antivirus software?

[Furr308]

What are some recommendations you guys have for antivirus software? Ive only used avg in the past, and thats usually slowed down my computers, and it barely works anyways.

[«DN»Lasky®]

I have Norton Security, I have used its predecessors since 2002 without any major issues except its 2008 version which was a bit of a system resource hog, but they cracked it and it works great.

[tom_]

Kaspersky. Been using it for awhile now, and I love it.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I used avast in the past really liked it

Anymore I use comodo security. Free and does the job.

Could also watch what sites your visiting too

[Furr308]

.

Could also watch what sites your visiting too

I dont do anything bad lol. Id just rather have it, than not. I read alot of articles and stuff, and forum use. Im very politically minded, and I like to research stuff. Ive had problems in the past with viruses on some of those sites.

[={101st}=shiNe!]

Malwarebytes is what I've been using for over a year now.

It gets the job done thoroughly, and you can't even tell it's running until the results of scans pop up. It's smooth, and easy to use.

[-Andrew-]

Avast is a really great option if you're looking for a free and reliable antivirus.

[«DN»Lasky®]

AVG Free is also good.

[TalonFox]

I used Norton With Malwarebytes.

[«DN»Lasky®]

Norton has malware protection built in.

[Impact]

Windows Defender/ AVG

[Chem]

Norton has malware protection built in.

No Anti-virus program is fool proof. Having a secondary one is always a good idea. Which is why i never recommend Norton to anyone because it has a tendency to disable all other protection software without even asking.

Avast is really good, AVG Free is good if you know how to set it up right it won't be a bother, MalwareBytes is very nice for spyware/malware but lacks in the virus protection department which is why i normally ran it with Avast.

Now-a-days I just use the default Windows Defender. Haven't had any issues with viruses or anything so it works for what i need.

My recommendations would be AVG Free, Sophos, or Avast. AVG Free and Sophos have behavioral detection, which means it monitors what your computer is doing and when something odd happens (like system files being changed) it can catch viruses that people don't know about yet. Avast lacks that but it has everything else you would need and because it doesn't do real time behavior detection scanning it uses a bit less resources.

[«DN»Lasky®]

In some ways I agree. Norton does spit out some "false positives" but you can exclude that program from being removed when you restore it.

I have used Norton since 2002, and while it was a resource hog back then, they cracked it in 2009 and now it uses virtually 0 resources.

[Chem]

In some ways I agree. Norton does spit out some "false positives" but you can exclude that program from being removed when you restore it.

I have used Norton since 2002, and while it was a resource hog back then, they cracked it in 2009 and now it uses virtually 0 resources.

Never trust an anti-virus software that gets hacked every year lol. They have had their mainframe hacked and the person placed a virus in a fake update to users. Just recently a friendly hacker found a huge flaw in the programming that allows a hacker full control over your computer. They got hacked and never even knew about it until the person who did it released the source code in 2012. Granted it was an older version but at the time of the hacking it was the "top of the line" security and in circulation so who knows what happened with that until the guy publicly released it once they changed the source code.

They cant protect there own systems, why trust them to protect yours. For a paranoid person you sure are lax when it comes to antivirus. I wouldn't trust Norton to protect a computer that isnt even connected to the internet. A least with other companies they know when they get hacked, they fix the problem, and then your good. With Norton you could be screwed and not even know about it.

Norton is garbage, its a box of crap waiting for someone to step on it and explode poop all over your computer. Hell, it moves files to the kernel to scan them which is the equivalent of someone knocking on your front door waving a bloody knife and he says he wants to kill you and you say "Sure, come on in!". Crap security, crap programming, and lazy employees. Worst of all, people pay for that crap because of people like you who say they are good.

[Chem]

Oh, if you wanna check out some other options Furr then go here. Select your OS on the left side, if your not on Windows 10 you will have to scroll down for the other ones. Select what you prioritize. Protection, Performance, or Usability at the top and it will auto sort best to worst top to bottom. Useful website.

[-Andrew-]

I use Avast with MalwareBytes, and it the two in combination cause 0% performance loss in anything, and MalwareBytes acts as a "back up" to Avast in many situations.

[Dr Lag]

Microsoft security essentials get the job done.

[Chem]

Microsoft security essentials get the job done.

Yeah, Microsofts protection is actually pretty decent now. Although MSE I wouldn't recommend lol. Windows 8 and 10 use Windows Defender which is basically an upgraded version of MSE. MSE misses a lot of stuff honestly, it doesn't protect well on websites and misses a lot of stuff when doing real-time scanning but its better then nothing. It lacks a lot of features that prevent getting a virus to begin with. Defender prevents viruses from infecting your system.

Although it isn't as good as AVG or Avast it suits your every day needs just fine. But im an odd person who would actually welcome a virus because it gives me something to tinker with lol.

MSE is like using a paper towel to dry yourself off after a shower, sure it could work...but not that well. Windows Defender is about the equivalent of using a hand towel. AVG/Avast is a lovely warm bath towel.

[Dr Lag]

Microsoft security essentials get the job done.

Yeah, Microsofts protection is actually pretty decent now. Although MSE I wouldn't recommend lol. Windows 8 and 10 use Windows Defender which is basically an upgraded version of MSE. MSE misses a lot of stuff honestly, it doesn't protect well on websites and misses a lot of stuff when doing real-time scanning but its better then nothing. It lacks a lot of features that prevent getting a virus to begin with. Defender prevents viruses from infecting your system.

Although it isn't as good as AVG or Avast it suits your every day needs just fine. But im an odd person who would actually welcome a virus because it gives me something to tinker with lol.

MSE is like using a paper towel to dry yourself off after a shower, sure it could work...but not that well. Windows Defender is about the equivalent of using a hand towel. AVG/Avast is a lovely warm bath towel.

Always good to have a plan b lol

[«DN»Lasky®]

I use Norton Security on all of the systems I use most often.

I used AVG free on a computer that I don't use that often. Whats the point after all in my view.

[gt24]

Windows Defender now (in Windows 10 Anniversary Edition) can run alongside your current antivirus solution and it is recommended to allow that. As such, Windows Defender is the minimum bar that a virus must defeat (because all newer Windows computers will run that). Unfortunately, since it is a minimum bar then it is the one thing that viruses will always strive to defeat.

That all being said, I'm not running anything other than Defender at the moment. All other AV solutions tended to cause severe issues (performance degradation, internet interference or outright blocking, false positives with end of the world level warnings, etc). I don't mind having an additional level of security but I don't want to trade off my computer's usability to have it.

The only notable bad viruses I recall were from around a decade ago. Anything bad now is malware which Malwarebytes handles and antivirus programs usually don't deal with (because it isn't a virus, it is just harmful advertising which is perfectly fine for antivirus programs... go figure).

[Chem]

Same, I've been running with only Defender since Windows 10. Haven't had any issues yet, been over a year and not 1 virus when back on my Win 7 i would have a virus once every 2 months it seemed lol.

I install AVG every now and then just to make sure nothing is lurking around that defender missed and it never finds anything. It is still early in the OS's lifespan though, got a feeling next year won't be as forgiving.

[«DN»Lasky®]

Well, I have recently updated to Windows 10 Pro.

I was on Windows 7 for a long time before hand. In my view, Norton is my go to program for anti-virus and is likely to always be...