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Anti-virus Software Recommendations
09-12-2017, 02:41 PM
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#1
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Pinetops
Posts: 521
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Anti-virus Software Recommendations
I have received a second message from Norton informing me that the renewal for their anti-virus software for my PC is going from $49.95 to $89.95. That is almost double.
Can anyone offer a recommendation for an inexpensive but robust antivirus software to install on my PC?
I guess the more appropriate question is what are you using and how much is it costing ?
Thanks,
Michael
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09-12-2017, 02:45 PM
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#2
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Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,714
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If you want to continue with Norton you can always look for a discounted option at Amazon. No need to pay full price directly to them.
We use Avast free.
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09-12-2017, 02:48 PM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: DC area
Posts: 2,495
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Windows 10's built in protections (Windows Defender AV and firewall) are all you need as long as you apply a little caution. If you don't apply a little caution, chances are the other antivirus products won't help either.
I ran free third party software for years (first AVG, then Avast) with less than one or two hits a year and was finally convinced it was pointless - and most of them gum up your system.
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09-12-2017, 02:50 PM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,146
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I recently switched from Panda Free Antivirus to Immunet. Both are free and cloud based which I like as don't have to download and install signature files. Instead, signature updates are done in the cloud.
Immunet is community based (I think that's why the odd name?) so as soon as John Doe detects a virus and that gets updated, Jane Doe living far away will also get the update very soon.
I switched before Panda kept on nagging to upgrade to a pay version where Immunet does not.
I also hear good things about Bitdefender. If grow to not like Immunet, will probably switch to Bitdefender.
You can always use poll the audience as is Alternativeto website, but that wouldn't be as fun as our comments :
https://alternativeto.net/software/norton-antivirus/
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
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09-12-2017, 03:36 PM
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#5
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 220
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I have used AVG - free for many years and never had any issues. It has caught a number of infections successfully. There are however annoying popups from time to time to buy other protections/services. I would recommend AVG.
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09-12-2017, 03:39 PM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,958
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelB
If you want to continue with Norton you can always look for a discounted option at Amazon. No need to pay full price directly to them.
We use Avast free.
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I didn't find Avast free covered enough and went to the pay option....OP have you checked your Norton account for a discount. They might just be trying to upsell to a higher end product that you don't need.
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09-12-2017, 04:18 PM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Atlanta Suburb
Posts: 1,499
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We have used Webroot for a couple of years. It got high ratings and seems fine. However, at renewal they do the same thing as Norton. As another poster mentioned, don't do the auto renewal. You can find a discount either through Amazon or elsewhere on the web. We ended up paying the first year price of around $40 or $50 for the renewal.
FN
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And can't sustain like one half could
It's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees" - John Mayer
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09-12-2017, 04:25 PM
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#8
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,731
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Windows Defender here. No issues.
Also run free Malwarebytes occasionally.
Clean as a whistle for years.
Don't make this too hard.
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*********Go Yankees!*********
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09-12-2017, 04:26 PM
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#9
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,525
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I use Windows Defender on my Win 10 laptop and haven't had any issues. I don't go to any websites that are likely to "test" the virus protection so I don't really know how Windows defender would fare there but so far so good. Most of my computer time however is spent on my Linux desktop system and I have no antivirus software loaded since none is really needed when using Linux.
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09-12-2017, 04:31 PM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: W Wash
Posts: 1,644
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You might check your cable provider--ours provided a free copy of Macafee I believe. Fido also use to provide free virus scan. I am in the Win Defender camp with Malawarebytes
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09-12-2017, 04:40 PM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 7,591
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I always put Malwarebytes as my "recovery" antimalware. If something slips through it is powerfully, effective and free. For my first line I use Avast. Also free. I get rid of the Norton etc which are preloaded on new computers. I research these every couple of years and consider replacements.
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09-12-2017, 05:30 PM
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#12
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 222
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USGrant1962
Windows 10's built in protections (Windows Defender AV and firewall) are all you need as long as you apply a little caution. If you don't apply a little caution, chances are the other antivirus products won't help either.
I ran free third party software for years (first AVG, then Avast) with less than one or two hits a year and was finally convinced it was pointless - and most of them gum up your system.
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+1
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09-12-2017, 05:59 PM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,969
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Webroot
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09-12-2017, 06:11 PM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Williston, FL
Posts: 3,925
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I use free windows defender.
If I have to get rid of anything else, Malware Bytes works. That is free too.
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09-12-2017, 08:47 PM
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#15
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 72
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Malwarebytes paid version ($25-$30 per year) plus windows defender. I got infected once a couple years ago before I had Malwarebytes and it was literally hell to fix. Been very happy with Malwarebytes. It catches stuff that defender and chrome doesn't.
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09-12-2017, 09:12 PM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: W Wash
Posts: 1,644
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tomc5179
Malwarebytes paid version ($25-$30 per year) plus windows defender. I got infected once a couple years ago before I had Malwarebytes and it was literally hell to fix. Been very happy with Malwarebytes. It catches stuff that defender and chrome doesn't.
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+1
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09-12-2017, 09:15 PM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,695
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I use Windows Defender and the free version of Malwarebytes. Defender's Quick Scan runs every few days or so, and I run the Full Scan every so often, as I do with Malwarebytes.
__________________
Retired in late 2008 at age 45. Cashed in company stock, bought a lot of shares in a big bond fund and am living nicely off its dividends. IRA, SS, and a pension await me at age 60 and later. No kids, no debts.
"I want my money working for me instead of me working for my money!"
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09-13-2017, 05:01 AM
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#18
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Palma de Mallorca
Posts: 1,419
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USGrant1962
Windows 10's built in protections (Windows Defender AV and firewall) are all you need as long as you apply a little caution. If you don't apply a little caution, chances are the other antivirus products won't help either.
I ran free third party software for years (first AVG, then Avast) with less than one or two hits a year and was finally convinced it was pointless - and most of them gum up your system.
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Hooray!
I ran a network of 2000 PCs for 10+ years with no anti-virus software. It's one of the purest examples of a problem that barely exists being fixed by a product that doesn't work. I saw an interview with John McAfee where he admitted that he didn't use any AV software.
Of course, malware in general *is* a huge problem. But almost all successful malware relies on exploiting bugs in the operating system, which is not what most AV products protect you against --- indeed, they can't, because the AV software companies don't know where the next critical bug is any more than the OS makers. (Or they do, but the OS makers refuse to patch it, as happened when WannaCry trashed a lot of Windows XP systems earlier this year. Do you remember any anti-virus software companies telling you how they saved you? The UK national health system's AV company, Sophos, had to remove the NHS as an example of a big organisation it was "protecting" from its web site, because it catastrophically failed to protect them. Yet for some reason, people forgive AV software even when it fails them time and again.)
The problem is that the model of the "evil virus that will infect your files and destroy your PC", which kicked off the whole AV industry 25 years ago, is so persistent, even though such viruses are basically extinct; where it's at now is worms, which are basically orthogonal to viruses and are immune to typical AV software security scans. Malware is now a billion-dollar (underground) business, based on sitting there and quietly using a percentage of your PC's resources. It has no interest in doing much damage to your computer; rather, it's basically a parasite whose interest is to take what it needs from the host without killing it (and, ideally, without the host --- which means you and your PC together --- knowing the parasite is there).
Your money is far better spent on a premium subscription (if you have lots of data; if not, the free deal can be fine) for Google Drive or Dropbox or OneDrive, or perhaps giving $20 to a friend to configure a nightly backup of your main data. By far the biggest cause of data loss is physical theft of the computer (especially laptops), followed by hard drive failure. Backups protect you against those as well as the (mostly mythical) Evil Virus That Trashes Everything.
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09-13-2017, 06:07 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 10,931
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USGrant1962
Windows 10's built in protections (Windows Defender AV and firewall) are all you need as long as you apply a little caution.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aja8888
Windows Defender here. No issues.
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+1
None are 100% but W10 free stuff seems to work very well.
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09-13-2017, 08:56 AM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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I want really good security, so I go ahead and pay for Norton because for me it is a known quantity, I have used it for 20+ years, and my perception is that it does a good job. I could probably get equally good software for much less or for free, but it's the "probably" that keeps me paying for Norton.
I also scan using the free version of Malwarebytes several times a week, as well as scanning with Norton and using Norton's firewall and other features.
For me Norton is worth the money. But you're right, it is expensive and that cost is probably not necessary. Some other people might want to save that cost for a few years and spend the money on a trip to Europe or something.
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Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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