What Anti-Virus Anti-Malware do you use/recommend?

[Foxhood]

I personally use Malwarebytes premium, but i do have the distinct advantage that i subscribed when the software was a lot cheaper per year and they honour whatever one agreed to in the past indefinitely. So i still pay "just" 23 Euro per year for 3 devices.

Reason i chose MBAM back then, was because at the time it was (and still is) a no-frills security program that focuses on doing one job very well, keeping malware out. Unlike most competitors that threw in Firewalls, Password managers, obnoxious UI design, voice-lines, cloud stuff and system optimizers to try and justify their use over windows defender.

MBAM just sits there in the corner, content with just 100mb of memory in use and silently keeping things safe. Can even be configured to only notify on a threat being detected so i won't even disrupt games unless it is urgent.

 

[Brian Boru]

Would love to hear your opinion on this article

I looked at the author, never heard of him, so he's one of thousands sharing such content on the web.

If it was about text editors or databases or many other topics, I wouldn't knock it—I wouldn't read it of course, as I know where to find tried and trusted content on most software.

Is there something else i need to consider which wasn't indicated in the article?

Yes, author reliability. For crucial info like security, safety, hardware reliability, OS—I wouldn't dream of considering a new unproven author.

 

[JarlBSoD]

I use Norton AV because i get licenses from work so no need to pay for them.
I willnever ever in my life install Kaspersky again, huge problems trying to cancle the sub and with the current russian situation.. hell no! I wouldn't trust that thing to not be used by FSB even if i wanted to send money to a russian company atm. Last time i used it was probably aroudn 2010 or so.

 

[amc01]

PCG's recent article…

Best antivirus for PC gaming 2021

The best antivirus software will protect your precious files and keep your play time uninterrupted.

www.pcgamer.com

…recommends the following, in order of preference:
1. Bitdefender Total Security 2021
2. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2021
3. McAfee Gamer Security
4. Webroot SecureAnywhere
5. Avira Free Antivirus

Of those, I used Kaspersky and McAfee in the 00s. Kaspersky was very good, McAfee not.

I think Norton was my first, because I loved Norton Utilities in the 90s. But the Norton brand gradually degraded after Symantec bought it, so I moved on.

After the previous 2, I used Eset's Nod32 for years, it was excellent and unobtrusive, and would be my 2nd choice today if it's stayed on track.
For the past 5+ years I've used MalwareBytes Premium—I forget why I switched, probably added some extra layer I wanted. It's been excellent.

I haven't stayed current on the industry, so I can't recommend beyond what I said above. I can say that if you're careful online, then Windows Defender—free with Windows—is probably good enough for you. I'm careful but I run an online business, so the extra layer is good insurance as a hit would be potentially much worse for me than if gaming was my only PC activity.

How about you?

Old post so just wondering if you still use MalwareBytes Premium and recommend it? 😅

 

[Colif]

it can be helpful added insurance. Most AV will work alongside it.

 

[Brian Boru]

wondering if you still use MalwareBytes Premium and recommend it?

I do, and I do

If I only used PC for gaming, browsing, movies and similar, I would rely on Windows Defender alone. But still using PC for work too, so the extra layer Colif mentions is probably worthwhile—both apps work together without a hitch.

Malwarebytes continues to be unobtrusive, resource-friendly, and all-round good egg. I have no reason to look for an alternative.

 

[mjs warlord]

Since my first posting to this thread things have changed , because of what is happening in the Ukraine i did not renew my Kaspersky anti virus when it was running out. I tried the ESET free version on my spare pc to get a feel of how it woks. I then made a purchase to cover 2 pc and 1 laptop , it is a bit more expensive than most anti virus but in the last 20 odd years of pc use it is the best i have used. The first few scans seem to take a very long time to run but the program seems to speed up on subsequent scans.

One good thing it has , on your online account you can name each download so if you are going to replace a pc you can delete that download from your account and re install the days days you have left on other pc.

 

[amc01]

it can be helpful added insurance. Most AV will work alongside it.

As in the AV is in addition to Windows Defender?

 

[amc01]

I do, and I do

If I only used PC for gaming, browsing, movies and similar, I would rely on Windows Defender alone. But still using PC for work too, so the extra layer Colif mentions is probably worthwhile—both apps work together without a hitch.

Malwarebytes continues to be unobtrusive, resource-friendly, and all-round good egg. I have no reason to look for an alternative.

Ideal cheers - may give that a go as I do prefer the additional layer of protection…to be on the safe side (probably over cautious) lol

 

[Colif]

As in the AV is in addition to Windows Defender?

it should work with defender and any other one you might use instead of defender. Not good idea to have 2 AV programs as they can see each other as threats. Bitdefender sometimes sees Malwarebytes as a problem, its main reason I don't have it installed now... Malwarebytes I mean.

 

[JarlBSoD]

it should work with defender and any other one you might use instead of defender. Not good idea to have 2 AV programs as they can see each other as threats. Bitdefender sometimes sees Malwarebytes as a problem, its main reason I don't have it installed now... Malwarebytes I mean.

Bitdefender is often prone to more false positives but being so narrow minded is allso why Bitdefender is so good

 

[mjs warlord]

A long time ago the pc i had at the time suddenly started running slow for no apparent reason.
I tried everything i could think of without success and a local pc store recommended spy sweeper.
It found 5 keyloggers on the first pass , it is no longer available as a stand alone program , only with the av.

 

[Colif]

https://www.hitmanpro.com/en-us can be useful too, just don't need too many tools or you end up not being able to use PC. You can be too secure and break browsers - if you use Ghostery. Ublock Origin is useful in browsers that still allow add blockers... so not chrome.

 

[amc01]

it should work with defender and any other one you might use instead of defender. Not good idea to have 2 AV programs as they can see each other as threats. Bitdefender sometimes sees Malwarebytes as a problem, its main reason I don't have it installed now... Malwarebytes I mean.

Makes sense thanks

 

[martinjamesdell]

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/9354/

Luckily, i have just found the solution from https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/9354/ thanks for the link.