Free Antivirus software

Seems to me that my brother uses Bitdefender among a slew of protective software. If I remember that correctly, he likes it and has been using it for years.

I don't remember specifically the other programs my brother uses, but he basically doesn't allow his computer to do Anything without permission.

BitDefender is a good choice. Avast sucks.

@ Robert Hill
every one that you mentioned has wrecked havoc on my computers in the past and a few other name brands were more of a problem than some of the virus and maleware I've had on my computers.

The real bad infections can usually be dealt with by googlin a fix for that specific bug.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus came on my win7 64 Pro and it appears to be a winner at instant notification about suspicious websites that install things on computers and is very user friendly and does not become a part of every program on my system.

I still run the portable version of SuperAntiSpyWare on my online computer on a weekly basis to rid of those pesky cookie troll bots.

Microsoft Defender is something that you want to keep up to date and running 24/7.

From my experience, the best prevention is not free and the expensive is not the best.

:clink:

In Windows 8/10, Microsoft Defender is an antivirus / antimalware. Free. I've been using it for years on my personal machine and it's been doing well for me.

In earlier versions of Windows, Defender is just a antispyware thing. Microsoft Security Essentials is the free antivirus thing that MS offers for Win7 and earlier.

complex issue.
the User can override most any protection software, and the cost of locking down is often great.
unplug from the internet when not actively in use...

amusing and informative article I was reading last week; http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/free-apps-response.html

We have been using the free Avast on seven high end computers for the last 6 years at least. Some early teething problems with installation but otherwise no issues. Haven't had a virus issue for many years, touch wood. I think (but don't know for sure) that a lot of viruses and malware get knocked out by Windows and Internet Providers' own protection and since most things are internet/email transferred these days, a lot of protection is out there, touch wood again.

I still like superantispyware.

Viruses and malware are two different things. Be careful not to confuse them. There are programs to protect from viruses and there are programs to protect from malware. There are some programs that protect from both. However, running two antivirus softwares on the same machine can cause conflicts and cause them to alert to false positives. Multiple antimalware programs are usually OK though. And then there's spyware....

Might want to check this out here: http://tinyurl.com/zs8n7w3

Seems that a great many are saying it's better to skip it then introduce another potential vector surface for viruses due to the way AV now has to get in-between you and any https connection.
I listen to quite a number of podcasts dealing with security and they all say AV isn't recommended.

Robert Hill, post: 412550, member: 378 wrote: Another antivirus software post ...
Downloaded Bitdefender to an older laptop (Dell Win7)
Didn't want to go with Avast or AVG from past experiences.
Tired of Kazpersky and associated cost.
Seems to be behaving ok.
Anyone else satisfied or other thoughts about it.
Gave this laptop recently to swmbo. She needed another laptop for work. She does some filesharing of personal info of clients through different work share programs for a second job of hers.

"Free" is not the best option, not to say that a free program is worse than a purchased package but there is a reason it is free and generally not out the kindness of somebody's heart. Hacking and information thefts happen on a daily basis as we are all well aware. When a hacker of bot is blocked by software they figure out a way to defeat the software. That requires constant updates to the anti virus software by well trained programmers so you have to wonder who is paying for the work of these skiiled professionals and where the funding is coming from.

mcaanda, post: 412607, member: 3108 wrote: Might want to check this out here: http://tinyurl.com/zs8n7w3

Wow, great article. Thank you for sharing.

This thread comes at a somewhat timely moment as last Friday I was informed that the company I work for was duped into passing along all employee's W-2 tax information, including my own, through a very legitimate looking 'internal' email. The company notified me the next day of the breach and I had to scramble to get my taxes filed over the weekend, only to have them rejected as the bad guys had beat me to the punch. Now begins the long and tedious process of taking all of the necessary actions to try and preserve my good credit and name as the basdards now have nearly everything they need to clone my identity. I'm being told it was Russian hackers that were behind it.

I've just been running Windows Defender for the last 6 months with nothing else. It seems to do the job - fingers crossed. Your Firewall protection alone will provide the most security. Having all that other virus stuff just bogs down your system (from lots of experience).

Like another poster has stated IP's have a stake in providing basic malware/spyware/virus protection. They don't like it any better than we do.

With these new SS hard drives reinstalling an OS is much easier (basically 20 minutes with updates). Just keep your settings backed up periodically.

Running with W10 Pro and 16G ram .....

Thanks for the interesting info.
The laptop Win7 doesn't get full use as explained in OP. Not much Internet except for safe sites. Kid uses his own tablet now for school and leisure.
Swmbo doesn't care for the Internet and doesn't do social media stuff.
She has an old iPad for leisure.

In over 20 years, only have caught 2
Viruses on various machines and 1 malware.
Initially was using Norton but wasn't particularly impressed. Plus there was an abundance of negative reviews.
Used AVG for a few years. Used Avast for a few months and didn't like how it took too much control.
Kaspersky was OK. I liked the interface.

Going to give Bitdefender a try.
Also have malware antibytes for scans and if needed cc cleaner.

For the record, I have not used any antivirus for a couple of years now. As long as you are careful, you can be safe and Windows 10 does have it's own virus/malware catcher. I do run Ccleaner occasionally for general housekeeping and I might run Hitman Pro from time to time, but it never finds anything.

About a month ago, the company I work for ground to an abrupt halt when hit with a company wide virus. Came in through an employee's computer and locked up the servers. Total shut down was about 4-5 hours of not being able to work. At all.

Some folks just refuse to be as careful as they ought (have) to be. Anyway, I put an anti-virus program on my work computer which has caught one or two bugs. When we can not be responsible for the irresponsible actions of others, we sometimes have to take some action in an attempt to protect ourselves.

https://surveyorconnect.com/community/members/john.791/&apos ;">John your IT people need to limit employee computer access. They also need to lock down the workstations so that users can't install random stuff.
https://surveyorconnect.com/community/members/williwaw.7066/&apos ;">Williwaw that is nuts! "social engineering" defeats all software... but only if the User has access.

Peter, in principal, you are quite correct. The inside sales "people" need internet access for various work related activities, but should be limited otherwise. They aren't, except for company policy.

I have AutoCAD on my machine which, last I knew, required admin access to the computer to operate. And here I am, in violation of company policy, taking a break on a great forum! :p

People struggle with self control to say the least. If you have the power block craigslist and ebay on all of your work computers and it will not be long before an employee comes to inform you, "The internet is down"

Those same folks are clicking on every "social engineering" scam you laugh at. Can't miss a deal, Russian brides, or six-pack abs ya know. Just click away!

Steve