware though.

Seems like anything today is better than windows defender....However I do like the fact that it is a light antivirus (though we already have BD free for that one) and becomes a decent one with malwarebytes premium....but far from what I would call a good av to fully protect your computer and if you want a lightweight AV that performs better than mse or WD...Then BD free is usually the way to go

Also...Can viruses get in your computer because of the things you download from that site that contains that virus?

But hey thats my recommendation..Not forcing you to change if you don't want to

 

[Skylyne]

Seems like anything today is better than windows defender....However I do like the fact that it is a light antivirus (though we already have BD free for that one) and becomes a decent one with malwarebytes premium....but far from what I would call a good av to fully protect your computer and if you want a lightweight AV that performs better than mse or WD...Then BD free is usually the way to go

Also...Can viruses get in your computer because of the things you download from that site that contains that virus?

But hey thats my recommendation..Not forcing you to change if you don't want to

I honestly don't understand how some people can call MSE an "antivirus"... the protection it offers is insanely laughable, at BEST. They really just need to release patches that will remove it from all Windows products, so they can free up needed resources, and encourage people to take their AV software seriously. If Windows didn't have that pre-bundled since Vista, people would probably take their computer security more seriously. Not necessarily the way they should, but still... better than thinking MSE is actually worth clicking on.

 

[Theminecraftaddict555]

Seems like anything today is better than windows defender....However I do like the fact that it is a light antivirus (though we already have BD free for that one) and becomes a decent one with malwarebytes premium....but far from what I would call a good av to fully protect your computer and if you want a lightweight AV that performs better than mse or WD...Then BD free is usually the way to go

Also...Can viruses get in your computer because of the things you download from that site that contains that virus?

But hey thats my recommendation..Not forcing you to change if you don't want to

I honestly don't understand how some people can call MSE an "antivirus"... the protection it offers is insanely laughable, at BEST. They really just need to release patches that will remove it from all Windows products, so they can free up needed resources, and encourage people to take their AV software seriously. If Windows didn't have that pre-bundled since Vista, people would probably take their computer security more seriously. Not necessarily the way they should, but still... better than thinking MSE is actually worth clicking on.

True...The reason that I said that mse could be decent with mbam is due to my lack of knowing how good or worst their products were over years that had come....But yeah MSE has below average detection than other free av's listed or recommended by many people..Also for those people out there who are less tech savvy...Windows defender is pretty much MSE...Get that straight in your heads ppl