Anti virus?

[MobileVortex]

I use Malwarebytes Pro. It has a lot of tools to remove the bad stuff, and if you cant figure it out, they have a great support team.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Why use anything additional to the Windows built in AV system at all, free or not, intrusive or not?

More than one supposedly knowledgeable here said that it is not necessary. I would never install anything on a PC which is not necessary.

I guess it's similar to why people would prefer using firefox to edge, vlc to videos app, windows media player to groove. It's what they used to use and will continue with it since it's familiar and hasn't let them down

 

[WinCoffee]

Using free version of avast! Works great for me. You only need to activate it every year. Also using Malwarebytes to check for malwares and other Sh*t. also using Ccleaner (I know it's not anti virus softwarte) but it's also helpful with cleaning all that filthy stuff. also has some handy tools! ^^

 

[anon(8316658)]

AVAST has many many many many fake virus alerts, its useless.

I use NOD32 for 15years now. Never had any problems. BUT everybody loves something else. Its more a BRAND vs. BRAND (Apple vs. Samsung) fight then a real comparison. There is always a risk of infection if the user is clicking on the wrong site. Nothing is 100% bulletproof

 

[NICK TOALE]

Having tried many different AV software personally I just use windows defender which works reliably. The best defence is to be cautious and back up regularly. Stopped using AV programs when Windows10 came out due to issues with Avast and have had a much better experience since. If I need to check a system i'll use specialist tools occasionally but otherwise personally don't bother with AV software.

 

[Ismail Hassani]

Hi, i'm using the default Windows defender as my main AV solution. But an extra trick in my sleeve is the use of adguard (the only adblocker that works with edge). It removes (or at least it warns you) the possibility to enter a malicious website that could harbor spyware or viruses.
Best combination of all.

 

[GatsbyGlen]

The built in Windows Defender will be perfectly fine for Windows 10.

That's all I use.

 

[A_For_Architecture]

Windows 10's Defender is doing the job pretty well and having no problems with it.
It never become disabled for unknown reasons (this "temporary disabling" is something that happens in many other antivirus)
But an app for Malware protection is also needed for all devices.

 

[thecanuckguy]

I use the built in Defender and Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes have saved me from spending hours on my friends and family computers cleaning up their infections. It is cheap and I highly recommend it.

 

[TheNet Avenger]

STOP USING 3RD PARTY SECURITY AND ANTI-MALWARE TOOLS...

1) They are often less secure because they create more 'security' entry points. Creators of malware can look for an exploit in the 3rd party software easier than they can in Windows itself. There is also less chance of the 3rd party software fixing these holes as fast as Microsoft, or fixing them at all, if they never notice or don't care existing customers.

2) They create instability. Most 3rd party software is doing things that they should NEVER be doing on Windows. Few of them ONLY use the MS supplied APIs, thus they hook into the network and FS and I/O drivers. The reason Microsoft started bundling Anti-Malware software is they were noticing that a massive 85% of issues and crashes and instability that users were facing, were directly related to 3rd party Anti-Malware products.

3) Performance - Never install anything that is real-time which turns off Defender or the Windows Firewall. This is something you cannot always test for, as you have no idea where the performance issues or flaws will show up. For example: With one product just a few years ago seemed fine, until our techs realized that when running 16bit software, early VB based software, newer .NET software, and even Win8 Store Apps, that this product made Windows nearly 500 times slower just reading the executables. This type of condition is rather common with most tools, and it could be your favorite game that is suffering load times and you won't realize that the 3rd party software is slow reading its content or that it may be just interfering with Windows caching system that creates huge slow downs.

4) If you are a 'tech' person that helps friends or family with Malware and you notice that Defender is not catching potential Malware, run the Offline version, as it runs in a way that Malware cannot actively hide. Lookup/Search: Windows Defender Offline - It is also the smart way to attach external volumes that you think have malware and don't want to risk infecting your installation.

5) Microsoft understands Windows better than anyone, and it is in their best interest to keep it malware free, and for Defender and the other technologies to not interfere with Windows.

6) With Windows 10's, there is no longer a delay in getting definition updates. This was the only problem with Windows 8, as it wasn't setup to do faster 'definition' updates and Microsoft had no way to push these updates to Windows 8/7; however, with Windows 10 they now can. (This is also why MSE/Defender on Win7/8 would score lower on the 'response time' tests, since the definitions had to rely on Windows Update's schedule.)


Over the years, working in many segments of the security and tech world, I have a war chest of horror stories about Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware/Security software from EVERY company you can name.

It is the year 2016, and the best and safest experience is to leave this to Microsoft and not worry about. If you want to know what Microsoft thinks, just look at the Microsoft Store, where computers are not allowed to use 3rd party Malware/Security tools because of the security holes and instability they create. (aka 'Signature Editions')

 

[TheNet Avenger]

Yes i agree i understand AV only on shared computer. I would not install one but i have a wife that can't resist winning something for free and be so lucky to be the 1000000000 customer accessing a page

This is why every family member has their own account on all computers, and everyone also gets 'User' level accounts.

This way they are protected, and even if they do stupid things, 99.99% of malware they could get will be limited to their account and login, which is easier for you to clean or wipe and recreate.

If it is a spouse and you don't want to create trust issues, give them a 'PIN' or 'Password' to get Admin permission, and then explain the gravity of what that type of Prompt means and why they should never use it. (This way if they want to gain access to your hidden porn folders or adulterous messaging; because you might be cheating scum, they still can.)

The security issue is another perk of software distributed through the Windows Store, as it won't need Admin level to install, and is insanely secure. Even when we start seeing Win32 software on the Windows Store, it will be tightly virtualized and run isolated, so even traditional software will start getting more secure for users and easy to install on 'User' level accounts.

 

[snakebitten]

Anti Virus Protection. Hmmmmm
I've always felt that I didn't need it, but everybody else does.

One of my workstations is now 6 years old and sits on the desk in the datacenter. It is at little risk because of how it is used. (and what I allow myself to do with it) It hasn't been upgraded because it runs like the day it was deployed.
But even my loosest and most unguarded device is still exposed to far less threat than I assume the next user would expose their computer to. So antivirus advice is always a tough subject for me. I just tell whoever is asking that if they are comfortable walking down dark alleys in the virtual world, I don't know if there is anything to protect them absolutely.

It's children and new-to-computer folks that I DO recommend loading some kind of 3rd party protection. After all, staying safe is really a skillset these days more than some magic shield we have up.

 

[Arunabha Goswami]

The reason Microsoft started bundling Anti-Malware software is they were noticing that a massive 85% of issues and crashes and instability that users were facing, were directly related to 3rd party Anti-Malware products.

Can you link some articles to confirm that? Would love to do some readings on this. Thanks.

 

[CruelEngine]

Nobody Understands Windows as much as Microsoft Does ! Why Worry When You have Windows Defender ? :winktongue:

 

[cmucodemonkey]

I can't confirm the stat, but I have had issues in the past where I was trying to use a third party anti-virus and it conflicted with the built in hooks for Windows Defender. It is definitely a potential problem.

 

[graple]

I use Kaspersky Anti-virus. Once a month I would briefly disable it and run Windows Defender and then re-enable Kaspersky. Now I can't do that anymore since the last major update. I tried to go through the control panel and it would just tell me that "This app has been turned off and is no longer monitoring your computer." " If you are using another app to check for malicious or unwanted software, use Security and Maintainance to check that apps status". Kaspersky's status is fine. It is just bothersome that I can't turn it on when I want to as it does a great job catching some stuff Kaspersky wouldn't pick up.
When I look up Windows Defender in Windows 10 Update and Security settings, it says real time protection is on but it is greyed out, cloud based protection is turned off and I haven't received any kind of update for Windows Defender at all since the big November Update (which I used to get all the time but they always failed). When I click on "Use Windows Defender within the Setting app I get the same message I do when I go through the control panel which I stated above. I am kind of at a loss for words.

 

[Krystianpants]

Kaspersky has been in the spotlight recently for creating fake malware to trip up competitors. They reverse engineered other anti virus software and used exploits to give false positives on benign files. But if they can do it with competitor software imagine how many criminals are reverse engineering all these virus scanners.

 

[Tigerinc]

Great topic! Have been wondering about this. rly:

Currently still running W8.1 on my two PC's with AV via Webroot and Symantec Endpoint. Was interested in dropping those with the update to W10.

My older Surface RT had a closed in ecosystem, but my new SP4 is ready for the Wild Wild West. Ha ha

Laughing at the wife who cannot resist winning something. :grincry:

 

[Chintan Gohel]

I reset my laptop yesterday and I haven't installed Kaspersky. So I'm trying out defender for a week

First observation - does it scan removable drives like flash drives and external HDD? When I inserted a couple of flash drives, nothing happened. In Kaspersky, the AV starts scanning immediately any removable storage drive. But nothing from defender. I couldn't find anything from the application itself to scan removable drives

Any ideas?

 

[cmucodemonkey]

I reset my laptop yesterday and I haven't installed Kaspersky. So I'm trying out defender for a week

First observation - does it scan removable drives like flash drives and external HDD? When I inserted a couple of flash drives, nothing happened. In Kaspersky, the AV starts scanning immediately any removable storage drive. But nothing from defender. I couldn't find anything from the application itself to scan removable drives

Any ideas?

I found these instructions for Windows 8. I'm guessing they should still work with Defender on Windows 10, but I haven't tried.
How to Make Windows 8?s Built-in Anti-Virus Scan Removable Drives