My BitDefender just expired (worked excellent) and I'm strongly considering renewing but I'm looking for something that is fairly decent-good, get's the job done, and very affordable. Free would be awesome (probably highly unlikely) but I know on EBay you can download various anti-virus software links for like $5 - $15 depending on how many devices you want to protect. I recently purchased but just un-installed Trend Micro because it made my computer run very slow, very loud and very hot! (gaming, live streams, downloads, etc.)...$5 down the drain. No big deal. So any recommendations on what's reliable, works great, and doesn't slow down your computer, or make it run loud and hot? Many thanks in advance!
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Free: Avast
Affordable{ McAfee is still the best bang for your buck.
Norton ia overacted.Comment -
Check your Inbox.
Stick with Bitdefender ...Best by far.
>Cancel current sub--
Join with low-priced offer.Comment -
Avast
AVG
Both free.Comment -
McAfee works for me. Gotta pay though.Comment -
Stop watching so much porn and you won't have to worry about it, you dirty little donkey.Comment -
I like webroot because it doesn’t slow your computer down in the background. I feel Mcafee runs too hard and uses too much memory which bogs down the computerComment -
Just stick with the stock anti-malware that comes with Windows, don't click strange crap in email, don't go to shady sites and run an adblocker + script blocker in your browser. Don't pay for third-party anti-malware and the free stuff is just bloatware.Comment -
You couldn't pay me to use Avast/AVG. The anti-virus has historically been very good when it works, but I had so many issues with their updates, misinformation, unencrypted logging, and other malpractices that they ended up banning my account on their forum. I started migrating PCs away from them circa 2010 and by 2012 all the club's machines were using alternative products.
Ultimately it depends on what level of protection you want and how much of a performance trade-off you're willing to accept. If you're using Windows then technically you don't need anything because it has an anti-virus in-built, (Windows Defender), which is actually pretty good. However, since WD will kick in automatically if there's a problem with your 'primary' anti-virus I would recommend getting something else and using WD as an emergency back-up. If you want your anti-virus to block you from sites where there are, or might be, issues then Avast/AVG is probably the best free option for you. This will block you from a lot of sites, (streaming sites come to mind), where there are potentially dangerous 3rd party links or an element that contains something questionable that your a-v would have dealt with anyway. It will also block some illegal sites, (including some gambling sites), some Chinese/Russian sites and basically take a 'nanny state' approach. Malwarebytes a-v has a very good version, which isn't free, (and their half price sale recently ended), but that product has a noticeably higher impact on machine performance. Personally I use Panda a-v which is free and light-weight. It's not going to stop you going anywhere and it will quietly deal with the consequences as best it can. I've had 2 very minor problems with it in 11+ years and Panda has rectified their problems within 2 days, (unlike Avast who are slow to acknowledge or deal with problems). Even if you don't use Malwarebytes a-v I would still recommend their free program for scans.
If you want ransomware protection i'd recommend the free version of Cryptoprevent. This program also has an impact on performance and the free version doesn't update.
I can't say for certain that any of this stuff works because you can only really gauge that if/when they fail. The advice from an I-T guy on another site is that the best defense for your machine is the behaviour of the person using said machine. Put the machine in risky situations and your risk will increase. Basically if you're going to play with fire then do so with a cheap 3rd hand device that you're willing to put in the bin when it goes wrong. That's advice that i've taken and obviously I don't use that 'crappy' device for financial/personal-id purposes.Comment -
Norton, been using it for many years.Comment -
Thanks for all of the helpful responses guys! Appreciate you very much!Comment -
any particular reason(s) why this thread got salooned?Comment -
my windows defender works great old pc i neveer click links in e mails and stay far away from free things to win like i phone or huge 50 inch tv etc...Comment -
Trend Micro the best I’ve ever used. Best moneyI’ve spent. Up to 5 devices. I’m with them about 6-7 years and have never had a problem.
Norton sucks, and McAfee crashed one of my laptops. I’m not stepping on anyones toes but my bad experiences with these two were a nightmare.
I usually get Trend Micro for two years at a time . I can call them and they set it all up…Or I can do it myself.Comment -
Linux.Comment
