Antivirus switch?

cereberus · Aug 9, 2024

kelper said:
Windows Defender is good and will suit most users. But many products provide better protection and have additional features.
Av-comparitives gives it only two stars so it is bettered by all these.

Avast

AVG

Avira

Bitdefender

ESET

G DATA

Kaspersky

McAfee

Total Defense

There are lots of comparison sites that say differently. I have used Defender for many years and never had any issues.

In the end, it stil comes down to common sense.

Frankly, it is a waste of money buying AV packages - you might be 2% better on scores than Defender but that is dwarfed by 30% (guess based on expereience with my family) common sense factor.

Virtually 100% of issues with people I know come from clicking links without thinking, phishing emails etc. Direct infection old stye virus attacks are very rare.

People just fall for the bs that paid AV packages are better - they are no better if person does not use common sense (an oxymoron of course).

The other aspect is regular backups of data of course.

pparks1 · Aug 9, 2024

The 3rd party versions also offer "additional" features, but whether you want/need them is an entirely different thing. I just want my PC to not get infected by a virus or riddled with malware. So, I'm careful with what I do online, do the basic common sense things. I don't feel I need or want any of these additional features. I just want something quiet that runs in the background and i don't even know it's there. For me, that's Windows defender.

Mitch · Aug 9, 2024

@kelper While banks don't require you to use an AV, their terms and conditions are suitably vague. I suppose we would only find out if a claim was lodged. I know that UK banks are fussy about the browser used for online banking- only Edge, Chrome, Firefox plus one other are supported.

kelper · Aug 9, 2024

Mitch said:
@kelper While banks don't require you to use an AV, their terms and conditions are suitably vague. I suppose we would only find out if a claim was lodged. I know that UK banks are fussy about the browser used for online banking- only Edge, Chrome, Firefox plus one other are supported.

Many browsers use the same agent string so I doubt if the bank even knows which browser you use. I use Brave.

glasskuter · Aug 9, 2024

IMO you can't get any better than Defender+MWB Premium running in tandem. I've run that configuration for years and not once has anything gotten by it. You already have the lifetime license. For goodness sake why would you want to pay for something else.

kelper · Aug 9, 2024

I look at it differently. One AV traps 98% of malware, one traps 100%. But they test on 500 in-the -wild viruses. So one misses 10 and the other catches them all. That 2% difference is now a 100% difference. It's like cleaning the basin after shaving; if there are 100 hundred hairs left in the basin it will never look clean until you get rid of all of them.

Chacun à son goût.

neemobeer · Aug 9, 2024

Many threat actors main goals include endpoint protection evasion and/or disablement and Windows Defender tends to be one of the easier targets for both tactics. "I've never been infected" is really "my endpoint protection software hasn't detected a threat" which isn't guaranteed to always be "my system is clean". A lot of APT groups have been shifting away from targeting endpoints and are going after service providers and networking gear and SaaS products.

Winuser · Aug 9, 2024

I use Eset on three of my computers and it's working OK for me. On my newest desktop I'm running Eset and MWB premium. The rest of my computers including my wife's laptop are using Windows Defender. I recommend Eset if you want a paid security program. If you want a free security program than I recommend Windows Defender. Posting with @kelper I was going to give Webroot a try when my Eset subscription expired but changed my mind at the last minute. I still may give it a try someday in the near future.

Edit: I almost forgot to mention that we need to watch out for scam text messages that are on the rise. I received two last week from two different phones numbers that were supposed to be from the USPS saying that my package couldn't be delivered because of insufficient info. They don't have my mailing address but they have my cell number? I don't think so.

pparks1 · Aug 9, 2024

kelper said:
I look at it differently. One AV traps 98% of malware, one traps 100%. But they test on 500 in-the -wild viruses. So one misses 10 and the other catches them all. That 2% difference is now a 100% difference. It's like cleaning the basin after shaving; if there are 100 hundred hairs left in the basin it will never look clean until you get rid of all of them.

Chacun à son goût.

True,

But then 2 months later, the one which previously caught 100%, may miss 4 of the newest variants currently in the wild.

End of the day, if there was an antivirus, which was 100% effective all of the time, everybody would use that 1 product. But hence we have choices because none are perfect, and people like different interfaces and functionality sets.

kelper · Aug 9, 2024

@Winuser. Look for Webroot keycodes on eBay - much cheaper and have always worked for me.

Webroot Secure Anywhere Internet Security PLUS 2024, 3 Devices | 1 Year | eBay

Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security PLUS 2024, 3 Devices, 1 Year for PC/Mac/Android. Webroot® Internet Security Plus. Discover what Webroot Internet Security PLUS can do for you Lightning fast scans: Webroot is one of the fastest, lightest and most effective antivirus products on the market.

www.ebay.co.uk

I've used this retailer for years.

Winuser · Aug 9, 2024

pparks1 said:
True,

But then 2 months later, the one which previously caught 100%, may miss 4 of the newest variants currently in the wild.

End of the day, if there was an antivirus, which was 100% effective all of the time, everybody would use that 1 product. But hence we have choices because none are perfect, and people like different interfaces and functionality sets.

It's a never ending battle for the security companies to keep up. The best we can do is to hope that whatever security program we use they keep their noses to the grindstone and find all new threats as fast as possible.

pparks1 · Aug 9, 2024

Winuser said:
It's a never ending battle for the security companies to keep up. The best we can do is to hope that whatever security program we use they keep their noses to the grindstone and find all new threats as fast as possible.

Yeah, I get that. I'm in IT for a living, have been for 27 years ish now.

And we recently got hit pretty hard with the whole Crowdstrike thing, so still a bit salty. LOL

Dru2 · Aug 9, 2024

Don't believe the hype, Defender is just as good as any commercial AV. I haven't used a third-party AV since leaving Kaspersky in 2007 for Defender (at that time it was called Microsoft Security Essentials). Anyway, never an issue with Defender

Oh, and nothing is perfect, not even third-party AV's so for all the "well I got this and that with Defender", well....

All that said, given Kaspersky's issues, there are plenty of other third-party AVs out there to take its place.... if you don't trust Defender.

Good luck.

Senecio · Aug 9, 2024

One thing to be aware of - many 'paid' antivirus offerings come in different options - often a free version and one with various add-ons which you might find tempting. Don't forget that if you choose an antivirus with - for example - a password manager, you may be tying yourself into that company's offering indefinitely (you don't want to lose all your passwords!). In any case, often the free version has exactly the same antivirus engine as the paid version (e.g. Avast/Avira which came out on top of a review I was reading a few months ago). Personally I use the 'essential version' of Eset, but have previously used Sophos, Norton and others. I would use Defender, and may well change to that when my Eset licence runs out in a couple of year's time.

Winuser · Aug 9, 2024

pparks1 said:
And we recently got hit pretty hard with the whole Crowdstrike thing, so still a bit salty. LOL

That was a problem that never should have happened. As I understand it, the problem was caused by Crowdstrike not checking the update before releasing it. More and more it's becoming evident that quality control is becoming a thing of the past no matter what the product or company is.

thecaretaker · Aug 9, 2024

Winuser said:
More and more it's becoming evident that quality control is becoming a thing of the past no matter what the product or company is.

You are so right there. Not AV, but my Sonos soundbar system had an updated app in May and I've seen better ~~beta~~ Alfa software. It should never have been released in this state. The CEO had to make an apology.

Winuser · Aug 9, 2024

thecaretaker said:
You are so right there. Not AV, but my Sonos soundbar system had an updated app in May and I've seen better ~~beta~~ Alfa software. It should never have been released in this state. The CEO had to make an apology.

I retired in 2010 from my local Public Works and went back as a part time employee in 2011. As an example of no quality control I have to refer to the new trash truck they bought to replace the old trash truck that was getting old and worn out. So far the new truck is in the garage more than the truck it replaced.

CannonRebel · Aug 10, 2024

I've used Webroot for many years as well as Kaspersky, they're my favorite AV's.

badrobot · Aug 10, 2024

What do you need the 3rd party AV for? What do you do on you 4 PCs? I have 4 PCs (3 desktops and a laptop) as well and I never needed any 3rd party AVs for browsing, banking, online shopping, etc. for the past decade or so. Defender does the job.

TraderGary · Aug 10, 2024

Another Defender user here.

Antivirus switch?

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