Hi All, I’m looking to upgrade or maybe change my Free antivirus software to make sure I’m fully covered etc and just wondered what everyone is using and recommends?
I’m asking because Google is full of different Antivirus software recommendations and reviews but I’m not sure how many are proper reviews or are paid reviews just trying to generate sales etc. And also the review sites get confusing with all the different options, prices and what the software actually protects too.
Free is always nice but obviously they are limited in what protection they provide so I’m looking into the best free software that covers the most and also the best cost effective subscription software.
I think basically a good antivirus that stops any virus, malware and protects my laptop and emails etc. I use Surfshark VPN so don’t need to pay extra for that
I used to use Comodo years back when I was using Windows never had a problem and it was easy enough to use, not sure what they are like these days though.
Windows Defender is good as a base AV but it is NOT fast. It does cause slow downs especially when on-demand scanning.
Bitdefender free is good enough and Malwarebytes is brilliant.
Windows defender is definitely one of the best anti viruses , but it’s shortcomings are on things like adware, the type of programs that inject ads or change your search engine home page to their own one, because most times they aren’t actually malicious and when the use clicks allow this app windows just let’s it install, but a 3rd party AVs just block it.
Malwarebytes is the best for home users in my opinion but unless you pay for premium you have to manually scan the computer.
I would suggest using windows defender and manually running a malwarebytes scan once a month or so.
Just to add that NatWest/RBS is currently offering malwarebytes premium for free for 2 years if you have an account with them.
The further discussion about how computers are used has reminded me that I use the following Firefox extensions to protect myself while browsing the web:
Even if you insist you never visit any dodgy sites, it’s worth using some form of browser protection because you never know when a third party (advert provider, usually) is going to inject malicious content to a trusted site.
Dont use both of these at the same time, it slows rendering of pages as it has to run the processing through both. uBlock Origin is the better of the 2 and runs faster and lighter.
If Bitdefender doesn’t work out on your machine then take a look at these two pages Reddit Antivirus & Malware Tips User feedback - I highly recommend doing reseach before buying a product because there’s a lot of permutations with security software and what functions they perform. Some work on some machines, some don’t, it’s all down to user habits and system specs.
I’ve recently upgraded my laptop with new RAM & an SSD and decided to opt for a new Antivirus. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying different ones out an have ended up using Norton as I got a two year licence cheap from Here (Computer Active Software Store) and also found it to be the best solution “out of the box”
I found Bitdefenders background processes to be a little high on my machine, Kaspersky didn’t always let me load some webpages properly due to their web filtering and others were just not what I was looking for.
Hi @Brian_L and thanks, its a nightmare and a bit of a minefield and as you say, some do some things well and others don’t, I can’t seem to find one that works for me at the moment
Bitdefender free or paid if you’re willing to, it’s worth it.
Check antivirus sites like AV-Test or AV-Comparatives.
Never run without any antivirus, especially on windows. Microsoft is better than nothing, on av comparatives it’s online detection rate is 85.9% and thus out of the group tested, it’s comes last but 1. So it’s rated as Standard protection but others like Bitdefender are rated advanced +
My personal choice for paid antivirus is ESET NOD32 Antivirus - for me it’s the best combination of effectiveness whilst still being reasonably resource-light.
Thanks to everyone for they’re recommendations, I’m trying out the combination of Avast Free antivirus and Malwarebytes (but Avast has a malware too also which looks good), so we’ll see how it works outs and if my windows laptop slows etc. So far so good though
