Free Virus Protection?

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Bozza Bostik, Oct 16, 2015.

  1. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    For a work laptop that I use for work, browsing, watching TV and films on (trying to think of something else I use the laptop for but failing), I don't need the 95% other stuff.

    Gaming - I agree. And I have a desk top for that.
     
  2. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    So those of you in the know about these things wouldn't recommend paying for something like Norton? I've been running Norton for years, but if it's not worth it then I'll think about cancelling my subscription next time it's due.
     
  3. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    I always thought Norton was really good until I did away with it.

    I wouldn't pay for it again.

    I used Microsoft Security Essentials and now I've upgraded to Windows 10 use Microsoft Defender.

    As has been said earlier, as long as you don't frequent dodgy sites it's perfectly fine.

    I use it on my laptop, that of my wife and kids and the laptops my field based guys use at work.
     
  4. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    What do you think of Windows 10? I've heard mixed things about it, so i'm undecided whether I upgrade or not.

    Bit off topic but as you mentioned it.
     
  5. Unreal Combat

    Unreal Combat Valued Member

    I use AVG. Runs well enough for my needs. The best protection against viruses in general is common sense.
     
  6. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Honestly I've always been very lax with my computer security and I have never had any issues. I should probably take it more seriously because it will come back and bite me some day. I've always just usedwindows defender or Pc Cillin back in the day and a Spyware remover.

    I really like Windows 10 in comparison to Windows 8. Windows 8 infuriated me, I always seemed to run into compatibility problems or something, their was always something. Windows 10 was a nice change, feels a lot more familiar then windows 8 did.
     
  7. Dean Winchester

    Dean Winchester Valued Member

    And Linux....





    Yeah I went there. :D
     
  8. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    Don't pay for Norton it's a waste of money. I wouldn't use it even if it was free.
     
  9. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    You might even have some malware and rootkits just monitoring everything you do without you even realizing. That's the problem with being lax. I always mess around and test with diff AV software. I love Bitdefender and Kaspersky but use Avira as I find it more than enough. I've heard about ESET Nod32 so I decided to try it out and I'm very impressed with it, it finds and stops things that Kaspersky and BD didn't... For example I enabled popups, and went to some dodgy key and download sites, straight away Nod32 popped up blocked the popups and gave me a link with the trojan and PUP it blocked. Kaspersky and BD would let you download it, then it will show up in a scan.
     
  10. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Crow - I'd heard that running or having more than one AV creates problems - is this an issue with the ones you rec?

    Ever heard of Webroot Secure Anywhere? Anygood?
     
  11. Giovanni

    Giovanni Well-Known Member Supporter

    what kind of software are we debating? not my intention to make this mac vs. pc thread, but here are my reasons for posting the bit about the mac...

    if you don't game, not only are macs much more reliable, but they do not have the same security issues that pc's have, and any software you need to use, again outside of gaming, is available on a mac--most of them for free and most of them superior to anything you can get on a pc.

    cost is a legitimated concern, i get that. i bought my wife a pc a few years back. pc cost us about $400, but i was paying $30/month to keep it virus free--i think it was macafee. the $400 i mentioned above was without the microsoft office suite, so that was another $100. very quickly, the costs add up for the pc. and i'm not even talking about the cost of the time spent maintaining the pc. let's face it, you can security scan all you want, eventually, something is going to get your pc. it always happens.

    and finally, if you do game seriously, why wouldn't you just buy a console? consoles are superior to pc's for gaming, depending on the game of course. but i found that pc versions of the same console games are not as good as the console versions. that's just my experience. yours? different, the same?

    i've been working on a computer every day all day for the last roughly twenty years. i work at a software engineering firm. i think it's no contest what the better product is. i've owned a mac since 2007; currently, own three. i've scanned a mac for virus exactly zero times. i've never had to rescue any mac i own from a virus since 2007. saying all that, i realize that 90% of all computers are windows machines. lol

    which is why i'm advocating for bozza to (next time), just get a mac. in the long run, it's cheaper and superior.

    again, we don't have to go back and forth about the issues. bozza's question was about virus scanning. i'm sorry that i snarkly hijacked.

    when i was in pc world, i used macafee and that seemed to work quite well. i've heard through the grapevine that windows 10 new security suite that comes with it is actually quite good. maybe microsoft got that right?

    cheers.
     
  12. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    You've pretty well sold me on one, at least.

    Why not? Windows 10 collects more information than any malware out there.

    The Viet gangs that run the extortion rackets in nearly all of the Chinatowns do a superb job of protecting their "clients" as well, or so I hear.
     
  13. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    I haven't even bothered looking at consoles for about 15 years. I don't even know what's out there at the moment, X-Box 30K or what? Years ago when I got my first PC (not including the stuff I had as a kid) I was debating PC or console and went with a PC as there seemed to be a lack of games that I liked on the consoles (strat and RPG). What the situation is now, I have no idea.

    Edit: It also doesn't help that I am incredibly indecisive and couldn't decide which one to buy. No issue with a PC really, just buy the best you can afford.

    Also, modding. I believe you can't mod on consoles? Half the fun with The Elder Scrolls and Fallout is the mods. I believe graphics are better on consoles, right? Sod it, rather give my female characters big knockers and bikinis!

    You should be ashamed of yourself. :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2015
  14. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    @ Giovanni

    I think I'll take an American standpoint on this one and say I choose PC because I like freedom. Just because you purchase a Pc doesn't mean your stuck using window, you have the choice of any number of Linux distros which for the most part I prefer over windows, heck I could install a virtual machine and run Mac OS if I chose to. The hardware is not what dictates the risk at which you are at of getting a virus but the Os you run. While I agree Mac is more user friendly then Pc. If you compare the same quality hardware across the board the Mac is no more durable than a Pc. I like the flexibility of being able to upgrade my components as my computer ages, something that is much harder and sometimes impossible to do with Mac.

    As far as games go. It's an age old argument and comes down to personal preference. I don't personally like console, and to say consoles are more powerful than Computers is false. That being said it is true that not all console games are very well ported for Pc and are fewer when talking about Mac. Plus as Bozza mentioned game modding has just recently come to console as well as support for indi developers (that started with the 360) consoles are far behind Pc in meany ways. I do prefer my fighting games on console tho.
     
  15. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    Running 2 active scanners can slow down a system. But not any with a decent processor and an SSD. But I don't run two AV only the one. (Right now a free trial of Eset nod32).

    The rest are not AV. Malwarebytes is best described as Anti spyware? Malwarebytes Anti Exploit, is a browser protector. The rest are batch files that run cleanup tools and scans of rootkits. A little like ccleaner. (Another great free piece of kit)
     
  16. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    Macs are generally fashion statements and there is a LOT of software that doesn't work on a MAC not just games. If you're just browsing sure use a mac. Macs cost more for the specs you get. I haven't had a virus or security problems since I was a teen. Always been on windows and some linux distros.
     
  17. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    Ill show you:

    AV
    [​IMG]
    Malwarebytes Anti Malware
    [​IMG]
    Anti Exploit
    [​IMG]
    Rkill
    [​IMG]
    JRT
    [​IMG]
    Roguekiller
    [​IMG]
    ADW
    [​IMG]
     
  18. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Thanks very much for consolodating/putting this list together. [​IMG]
     
  19. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    That's not true for all applications.

    For instance, when working with real time audio you won't match latency values of Mac Core Audio with ASIO on a Windows machine.

    Graphics and audio studios don't use Macs as a fashion statement. They use them because they're the best tool for the job.
     
  20. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    I don't believe this is the thread for that, the latency issues and values were true 10 years ago, and when MAC had superior editing software for both Audio and and video. After that it became an industry norm, nowadays you can run the exact same software on both a Mac and Windows 7+ machine without any negligible differences.
     

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