Anti-virus and anti-malware programs?

[NINaudio]

I'm just curious what you all use for your anti-virus and anti-malware programs. I'm currently using the free versions of AVG and Malware bytes. I'm considering paying for the pro version of malware bytes, which is supposed to also have an anti-virus component. Anyone use it? I'd love to get rid of AVG free and their annoying pop-up ads.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm just curious what you all use for your anti-virus and anti-malware programs. I'm currently using the free versions of AVG and Malware bytes. I'm considering paying for the pro version of malware bytes, which is supposed to also have an anti-virus component. Anyone use it? I'd love to get rid of AVG free and their annoying pop-up ads.

These days you should NOT be using anti viral or malaware programs. Actually in addition to slowing your computer down, then they are adding to your risk.

Security needs to be deep in the operating system with today's threats.

What you need is an up to date operating system. That means using Windows 10 or the latest versions of the Apple iOS.

Updates for Windows 10 are not optional and security updates come frequently. Updates are not optional so all computers are fixed promptly and the risk of passing on infections is greatly reduced.

If you are using an up to date operating system as referenced above uninstall all your anti viral and malaware programs.

If your operating system is out of date and not fit for purpose in this current environment then migrate to an up to date system like Windows 10. If your hardware will not support it then junk it.

 

[sholling]

I made a living for 20 years dealing with network and desktop security and malware and you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD be running security software on any PC, tablet, or smartphone that accesses the internet. Yes staying up to date with patches is absolutely critical, and yes the security software included with Windows 10 is better than nothing. But, professional and serious amature hackers test their little monsters against the half dozen or so most popular AV suites to make sure that they can get by those suites for at least a while before they release their newest malware. High on their list are the one that ships with Windows and the suites that corporations are likely to use. Why? Because those are the most common and juiciest targets. And as the Pentagon learned hardway, avoid any AV products from countries hostile to yours.

Good AV software will use little of your system's resources and on modern computers should be unnoticable. If your system is dragging you either chose your product poorly or you need a new system - but do not skip quality AV software.

Of course nothing will protect anyone from doing stupid stuff like downloading pirated (and infected) software, or free software from questionable sources.

To answer your original question, I personally like and use Webroot on my PCs and Lookout on my Android devices.

 

[Ponzio]

I personally like and use Webroot on my PCs and Lookout on my Android devices.

Just purchased Webroot based on ur recommendation and positive web reviews. The small footprint/processing feature is what sold me on the product. Norton, Symantec, McAfee have all left a bad taste in my mouth in the past; cumbersome, appreciable slow-down of my PC, still got "slimed" and almost impossible to uninstall without reloading the OS. Time will tell if I made the right decision. I've been living dangerously just relying on Microsoft Security Essentials/Malawarebytes Free. In the last 2 days I've been probed by ransomware attacks. Scans from both products showed no threats after the first and second incident but I had a second attack yesterday and decided it was time to be pro-active. Timely thread.

BTW I have found in the past that the best course of action when u sense something is amiss is to quickly disconnect ur PC LAN connection, go back to ur last stable Restore Point, reboot the PC and do a complete scan of ur HD's.

 

[TLS Guy]

I stopped using add on products like that when Microsoft Security Essentials was released.

Now we have migrated to Windows 10 through out I have been told on expert advice not to add other programs. Windows 10 updates more often than those bought programs did and scans my computer regularly and notifies me of results.

I have been told that add on programs are not deep enough in the system to be effective. The worst hit I ever got came through Norton anti virus program. Luckily I have only had two hits in over 20 years, and none so far since going to Windows 10. U-Block Origin also warns you immediately if any site is the least bit suspect.

So unless I get a reason to change that I will use the OS native protection. Basically my advice tells me that effective protection can only be provided with the owner of the code to the OS.

 

[rojo]

In the last 2 days I've been probed by ransomware attacks. Scans from both products showed no threats after the first and second incident but I had a second attack yesterday and decided it was time to be pro-active. Timely thread.

BTW I have found in the past that the best course of action when u sense something is amiss is to quickly disconnect ur PC LAN connection, go back to ur last stable Restore Point, reboot the PC and do a complete scan of ur HD's.

When you say "probed by ransomware attacks" do you mean you visited a scary web page that said your computer is infected? Although unplugging your network cable, performing a system restore, removing the hard drive and smashing it with a sledge hammer would certainly be effective, it's also an ex-girlfriend batshit crazy obsessive way to deal with an accidental visit to a nefarious website. Whatever, just don't be one of those guys who tries to pile up four memory-resident antivirus suites for extra protection.

I certainly don't fault @sholling for advocating 3rd party antivirus software, but personally I'm fine with Windows Defender. Some of the arguments @TLS Guy offered are BS though. Defender doesn't have any advantage in extra-effective detection because it's integrated into the OS. It doesn't even have the highest detection rate. But for someone who keeps his OS, web browsers, and other software up to date; who employs uBlock Origin and OpenDNS filtering to help with avoiding treacherous websites; who is diligent about installing software only from reputable sources; who never opens unexpected email attachments or clicks unexpected emailed hyperlinks; and who doesn't experiment with dubious cracks and keygens; Windows Defender is good enough. In the rare cases I'm interested in launching an executable or opening a document about which I'm not 100% confident, I'll upload it to www.virustotal.com for a second opinion. In other words, I think the best protection from viruses comes from responsible behavior.

In any case, I agree with @sholling and @TLS Guy that one should avoid choosing antivirus software that negatively impacts system performance. I strongly recommend against any software billing itself as a security suite. If it replaces Windows Firewall (which really can't be improved) and adds extensions to your web browser and email software, it's doing more harm than good -- at best as a waste of space, cpu cycles and money, and at worst by randomly denying net access to legitimate applications.

 

[NINaudio]

In any case, I agree with @sholling and @TLS Guy that one should avoid choosing antivirus software that negatively impacts system performance. I strongly recommend against any software billing itself as a security suite. If it replaces Windows Firewall (which really can't be improved) and adds extensions to your web browser and email software, it's doing more harm than good -- at best as a waste of space, cpu cycles and money, and at worst by randomly denying net access to legitimate applications.

Good AV software will use little of your system's resources and on modern computers should be unnoticable. If your system is dragging you either chose your product poorly or you need a new system - but do not skip quality AV software.

Of course nothing will protect anyone from doing stupid stuff like downloading pirated (and infected) software, or free software from questionable sources.

To answer your original question, I personally like and use Webroot on my PCs and Lookout on my Android devices.

Thanks for all the replies.

Therein lies my issue with what AVG has become, it's always trying to get me to install add-ons and purchase their security suite, which to me is annoying and unneeded. I stopped using zonealarm firewall when I switched to Windows 10, but I still like to have something besides Windows Defender as I don't feel the detection rates on that are all that great. I'll look into webroot. Any other suggestions?

 

[rojo]

Thanks for all the replies.

Therein lies my issue with what AVG has become, it's always trying to get me to install add-ons and purchase their security suite, which to me is annoying and unneeded. I stopped using zonealarm firewall when I switched to Windows 10, but I still like to have something besides Windows Defender as I don't feel the detection rates on that are all that great. I'll look into webroot. Any other suggestions?

Malwarebytes Pro is certainly worth considering. I've never paid for it, but I've encountered countless machines running it either as a trial or where the owner liked it and paid for it. (Those machines were brought to me for problems that didn't involve malware infections, fwiw.) I haven't noticed any slow-down on machines with the pro version running. MBAM is my go-to software for malware removal post-infection. Now that it also scans for rootkits, it is certainly a viable candidate. Give the trial version an audition if you can.

 

[Ponzio]

When you say "probed by ransomware attacks" do you mean you visited a scary web page that said your computer is infected? Although unplugging your network cable, performing a system restore, removing the hard drive and smashing it with a sledge hammer would certainly be effective, it's also an ex-girlfriend batshit crazy obsessive way to deal with an accidental visit to a nefarious website. Whatever, just don't be one of those guys who tries to pile up four memory-resident antivirus suites for extra protection.

I certainly don't fault @sholling for advocating 3rd party antivirus software, but personally I'm fine with Windows Defender. Some of the arguments @TLS Guy offered are BS though. Defender doesn't have any advantage in extra-effective detection because it's integrated into the OS. It doesn't even have the highest detection rate. But for someone who keeps his OS, web browsers, and other software up to date; who employs uBlock Origin and OpenDNS filtering to help with avoiding treacherous websites; who is diligent about installing software only from reputable sources; who never opens unexpected email attachments or clicks unexpected emailed hyperlinks; and who doesn't experiment with dubious cracks and keygens; Windows Defender is good enough. In the rare cases I'm interested in launching an executable or opening a document about which I'm not 100% confident, I'll upload it to www.virustotal.com for a second opinion. In other words, I think the best protection from viruses comes from responsible behavior.

In any case, I agree with @sholling and @TLS Guy that one should avoid choosing antivirus software that negatively impacts system performance. I strongly recommend against any software billing itself as a security suite. If it replaces Windows Firewall (which really can't be improved) and adds extensions to your web browser and email software, it's doing more harm than good -- at best as a waste of space, cpu cycles and money, and at worst by randomly denying net access to legitimate applications.

I didn't visit a "nefarious" web site but a local newspaper site and a music site (philly.com the first time and AMG.com in the 2nd incident) when I got a pop-up (which I have disabled in Edge & Firefox) with a cheesy graphic and a female voice notifying me that should contact the number in the pop-up to resolve my infection issue for a reasonable cost. At that point I disconnected my LAN cable for the simple reason that hackers need a network connection to breathe, just like humans need oxygen. Could they have already injected themselves into my registry/OS? Yes, I'm not that naive. After setting a previous safe System Restore point, I reboot the PC and still leaving the Ethernet cable disconnected, I run a threat scan of all my hard drives with both Microsoft Defender and Malawarebytes Free and if I'm golden I reconnect my LAN cable to my home network.

To date I've never ripped out any of my hard drives or smashed them to kingdom come or loaded various antivirus software suites after a scare. Point of fact, since Windows 7, this is the first time that I have gotten a scare of this nature just by using the built-in Microsoft tool & Malawarebytes Free. But I'm also not naive enough to think that hackers, be they bad or good, have joined a knitting circle and abandoned getting their jollies off trying to get into my PC. For the $20 bucks I paid for Webroot, after all the positive reviews, why is that being foolish or batshit crazy as u eloquently put it? Worst case scenario if I find out it's useless? I uninstall it and bemoan the fact that I lost $20 bucks. Hell Ive spent that much money at business soiree's buying drinks for pompous psychotic office managers I despise. But thanks for ur words of wisdom.

 

[rojo]

I didn't visit a "nefarious" web site but a local newspaper site and a music site (philly.com the first time and AMG.com in the 2nd incident) when I got a pop-up (which I have disabled in Edge & Firefox) with a cheesy graphic and a female voice notifying me that should contact the number in the pop-up to resolve my infection issue for a reasonable cost.

Yeah, I get calls from users who encounter this sort of thing while browsing our local news sites as well. I'm pretty sure scammers have either purchased spots in rotating banner ad services, or possibly injected code into those services illegally. Either way, such scareware warnings are pretty common but only harmful if you follow their instructions. They aren't infectious.

Fun fact, these fake Microsoft call centers seem to be big business in India. However, there exist people who seek out these ads and flood their call centers with robot phone calls as a public service. Search YouTube for call center flood and prepare to be thoroughly amused.

At that point I disconnected my LAN cable for the simple reason that hackers need a network connection to breathe, just like humans need oxygen.

It would've been easier to open Task Manager and kill your web browser tasks.

For the $20 bucks I paid for Webroot, after all the positive reviews, why is that being foolish or batshit crazy as u eloquently put it? Worst case scenario if I find out it's useless? I uninstall it and bemoan the fact that I lost $20 bucks. Hell Ive spent that much money at business soiree's buying drinks for pompous psychotic office managers I despise. But thanks for ur words of wisdom.

It's not bad that you paid for Webroot. I'm sure it has a higher detection rate than Defender, and possibly fewer false positives. The thing I was calling crazy was your unplugging the network cable, performing a system restore, and running a full virus scan after such a mundane event as hitting a scareware web page. That's what's overkill.

 

[Ponzio]

That's what's overkill.

I agree but then again I also keep swirling the heel of my shoe when I kill a cockroach I want to make sure that suckers dead.

 

[rojo]

Sorry, there was one point I forgot to address:

... when I got a pop-up (which I have disabled in Edge & Firefox)...

Unless you absolutely need it, consider uninstalling Adobe Flash Player. Since your browsers have HTML-based popups disallowed, a sinister Flash applet is likely the source of the popups. YouTube and other video sites are now employing HTML5 methods of displaying video, and Flash Player is largely deprecated these days. If you discover after uninstalling Flash Player that a site you depend on no longer works correctly, you should install the newest version from https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer and make sure it's set to install updates automatically.

Also, if you don't have an ad blocker installed, consider installing uBlock Origin. A good ad blocker can help you avoid being redirected to scareware sites against your will. uBlock Origin is available in the Microsoft Store for MS Edge, and https://addons.mozilla.com/ for Firefox. It's also available for Chrome, and Opera, and more adventurous users can build it for Safari (although why anyone comfortable compiling and linking code would use Safari is a mystery to me). It's not available for Internet Explorer, but at least Adblock Plus is. These days, having an ad blocker is as much about self-protection as it is about removing annoyances or faster page loading. For well-behaved sites such as Audioholics or your bank, and on sites for which ads are the primary content such as online shopping sites, you can still opt in to allowing ads by clicking the red shield toolbar button and clicking the embarrassingly large blue power symbol. Once you turn off ad blocking for a site, that whitelisting is remembered until you choose otherwise.

 

[Ponzio]

Sorry, there was one point I forgot to address:



Unless you absolutely need it, consider uninstalling Adobe Flash Player. Since your browsers have HTML-based popups disallowed, a sinister Flash applet is likely the source of the popups. YouTube and other video sites are now employing HTML5 methods of displaying video, and Flash Player is largely deprecated these days. If you discover after uninstalling Flash Player that a site you depend on no longer works correctly, you should install the newest version from https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer and make sure it's set to install updates automatically.

Also, if you don't have an ad blocker installed, consider installing uBlock Origin. A good ad blocker can help you avoid being redirected to scareware sites against your will. uBlock Origin is available in the Microsoft Store for MS Edge, and https://addons.mozilla.com/ for Firefox. It's also available for Chrome, and Opera, and more adventurous users can build it for Safari (although why anyone comfortable compiling and linking code would use Safari is a mystery to me). It's not available for Internet Explorer, but at least Adblock Plus is. These days, having an ad blocker is as much about self-protection as it is about removing annoyances or faster page loading. For well-behaved sites such as Audioholics or your bank, and on sites for which ads are the primary content such as online shopping sites, you can still opt in to allowing ads by clicking the red shield toolbar button and clicking the embarrassingly large blue power symbol. Once you turn off ad blocking for a site, that whitelisting is remembered until you choose otherwise.

Thanks Rojo. I did think it was odd that I hadn't received an Adobe Flash update lately but then again I had it set to "notify me to install updates". There have been a lot of stories about Adobe Flash being a software vulnerability lately so I changed that setting. I just downloaded the latest and changed it to "download automatically". I also downloaded uBlock Origin for both of my browsers for the possible "scareware" issue. Time will tell.

 

[sholling]

I stopped using add on products like that when Microsoft Security Essentials was released.

Now we have migrated to Windows 10 through out I have been told on expert advice not to add other programs. Windows 10 updates more often than those bought programs did and scans my computer regularly and notifies me of results.

I have been told that add on programs are not deep enough in the system to be effective. The worst hit I ever got came through Norton anti virus program. Luckily I have only had two hits in over 20 years, and none so far since going to Windows 10. U-Block Origin also warns you immediately if any site is the least bit suspect.

So unless I get a reason to change that I will use the OS native protection. Basically my advice tells me that effective protection can only be provided with the owner of the code to the OS.

No disrespect to you or whoever told you that but you've been told wrong. There is a reason why no major corporation would rely on Windows Security for a single day. For one thing, Windows Security usually updates roughly once per month with the rest of the Windows 10 patches on Patch Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, it's not a horrible solution and it's free but every new malware release is targeted and tested to make sure that it can sneak by until discovered, a patch created, and delivered the next Patch Tuesday. If you use good judgement (and I assume that you always use excellent judgement) when you surf the internet and never-ever click links in your email then you are probably fine.

Windows Defender

Webroot (Colorado USA)

NOD32 (Czechoslovakia)

The better aftermarket products will usually issue updates within 12 to 24 hours of discovery of new high risk malware. Lower risk updates may take a couple of days longer but they are always faster than MS. For what it's worth I lived in the world of protecting Fortune 50s and major financial institutions for a lot of years and that's my experience. What I would not recommend are Norton or McAfee simply because they are what almost every Fortune 500 and financial institution use and are therefore primary targets for malware authors. They are used by big companies because they are easy for understaffed IT departments to manage and update, and are safe (career safety) choices. I'd probably avoid Kaspersky as well since there are pretty recent accusations that the Russian company provided hacking and spying backdoors for Russian Intelligence. True or not it's being pulled off every US Government PC.

 

[Eddie14]

I'm currently using Microsoft Security Essentials but I don't think it's strong enough to fight again malware. Besides, it lacks some important functions that I need (eg. online banking security). So I'm thinking to move to AVG as well, but not sure it's the best choice. I read a technical article comparing the best free Antivirus software and now consider between AVG and Bitdefender.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm currently using Microsoft Security Essentials but I don't think it's strong enough to fight again malware. Besides, it lacks some important functions that I need (eg. online banking security). So I'm thinking to move to AVG as well, but not sure it's the best choice. I read a technical article comparing the best free Antivirus software and now consider between AVG and Bitdefender.

The first thing you need to do is migrate to Windows 10. Old OS are risky and will get worse.

 

[Eddie14]

I see, thanks for the advice. I didn't upgrade to Windows 10 yet, somehow it's too complicated for me. I mean this new OS.

 

[TLS Guy]

I see, thanks for the advice. I didn't upgrade to Windows 10 yet, somehow it's too complicated for me. I mean this new OS.

I don't know who told you that. I have been through all the Windows OS except 8 and 10 is the easiest of all. What Windows version are you using? I hope not one no longer supported like XP. If you are you should not be using it for banking and other sensitive applications.

 

[Eddie14]

No I'm using Windows 8. I tried once the W10 on my friend computer and didn't feel familiar with (although they're quite similar).

 

[slipperybidness]

I stopped using add on products like that when Microsoft Security Essentials was released.

Now we have migrated to Windows 10 through out I have been told on expert advice not to add other programs. Windows 10 updates more often than those bought programs did and scans my computer regularly and notifies me of results.

I have been told that add on programs are not deep enough in the system to be effective. The worst hit I ever got came through Norton anti virus program. Luckily I have only had two hits in over 20 years, and none so far since going to Windows 10. U-Block Origin also warns you immediately if any site is the least bit suspect.

So unless I get a reason to change that I will use the OS native protection. Basically my advice tells me that effective protection can only be provided with the owner of the code to the OS.

I agree, and that is also the advice of my IT Bro-In-Law. He has actually abandoned AV s/w as early as WinXP.

He says "unless you are downloading things that you should not be downloading, the risk is minimal and any benefit of AV is not worth the use of CPU resources".

Of course, I am talking about his personal computers.....for his job he has AV s/w to protect the fools from themselves.

Now, for people that may be a little less tech-savvy and less likely to be able to recognize suspicious websites, links, emails, etc, a decent (low resource) AV program is likely still a good idea.