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

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santiano

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Oct 4, 2017
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I personally believe in using paid antivirus because it possesses more features as compare to free one. Many brands are providing the demo version also. You can try and choose according to the demand.
 

SumTingW0ng

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Can anyone of ya confirm that Crunchyroll site is safe now? Because yesterday or the day before that, their site got DNS hijacked by a cyber criminal crook and managed to inject a malicious application run on their site every time a user visit it.
 

kasiourasg

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No security program will ensure your safety. Paid, or free. I really can't stress this enough guys. There is no doubt that having a paid Antivirus/Anti-Malware will offer you a higher security than a free one, but don't go on believing that you can go around the web and do all sort of stupid mistakes without getting infected.

Be cautious at all times.
 

gn842a

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Oct 10, 2016
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I recently removed Kaspersky from all my devices. I realize that I am a zero priority target for the Kremlin, and that commercial spyware is if anything more aggressive, but I'm no longer comfortable with Kaspersky.
 

Dark Lord of Tech

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Try Sophos HOME Free Edition.
 

gn842a

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I'll keep sophos in mind. I seem to be doing OK with NOD32 (ESET). I grant you that it may not be the best. But their support is reasonably responsive. I've used ESET probably for twelve or fifteen years, with a break to try some alternative products.

Most of my issues are harddware related. Such security issues as I have are the ones you read about in the news, credit card hacks and the like.

Part of the issue is that I'm not one of these guys who lives and breathes desktops and is constantly looking for the optimal solution. In my ideal world the PC is like a washing machine, you just use it and don't think about it.

Unfortunately one DOES have to think about desktops to keep them operational, but there are so many things to think about that once I've got something that seems to work I pass on to the next subject. But it leaves me at a bit of a disadvantage, if I am successful and have a build that I don't have to think about, then I *never* think about this stuff, and I have to look at all kinds of youtube videos to refresh my memory about what to do when there is an issue.

There is a huge mass of conflicting information out there about virus software and I suspect that much of it is funded by one or another software company and it's very difficult for me to tell them apart.
 

sirhawkeye64

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May 28, 2015
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I use a paid AV/Security program (ESET). I'm still a believer in that you get what you pay for. Yes, there are some decent FREE ones out there, like AVG, Avira, and a handful of others, but I still think that when it comes to security, it's not worth cutting corners to save a few bucks. If you want to save a few bucks, trim back on something else (a subscription for a game or a magazine, for example). To me, in doing software development, and overall, just being like everyone else, security is a high priority, and to me, it's worth the $60 or so that I pay, per year ($60 per machine, that is... ESET usually has deals throughout the year where you can get a 5-pack of their Internet Security or Smart Security for $100 or something). I'm not pushing ESET necessarily, but I do think that paid is usually better, unless you don't have anything on your computer you don't mind losing should you get a virus or malware. But most people store their lives, so to speak, on their computers and phones. I also use MalwareBytes on my computer as added protection against malware (which ESET I think does scan for, but it's not necessarily active scanning like MalwareBytes).
 
"As I stated before, the computer cannot get infected without user interactions, "

Untrue with the 'drive-by' infections of the last couple years or so....; not every infection requires a user to click on "Yes, I'm a moron, please install questionable software immediately" :)

Merely visiting a site infected with 'drive-by' variants can infect the user; this is (or should be) well-known....

'Questionable' web-sites are probably more prone to this than others....
 

lindam8016

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I use Microsoft Security Essentials and it is free. I use this on my laptop and my desktop. I got rid of my paid antivirus through Best Buy because it was interfering with the software that my employer had placed on my computer. I typed highly sensitive information for this company and my thought was if they are using it, then I am going to use it too, and my computers have been fine.

I just wanted to add that I do run the quick scan on the Microsoft Security Essentials a few times a week or every time I log on just to make sure it is updated and running. If you don't check it, sometimes it will stop running and won't be protecting your computer. I also occasionally run the full scan and occasionally check to see if anything is quarantined or has been detected.
 


I use the same MSE (Windows Defender) and I run full scans per the recommendation of a reputed tech newsletter that I subscribe to. It does take a few hours and the benefits are worth it! Parallel to this I also use Malwarebytes (paid version) My confidence level in Microsoft products has increased after attending the full-day Microsoft Tech Summit in Chicago, last week.
 
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