Do you use an antivirus on your computer? I'm gonna buy a new laptop on Tuesday and I'm not sure whether I would stick with Windows Defender and add MalwareBytes Free into the blend. Anyways, what antivirus do you use? Do you have an antivirus for precautions or did you have a bad experience with viruses/malwares?
Antivirus
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killer-curry
Oro.........?
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Windows Defender. But Seriously, if you are an user that knows what you surfing, I'm pretty sure Windows Defender is able to do it's job fine.
Judge Mandolore Shepard
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When it comes to the antivirus software I use on my laptop, it happens to be Sophos.
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Avast is one I recommend to my clients for windows. When I am on Windows, I used MalwareBytes premium. It has caught plenty of stuff that i knew windows defender probably wouldn't. A mix of Avast and MalwareBytes might be best for the general user.
Stay the hell away from McAfee and Norton. Both a virusy themselves and both catch literally nothing. I can't tell you how many old ladies fell for that scam when they bought a new anti virus.
Stay the hell away from McAfee and Norton. Both a virusy themselves and both catch literally nothing. I can't tell you how many old ladies fell for that scam when they bought a new anti virus.
I usually just use Windows Defender.
Though recently have also been using MalwareBytes for scans every now and then. I ran a scan with Avast, waited for like 5 hours on a long scan and it caught nothing so I unistalled it like usual. Then ran a fuill scan with Malwarebytes which only took an hour and it caught a lot of stuff, granted most of it was minor, and idk if any were just false positives, but I rather have false positives than no results at all.
I usually unistall Antiviruses after a scan because they eat CPU and memory, but Malwarebytes is pretty convenient since you can make it not run on start up. And unlike Avast it runs fairly smoothly (might be just my bad PC, but Avast tends to lag A LOT for me).
And yeah definitely stay away from McAfee and Norton. There are quite a few terrible ones too that I can't really remember from the top of my head. At best they will just delete themselves because they are so terrible, but in any other case they will spread malware to your computer or delete system files that are required for the computer to even run.
Though recently have also been using MalwareBytes for scans every now and then. I ran a scan with Avast, waited for like 5 hours on a long scan and it caught nothing so I unistalled it like usual. Then ran a fuill scan with Malwarebytes which only took an hour and it caught a lot of stuff, granted most of it was minor, and idk if any were just false positives, but I rather have false positives than no results at all.
I usually unistall Antiviruses after a scan because they eat CPU and memory, but Malwarebytes is pretty convenient since you can make it not run on start up. And unlike Avast it runs fairly smoothly (might be just my bad PC, but Avast tends to lag A LOT for me).
And yeah definitely stay away from McAfee and Norton. There are quite a few terrible ones too that I can't really remember from the top of my head. At best they will just delete themselves because they are so terrible, but in any other case they will spread malware to your computer or delete system files that are required for the computer to even run.
What about Linux?
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It's a joke friend. You don't need an antivirus on a well secured Linux system is what he's saying.
To be honest, I don't need an anti virus. In fact, all I need is a scanner like MBAM. It's just convenient that MBAM does have a premium version.
Although the vast majority do. Even the tightest windows computer from the best technician needs at least a scanner every few months.
I know that. However, even in the most secure environment, having an antivirus software installed is still better than not having one at all. Sure there are nowhere near as many viruses for Linux as there are Windows, but what's not to say that one cannot be created? Always better to be prepared than not.
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Actually, that depends what you define as a secure environment. For example, I can boot a Tails system from a flash drive, do my business, and then literally pull it out to erase everything. If you mean a system that is permanent, and antivirus could actually be considered to be a hindrance.
To put it like this, Linux can actually be configured to be virus proof. I just did a bit of research on it, and I have seen nothing that says a well informed user, who knows what they are doing, and installs software from the right channels, will get infected. In fact, I know for a fact that, were I to run a regular Linux system on my computer, it would never get infected. Ever. Period. The. End.
No, I don't have a big head, and think that somehow Linux is bulletproof, but if I would install the system on say my grandmothers computer, she would never be infected either. Why? Because all she does is go on the internet. The odds that she would get a Linux-targeted email are very slim, then it would have to be the right package for that version of Linux, i.e. deb or rpm, and then she would have to give the program root access to even install it.
One more thing. I have used Puppy Linux, and one of the best things about that distro is it's lightweight. One other great thing about it is it rebuilds itself. If you consider a computer to be a building, and a virus to be rust leading to collapse, then Puppy is a building that rebuilds itself every time someone enters. I can't even conceive of a situation where it can get infected.
The only time I can see someone getting infected on a Linux system is either when they are experimenting with programs, installing them from who knows where, or they catch a rootkit, which is an entirely different ball game, and is not within the scope of an antivirus to protect.
Based on these arguments, Linux, if well secured, cannot be infected.
I've been hearing that Linux is virus-proof, and user friendly and even works on old hardware! That's why I've been using Ubuntu MATE on my old laptop. But since I need particular software like Photoshop, I need to use a Mac and Windows laptop. (I am aware that I can just use GIMP, but since I'm more familiar on Photoshop than GIMP, I leaned slightly towards Windows, and I can't even buy a Mac since I have limited funds :p)
Anyways, what do you guys think of Avira (free version)?
Anyways, what do you guys think of Avira (free version)?
someguy.fromnevada
I don't know anymore...
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I'm currently running Windows Defender and MalwareBytes Premium.
In the end though, all you really need is Windows Defender, as long as you know your way around the internet.
If you dig yourself into an unknown website or open up strange emails or accept files from unknown sources, you are sure to get your PC damaged.
But if you play it safe, scan everything before hand (with like VirusTotal and such), then you should be just fine.
Of course, having add-ons and such like Ghostery, Adblock Plus, Adguard, and so forth are also handy as a support unit.
Linux isn't "virus free", just very few people actually use Linux, so no real reason for hackers and such to target them. Of course, Linux does have trojans and so forth, but these are a rare bunch.
As for Avira, it is about as useful as Windows Defender, this also applies to EVERY single antivirus program which is LEGITIMATE but "free" (and even paid ones as well). In the end, all of them are pretty equal in status, but some of them are a tad bit behind the rest of the group.
AVG is a mockery of an antivirus program, indeed it is good, but it isn't as good as Sophos or Avira.
Malwarebytes is an amazing product, but unless you have it paid (or cracked/hacked), you're missing out on 24/7 protection. Otherwise, it is about as productive as Avira or Sophos.
Of course, there are other honorable mentions and acceptable programs to use as well, such as:
HerdProtect
ESET
TrendMicro
Panda Security
Bullguard
...and so on and so forth. All of these programs are in some way pretty good and yet, also pretty bad. Most (if not all antivirus/antimalware programs) have some kind of "flaw" that the other antivirus/antimalware programs may not have.
As said before, it all comes down to how you approach the internet. As long as you're not browsing dangerous websites, accepting unknown files and links, and exploring strange content, you should be just fine with generic antivirus and anti-malware programs like Windows Defender or even AVG.
In the end though, all you really need is Windows Defender, as long as you know your way around the internet.
If you dig yourself into an unknown website or open up strange emails or accept files from unknown sources, you are sure to get your PC damaged.
But if you play it safe, scan everything before hand (with like VirusTotal and such), then you should be just fine.
Of course, having add-ons and such like Ghostery, Adblock Plus, Adguard, and so forth are also handy as a support unit.
Linux isn't "virus free", just very few people actually use Linux, so no real reason for hackers and such to target them. Of course, Linux does have trojans and so forth, but these are a rare bunch.
As for Avira, it is about as useful as Windows Defender, this also applies to EVERY single antivirus program which is LEGITIMATE but "free" (and even paid ones as well). In the end, all of them are pretty equal in status, but some of them are a tad bit behind the rest of the group.
AVG is a mockery of an antivirus program, indeed it is good, but it isn't as good as Sophos or Avira.
Malwarebytes is an amazing product, but unless you have it paid (or cracked/hacked), you're missing out on 24/7 protection. Otherwise, it is about as productive as Avira or Sophos.
Of course, there are other honorable mentions and acceptable programs to use as well, such as:
HerdProtect
ESET
TrendMicro
Panda Security
Bullguard
...and so on and so forth. All of these programs are in some way pretty good and yet, also pretty bad. Most (if not all antivirus/antimalware programs) have some kind of "flaw" that the other antivirus/antimalware programs may not have.
As said before, it all comes down to how you approach the internet. As long as you're not browsing dangerous websites, accepting unknown files and links, and exploring strange content, you should be just fine with generic antivirus and anti-malware programs like Windows Defender or even AVG.
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I use linux. No-one writes viruses for linux. Also, I don't need it as I know better than to click on the damn things (viruses)
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Linux is virus proof buddy, just download from the right channels, like the Ubuntu market and you can't get infected. Don't install stuff from outside sources unless you know its trusted, and try to not be in root access all the time. Again, the only thing you can catch like that are super rare rootkits, which an AV can't protect from. Even that though would have to be really malicious and the attacker would need to compromise your network or have physical access to your computer. Again, not happening if you know what your doing.
That said, Avira and Avast are the two top choices from me for my clients. Windows Defender is fine, and if you can afford it, MalwareBytes premium has saved me countless times on my windows machine. With windows, you need some kind of protection, as even good programs can come bundled with adware, CCleaner for example.
Good luck buddy.
Have you even done your research? Viruses do in fact exist for Linux, but they are few and far between to where the average user would not need to worry. Example being: whenever a website gets hacked and has malicious content loaded onto it, that in turn becomes a virus.
I mean, there are so little viruses for linux that means it's not needed to have antivirus.
Exothermic
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I personally use Avira though I recommend Kaspersky and BitDefender to commercial clients.
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That, however, is not a virus on Linux itself, but on the web browser, say Firefox.
The browser itself is what gets compromised, not Linux.