I thought AVG will be more secure than MS Defender by default.
Absolutely. 3rd party AVs are more trouble than they're worth.
Thanks for the detailed answer. I have been using Microsoft Defender since the release of Windows 10 and until today I have not gotten any virus on the device, but when I watch videos that criticize Defender and recommend using another antivirus, I become skeptical and think about using 3rd party antivirus.
These videos should be taken with a HUGE grain of salt. They are not real world testing methods, meaning most of them do not test true route of infection to properly test the products, and again habits play a big role in this, as most users will never download a rar or zip file and disable their security to unpack it and see what happens. These infections in the videos realistically would be delivered via phishing emails, links or website/urls, in the real world, meaning proper habits could stop the chain of infection long before it gets initiated.
www.av-comparatives.org
So you already have evidence through your experience that Defender is sufficient
Ignore those videos because they are click-bait. Forums such as MT often have new members who get worried about internet security, or paranoid. Trust your own experience using Defender and please remember to stay safe, not paranoid.
Avira is very light on resources and it is the smallest on size, but the bloat it have is more than any other free antivirus including Avast, and I don't know if it have nagging to upgrade to the premium version or not.
It is what I use currently, Microsoft Defender + Bitdefender TrafficLight for browsers.
You may be obtaining the wrong kind of insurance, as what happens when that paid solution fails you?I'll put my two cents in. Antivirus on a PC is kind of analogous to health insurance. Often, we don't go to doctors for years, but when something terrible happens suddenly, the lack of insurance can ruin your life very badly. Recently, I had to pay 1000 euros for calling an ambulance, so I advise everyone, wherever you go - buy travel insurance, even if for a couple of days
So, 5-10-15 years you haven't encountered viruses - it doesn't matter. What will matter is when you do meet one and it steals your credit card data or encrypts your master's or doctoral thesis. So it makes sense to look for the best defense option for less money, and sometimes it may be worth paying something if it doesn't affect your budget but gives you extra security.
I am not a professional in information security, but if I were to make a virus, the first thing I would try to do would be to break through the Defender defense, as this is the default defense that the virus will almost certainly face. Defender's 0-day defense is essentially zero trust, but let's be honest... When Windows tells me that it doesn't know some file, I just go ahead and disable that message.
According to the latest tests, Avast/AVG have very good detection and performance, which are slightly better than Defender. I think the Avast engine is one of the best right now. So, I would choose AVG. And if I have an extra couple of euros, I would buy Avast in another region for the handy sandbox and some small benefits..
You can say the same about defender, just antivirus with a browser extension like Trafficlight. But avira also has a behavior blocker (from bullgard build in) while defender has Behaviour blocking in the cloud. I would like to see a test between Avira and Defender
Backups, of course, are good, but they will not save you from data leaks, and simply lost time needed for recovery even in the presence of backups, because unlikely any user makes a regular backup of the entire OS every day, which means that you will need to manually restore individual files, settings, programs. The need to restore something from backup due to a security penetration required me to change all passwords everywhere just in case, which is already an extra hour of work
I generally agree that with good habits, you can even disable Defender to save performance, the question is how good the habits are and whether you always follow them.
If your paid software fails and everything you have is encrypted, then what. What if it lets a data leak happen. How would you stop that. Once it leaves your network, how do you keep leaks from happening in websites and servers? Paid software or defaults will not do anything here.Backups, of course, are good, but they will not save you from data leaks, and simply lost time needed for recovery even in the presence of backups, because unlikely any user makes a regular backup of the entire OS every day, which means that you will need to manually restore individual files, settings, programs. The need to restore something from backup due to a security penetration required me to change all passwords everywhere just in case, which is already an extra hour of work
