You see it all the time.
- “What antivirus should I use?”
- “Free VS paid antivirus?”
- “Which is best for detection?”
- “Which one works best?”
- “Is Kaspersky spyware for Russian intelligence?”
- “Is Avira better than AVG?”
- “How about Microsoft Defender?”
The hard truth? The easy answer would be simple, “none of them“! Unfortunately, that leaves your system virtually open season if you happen to go to the wrong website or download the wrong torrent. So you need one, even if you are the self-proclaimed safest web browser, ever! Every single anti-virus is a compromise, either in detection power or system bogging.
The simple fact is, Windows has come with various versions of Windows Defender, and the other fact is it went from a very mediocre AV to an actual pretty good AV by all means!
It has held up to various tests I have done myself on virtual machines, and it mostly keeps quiet until it is needed (in fact, that is very rare!). That alone makes it one of the best antivirus programs, it does the job without taking up much memory and without blowing up your computer to upgrade to the paid version!
Unfortunately, it is the most popular AV because every Windows PC comes with it and most use it. This leaves it the easiest to exploit, the most attacked, and the detection rates are up there but will often get beat handily by third party programs. It is still a damned good AV, for all intents. But hey, you are a God among underlings, and like cheap department store clothes, Defender works but is not the best! You need more, more, more!
“How about third party? Which is best?”
Then, you got the third party AV’s, and they come in free, freemium, and paid versions. No brainer right? I mean, if it costs more than the latest PC game release and has anti-virus/firewall/anti-spam/anti-spyware/system optimizer/defragger/file shredder/game cheats/cleanup/terrorist protection/dating advice/horoscope, it MUST be good, right?
That “good” is a bad, because they all, to an extent, slow your computer down and often take up a lot of hard drive space. This can make the cure worse than the virus, because it is basically doing the job of some viruses, bogging your sh*t down! You will notice icons seem to disappear and reappear, copying and opening programs has suddenly made you question the cleanliness of your Windows install, and you feel “something is wrong!” Yet it is not, that software you installed is happily protecting you ( and with all the popups in the corner, you know it is doing well….something!)
Free ones: Ah yes, the price of free has gone up, way up! So you say, “heck, it’s free, made by a big AV maker, my cousin likes it, and it’s easy to install! Let’s go enjoy AV bliss!” You install it, and at first it seems amazing, have someone come over to your house and pat you on your back, twice! No more Windows Defender, you have now reached “nearly elite AV status”, and it was the best price, free!!!
Then, you decide to watch YouTube (or German porn), and the first advertisement shows up in the right corner. Then another, and soon you realize your free AV is not only your PC savior, it is like they installed a software salesman along with it! The interface taunts you, that anti-spyware, firewall, and other cool features you could have (if you were not so cheap!) are greyed out, with an “upgrade now” in bright colors. Then you see, instead of being $3000 right now, you have 46 seconds (yes, 46) to upgrade to the full version and to give to 100 of your closest fake friends (read: users to the AV maker) for the low price of $500.00 for a very, very limited time! They even struck out $3000, serious sale is serious!
“Okay, this is crap. Let’s break out the credit card and buy their stuff!”
Alright, you decide to cut your losses and you work (or have access to mom’s credit card), so you decide to buy a premium suite. It’s got it all, even the relationship advice, let’s go!
You plunk down $70.00 and buy that suite that is so loaded with protection and optimization, and it does it all and takes the place of 23.6 programs! Now, you feel you could laugh off a full hacker onslaught, Anony-who? Even the menu is daunting with the sheer amount of things it can do. It even gives you hints how to get to work more efficiently! (so you can save up for the next version.)
No more pop ups, right? You are too much in bliss to notice the quick popup in the corner that showed up, informing you that you could get their VPN for just $10.00 a month. Due to being on a power-high and busy checking out all the options, you miss this. Then, it advertises their system cleaner, also heavily discounted for you (even though you just spent a small fortune). Then another, then another. Then it tells you you need to update it.
This angers you, you paid for it and it is STILL trying to sell you things and nagging you! But hey, you got that leet protection now, player, so you decide to leave it and go about your day. You download something, and noticed the download fails. What the heck happened, are you cursed? No, your protection is so leet that it hurts productivity, blocks things you do not want it to, overreaches, overreacts, and the kicker is it is still very verbal about all this!
Suddenly, you miss computing in peace, and yes…Windows Defender is upset with you for breaking up with her, but is now laughing because your “new girl” is dicking you around more than helping you! Remember, you got 364 more days to enjoy your premium subscription, which you will forget about and a year later realize, with horror, that that AV suite that costs $40.00 when you got it, now automatically takes it out of your bank account a year later for double that price, plus tax!
So alright, this all is a mess whether you go free or paid with the antivirus! What can you do to actually protect your computer?
- Get a VPN (not the ones offered by your AV maker, which can be merely alright or downright not so good). I use ExpressVPN myself, NordVPN is good, there are a few good ones out there and they do not cost much.
- Keep Windows updated. Yes, the latest Windows update can be a crap shoot, and break things, but outdated Windows is dangerous Windows!
- Get Malwarebytes free (paid nags you too all the time). While it should never replace your AV, it is a good second opinion and anti-malware program.
- Keep your browsers updated. Whether you use Edge, Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, or Netscape Navigator (joke), keep it updated!
- Get an ad-blocker and other browser add-ons, like script blockers. The trick is to protect yourself, but not get so much protection it hurts your productivity. Keep your add-ons updated, always and your ad-blocker definitions updated, daily at least.
- Stay away from pirating sites and only go to popular porno sites! The Asian (or Doom) porn sites can be easily spoofed and infect you with a variety of nasties.
- Get a good system cleaner, Iolo System Mechanic, Glary Utilities, etc and run it every week or so.
- Do NOT use AV browser add-ons or extensions, as they can be spyware themselves or compromise security.
- Just doing this, I have not had a virus in years and even when I did get one, my system detected and got rid of it without me having to lift a finger!
“Alright, so what is the best antivirus that you glossed over?”
The answer, there is no best but likely a best for you. Modern AV, provided they are legit, are generally pretty good and protect you at a very good rate. Where they differ is how much they nag you, how much they bog down your computer, and how much “extra you do not need” they provide you. They sometimes overreach, deleting legit downloads for example, What works best for me, will not work so good for you.
Here is a pretty well rounded setup for most and might even save you if you live on the wild side
- Just use Microsoft Defender, backed with Malwarebytes free. You got Defender performing the real time protection, then Malwarebytes giving you a second opinion, aimed more at malware and things Defender would let pass. With the two of them, they play nice together and they fortify each other.
- Adblocker, keep it updated and do not go too crazy with the filter lists.
- Stay away from sites you know can be trouble. Unknown porn sites (sorry bro), software hacks/keygen/cracks, and emails that are from “Best Buy”, but have an email address like [“Haxyourass143@abc.com](mailto:”Haxyourass143@abc.com)”
- Use a Password manager add on. I personally use Lastpass, but there are a few out there and can help bolster your security.
- Keep your system and browsers clean
- Do not rely on “auto” protection, include manual virus and Malwarebytes scans into your computer maintenance routine.
- Do not run scripts if you have no idea what they do .
- Common sense, if you got it, flaunt it!
This will protect against a ton of issues, yet keeps your system running smooth and fast with minimal nagging. You can get a third party AV suite, but they can be way more than what you need and cause a lot of hassle and take away productivity. Better to build your own, which can be free/cheap and be a much better overall solution.
I hope this helps!
submitted by /u/Nytemere_R
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