As many of you will have no doubt read, I had a major system corruption that required professional intervention to repair and AV software may have played a role in the problem. In discussing my issue with the tech, he said something that really surprised me.
He argued that although he generally hates windows and Microsoft, their anti virus protection is very good and a separate anti virus program like mcafee, Norton, webroot, etc. is not required. He said it's one thing windows does well. I've never heard this before...thoughts???
In all the many, many years I've used Windows, I have only used anti-virus software one time. And had problems with it. McAfee was the absolute worse. I've never had any issues with just using the built in Windows stuff. That said, I am very careful about what sites I visit, what programs I download and runs, links I visit, etc.
atm, i am using Avira free version (windows defender is deactivated) and don't had any problems yet
in the past i remember that i had false-positive pattern found on some Battlefront Combat Mission .exe after updates (IIRC it was CM Italy) and Avira pushed that .exe into quarantine, and i had to exclude it for a short time until they sorted it out.
I also heard the stuff that comes with windows is pretty decent now.
For several years now, I have only used Windows Defender and Windows Firewall. Once in a while, I'll run Spybot as an extra measure. Haven't had any issues.
McAfee and Norton are terrible. I consider them malware.
^Good point. I also will run Spybot, Adaware, or TrendMicro Housecall on occasion.
I was running Avast until about a year ago on all our PCs. Removed it and just run MS Defender and Firewall.
Quote from: MikeGER on March 13, 2018, 07:01:35 AM
in the past i remember that i had false-positive pattern found on some Battlefront Combat Mission .exe after updates (IIRC it was CM Italy) and Avira pushed that .exe into quarantine, and i had to exclude it for a short time until they sorted it out.
Had the same problem with AVG and Battlefront installers (problem solved with current versions).
I am using AVG Internet Security (paid version) for many years now without any issues.
I also run Malwarebytes (free version) once a week.
I use Panda which is good but does give you pop ups often to upgrade.
Thanks for the feedback, guys. Very interesting. I had no idea that the annual subscription fees and hassle of third-party AV wasn't necessary anymore...
I use the free version of avast for active protection and malwarbytes for a full scan.
Been doing that for years and have never had a virus problem
Quote from: mirth on March 13, 2018, 07:10:13 AM
For several years now, I have only used Windows Defender and Windows Firewall. Once in a while, I'll run Spybot as an extra measure. Haven't had any issues.
McAfee and Norton are terrible. I consider them malware.
For years before I purchased my Windows 10 PC I used AVG AntiVirus FREE (https://www.avg.com/en-us/free-antivirus-download) with excellent results. Since I've had my latest PC, I have only used
Windows Defender and
Windows Firewall. As far as I know, there have been no issues due to either of them.
McAfee and Norton are so bad that I would do without any anti-virus protection at all before I would use either of them.
Quote from: mirth on March 13, 2018, 07:10:13 AM
For several years now, I have only used Windows Defender and Windows Firewall. Once in a while, I'll run Spybot as an extra measure. Haven't had any issues.
McAfee and Norton are terrible. I consider them malware.
Same for me - also I run Malwarebytes occasionally and a proper full scan using Windows built in AV every Sunday
I'm late to the party since I've had no internet connection for two days. But I will also say that the guy is absolutely right. When I used to use Windows at home, I only ever used Microsoft's built-in security software. I mean, who better to secure an OS than the company that designed it, right? It works for all other operating systems. On Linux people only ever install antivirus software if they're sharing a network with a Windows machine. :D
As others have said, even with the best intentions commercial antivirus applications do far more harm than good.
We have AVG at the office and the daily upsell popups are very annoying. At least once a day and often 2-3 times, there's some BS popup.
The last AV software I ran at home was Panda, but I grew tired of the ads and dumped it. Ever since Win7, the built-in MS protection has been very good. I keep Windows Defender updated and let it run once a week.
Ultimately, the best AV solution is browsing/clicking discipline. Don't automatically click on every 'LOLZ' email from your tech-ignorant friends and don't surf p0rn on the same computer you do your banking on. Ever. Get a separate one for that. With spill-proof keyboard.
Quote from: Hofstadter on March 14, 2018, 02:43:01 AM
I use the free version of avast for active protection and malwarbytes for a full scan.
Been doing that for years and have never had a virus problem
I've also been using those two for years now and no issues.
I've pretty much stuck with AVG for years, but as a "test," of sorts, I had a laptop that I just used the Windows-made stuff (Defender, etc.) on and had seemingly zero issues as a result.
I use Bitdefender and I've liked it for the most part but in the past year they've gotten "pushy" in trying to sellsellsell their other products.
If you guys say WD and WF are good I might just roll with that going forward.