Best security for different scenarios

[SeriousHoax]

Scenario #1:
Bitdefender Free + Simple Windows Hardening.
Tweaked?:
Disable special offer promotion, suggestion, etc. related stuff in BD.

Scenario #2:
ESET IS + Simple Windows Hardening
Tweaked?:
Enable PUA protection and set real time protection sensitivity for everything to Aggressive.
Honorable mention: Microsoft Defender Default + Simple Windows Hardening

Scenario #3:
Avast Free or Paid
Tweaked?:
Set everything eg: real time protection, behavior shield, web shield, mail shield in Ask mode.

Scenario #4:
Norton 360
Tweaked?:
Disable scheduled task, optimization related stuff.
Honorable mention: Kaspersky IS.

Scenario #5:
Cruel Comodo + a browser extension like TrafficLight/Malwarebytes Browser Guard/McAfee WebAdvisor.
Tweaked?:
N/A

Scenario #6:
Kaspersky Free/IS.
Tweaked?:
User depended.

 

[ForgottenSeer 94654]

Most "normies" and a few geeks want a one-button solution (without alerts).

Only the geeks want the complicated solution.

 

[roger_m]

For scenario 3 my suggestion is 360 Total Security. It's tweakable and is one of the very few antiviruses which gives you option to let you choose what to do when it detects a threat. Just about everything else only has auto quarantine.

 

[Andy Ful]

I am afraid that for many people having strong security is a kind of illusionary protection. This follows from the fact that optimal security level can depend on two opposite factors:
security strength <-------> personal tolerance of false positives and alerts

If the second factor is not high (true for most people) then users suffer when security is strong. After some time they can be infected anyway due to temporarily disabling some security layers or intentionally ignoring security alerts. So stronger does not necessarily mean safer.

For most people, a strong setup is usable only with simple software configurations. It is almost impossible to keep it when people install many applications, frequently use software that requires high privileges, use niche applications, use games with mods, cracks, etc.