Free Antivirus/Combo for Windows 8?

[SlimShady]

I need an Antivirus that is actually better than the built-in Windows Defender. I still have a license on Eset Smart Security 6 but it will expire in 3 Weeks and I have no further plans on renewing it or using a fake version of it for that matter so if possible, I want a free combo or free AV. I think Comodo is a little bit inadequate as it feels like it lacks a lot of website blocking technologies. The paid option I have is Norton Internet Security 2013 which I have because of my OEM and I got a license but I have to redeem it and its a full year license. I might consider Avira but not AVG. Avast is buggy to me because the UI lags when I run around it and though light in resources, I felt a lag on my browser and other apps when I open them. So what AV can I use for my PC?

 

[Ink]

What do you not like about the built-in Windows Defender?

You can use our Security Wizard too;
http://malwaretips.com/Forum-Security-Configuration-Wizard

 

[jamescv7]

if you are concern about the performance in Windows Defender then you don't need to worry about since its could protect from most threats + no slowdowns since its a built in.

 

[SlimShady]

What do you not like about the built-in Windows Defender?

You can use our Security Wizard too;
http://malwaretips.com/Forum-Security-Configuration-Wizard

It just feels eery to me mostly because when I used it in 7 in the past, my PC died and I had to format it because the damage was too great that if I clean it, I would get a corrupted OS so from that point onwards, I never trusted MSE or Defender ever again.

 

[jamescv7]

Windows Defender (a.k.a MSE on Windows 8) will not generally made an any issue unless installing third pary AV's could be the start of issues.

Just made some complement for WD if necessarily but Windows 8 have a full blown built in security features.

 

[Littlebits]

I never trusted Microsoft security either until Windows 8.
Believe it offers excellent with the default security setup (UAC, Windows Defender and Windows Firewall).

One thing you need to beware of since Windows 8 has only been for a short time many AV's and other security products that claim they are Windows 8 compatible are really not and still have many issues, it will probably be awhile before all of the problems are worked out with third-party security products.

If you use IE10 with SmartScreen enabled it has excellent malware blocking and also warns you about downloading files that are not digitally signed by trusted vendors. You you rather use Google Chrome or Firefox you can add security extensions to it as well.

Watching your own actions when downloading files and browsing the web will protect you from the other things that might not get detected by Windows default security.

I have been using the default setup on my laptop every since Windows 8 came out and I have not have any problems or issues with malware.

Learn how to use UAC and it will provide you the best protection you can get. Never approve unknown files or files that are not digitally signed unless you known for sure they are safe from a trusted source.

My advice just use Windows 8 default security, third-party security products might cause more issues then what malware could do.

You can read various forums about how a lot of third-party security products cause major problems on Windows 8, just Google and you should be able to find more info.

Enjoy!!

 

[SlimShady]

Okay I tried the recommendation of Windows Defender as a AV and it did not do good. I suffered an Error 0x800705b4 when trying to re-enable the protection. I tried Googling it but no solutions worked. I just removed ESET because my license was gonna die and I removed it to get rid of the "Your license is about to expire" notifications.

EDIT: I fixed it! All it needed was a Registry Clean with CCleaner and voila it is back on track!

 

[Deleted member 178]

i can't say better than Littlebits. Windows Built-in security is good enough for people who don't want toying with Avs