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What (paid for, but preferably not enterprise level) antivirus suite do people recommend? I used and recommended AVG for many years until I ran into a major interaction between it and Thunderbird which resulted in recurrent scrambling of my in-box. I went round in circles with their support people for quite a while before giving up on it.
I currently use McAfee's Total Protection, which would be fine (my wife has no problems with it on her systems) if it did not increasingly frequently flag utility programs I have written (mostly in VB.Net) as viruses! Initially this was just a problem with its 'real-time scanning' component, which had to be disabled when I was actively developing and debugging the programs, and the 'in use' version excluded from these scans. However, it has now taken to quarantining one of my utilities (which has been unchanged for months) on every 'scheduled scan'. I have, of course followed McAfee's guidance for reporting false positives, but I have received no response whatsoever, and, as I have noted, the problem is getting worse.
Is there a more reliable product in the same general price range?
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When it was time to renew McAfee, I just dropped it and now use Windows Defender. I read various reviews which said that it had improved to the point where paying for anti-virus software no longer made sense. However, I also run the premium version of Malwarebytes.
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My employer uses McAfee, and my group takes turns having it screw up, badly enough desktop support has to uninstall/reinstall. While it could be (and probably is) our configuration, McAfee has a been a problem in other locales as well.
Like Greg, I'm using Windows Defender and Malwarebytes. My only issue with Malwarebytes is that if they have a feud with another company, that company's software gets flagged as PUP.
The biggest help I see from MalwareBytes is that it flags iffy web sites. Like others, I'm careful about what sites I hit; that said, mistakes can (and are) made so the warnings help.
Another thought is to read the "best anti-virus of the year" articles that pop up. Before settling on my current configuration, I would read several of the current articles when my current anti-virus license is running out. I read the pros and cons, and switched (or not) to what appears to be the best choice.
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Exactly what I do as well. Have had no issues for years now! 
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I have been using Windows Defender for a number of years and it seems quite reliable.
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On my work Win10 I have only the built in Windows Security (and before that on Win7 the Windows Defender) - I can't remember the last time I had any problem with them... We also have a mail filter utilized by the mail provider...
At home - for increased security - I used Fedora
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Every single antivirus program today is little more that a placebo.
I run a tech shop where people bring their wonky machines to be rehabbed from stints on the internet.
It matters not whether it's got <insert antivirus=""> on it or not. There is malware on the machine and it gets cleaned using tech tools.
In the face of this, I run NO antivirus on my windows 7 pet machine, and watch my S%^t.
I never have a bit of malware even though I wish it were that easy when my pc starts to get fussy. It's always something else.
One thing I've learned. You can take say, and attorney's office with with say 10 people in it "working" away on computers. The same two yahoos will be the consistent problem children, while the other 8 run for years and years without complaint.
To that end use the windows defender that came with windows 10 and just do your work. Go outside to play, there are sharks on the web around every corner and you and John McAfee are powerless to stem the tide.
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Ron Anders wrote: I run NO antivirus on my windows 7 pet machine, and watch my S%^t.
I never have a bit of malware even though I wish it were that easy when my pc starts to get fussy. It's always something else.
Well - if you never look for them you won't find them. An excellent system.
Do you apply the same fine logic to fixing bugs in code?
These gentlemen seem like minded[^].
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: Well - if you never look for them you won't find them. An excellent system.
"The Donald principle"
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Member 7989122 wrote: "The Donald principle"
It's all in 'the numbers' - keeping them down.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Ron I have avoided asking this question but your comment has sparked my interest
I have a Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and I have been using windows defender with support no longer an option
I continue to get Security Updates daily for Windows Defender
Are these updates doing anything or is MS just sending nothing ?
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I think the video at this link covers it:
https:
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I use Kaspersky, partly because it's never given me a problem, and partly because it works on Android and PC so I don't have to think about it. It doesn't catch much, but I'm reasonably careful about what I get from where so mostly it doesn't have to.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I use the built in Windows defender and once a week run a scan using the free version of Malwarebytes.
I haven't had any viruses detected for a good few years now, but I think that's because the scammers have moved their efforts more towards phishing and phone call scams(you know, where "Michael" from Microsoft rings up and somehow you just know that his name is not Michael...).
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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I have used ESET NOD32 happily for fifteen years
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I've only used Windows Defender for many years and have never regretted it.
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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Just in case something gets through: Leave your C: drive to Windows, installed programs that can easily be reinstalled, temporary and log file. Keep all your user data on separate disks. Reinstalling Windows from scratch, with reformatting of the drive, has become very simple nowadays (at least compared to the days when Windows was delivered on 23 floppy disks  ). A utility to reinstall all you application - or rather: your selected applications - gets it all back, without all the crapware that creeps in more or less continously. Registry is cleaned up. Debris after old no longer used software disappears.
I've been fortunate and have never experinced neither ransomware nor destructive virus. I don't know which malware will attack all your disk, but I suspect that most of them go for your C: drive only. In any case: Keeping all your working files on a separate disk makes if far easier to set up a daily incremental backup, so that even if if D++ disks are attacked, they can be easily restored.
Yet, my best virus protection is not using the world'd best virus protection, but the way I use the PC. If I need a tool for a job, I never consider pirated software as an alternative to paying for an official version from a recognized vendor. When I receive dubious email offers, I delete it without opening it. When I receive email that appears to be legitimate: If the message was the slightest "unexpected", I verify all the links in the message before considering clicking it. On web pages on sites that I do not know for 100% sure to be reliable, before clicking any link, I verify that the link under the blue underlined text seems reasonable. I must admit that I am outright bored by triple X movies; I never search up that kind of stuff from any site. Of course I have switched on display of known file extensions; over the years I have seen a couple cases of files in disguise. If I am referred to some new tool, some new resource, I make a quick search on the net for other's evaluation of the resource, and if I decide to try out something, I always find the true home site of the tool; I never download anything from any site that has collected tools from all over "to give you all in one place" - you never know what has bee added.
In brief: I use my PC for a specific set of tasks. I have proper tools for those tasks. I use a recognized set of web sites as information resources.
This is probably why the last time I had a virus issue was with a boot sector virus on a 5.25" floppy.
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I was being semi-facetious about the fact that if you get on their bad side, no anti-virus will protect you.
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Well i'll be dammed, no one actually blamed VB.net for your issues, what has happened to the vitriolic purists who jump on the merest mention of VB in any form.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity -
RAH
I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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Yes, I did brace myself for that before I posted! However, I know that people who program in other Visual Studio languages have reported similar issues with McAfee.
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what is an anti-virus application, just another virus. Years ago a man that had a business supporting different companies said that anti-virus programs are more trouble than they are worth. The one advantage that defender has over any other software is that it can have better hooks into the OS, so should have less harmful side effects. Personally I have only used defender for years, and it seems to do a good job. Occasionally have hit a virus that will disable defender, but nothing recently.
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I’m curious how many people clicked the above link without thinking about it because it was posted as part of a thread about virus protection.
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