Advanced Plus Security Minimalist's Security Configuration 2026

Last updated
Mar 15, 2026
How it's used?
For home and private use
Operating system
Windows 11
Other operating system
N/A
On-device encryption
N/A
Log-in security
    • Biometrics (Windows Hello PIN, TouchID, Face, Iris, Fingerprint)
Security updates
Check for updates and Notify
Update channels
Allow stable updates only
User Access Control
Always notify
Smart App Control
Off
Network firewall
Enabled
About WiFi router
Using wired connection
Real-time security
McAfee Antivirus
Firewall security
Microsoft Defender Firewall
About custom security
N/A
Periodic malware scanners
Sophos Scan & Clean
Malware sample testing
I do not participate in malware testing
Environment for malware testing
N/A
Browser(s) and extensions
Firefox with uBlock Origin
Secure DNS
My ISP's DNS.
Desktop VPN
Mullvad VPN using WireGuard application
Password manager
KeePass
Maintenance tools
UCheck
ShutUp10
AppBuster
File and Photo backup
Daily backup with Macrium Reflect + weekly manual backup to external HDD
Subscriptions
    • None
System recovery
Macrium Reflect
Daily system backup using Grandparent - Parent - Child backup scheme.
Risk factors
    • Browsing to popular websites
    • Opening email attachments
    • Logging into my bank account
    • Downloading software and files from reputable sites
    • Sharing and receiving files and torrents
    • Streaming audio/video content from trusted sites or paid subscriptions
Computer specs
HP EliteDesk 800 G5 TWR
• Intel Core i7-9700 CPU @ 3.00GHz
• Intel UHD Graphics 630
• DDR4 32 GB @ 2667 MHz
• 2x 500 GB SSD + 4TB HDD
What I'm looking for?

Looking for minimum feedback.

Szellem said:
Thank you very much for your reply. That was very detailed.
Could you show me a screenshot of what is available to you under the Scam Protection menu?
Click to expand...
I have only text scams option available though I did not set it up.

1757435254964.png
 
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Minimalist said:
- scan without cleaning. Full scan will automatically clean any infection it finds. For me it found something suspicious in my 80 GB VHD file and moved the whole file to quarantine. Luckily, I had enough free space on C partition otherwise I don't know how that would end. Restore from quarantine solved the problem and VHD file was still usable.
- option to configure how to react on malware detection and let user choose what to do.
- option to add folders to exclusion list.
Click to expand...
I removed eset online scanner just because of that. It detects some program thinking it's malware and quarantines it without even asking, and it always the same file. I absolutely hate that in a security software.
 
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Zero Knowledge said:
Nice and clean setup. I really like it! NOD32 is a great low resource AV/AM. Just wish ESET had cheaper licenses.
Click to expand...
Eset is one of my all time favourite products, but it is not reasonably priced in comparison to other competitors.

I've just received an offer from them.

Eset Premium 1 year for 1 device for $30.99

For the same price I could cover 20 devices for one year from other competitors.
 
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Divine_Barakah said:
Do you restore a clean system backup before installing a new security product or you just uninstall and install one the same system?
Click to expand...
I just uninstall the old one and reinstall new one. Except with Bitdefender after which I had to restore an image since it quarantined some files and registry keys (false positives) which it couldn't restore to original location. With McAfee and Eset I've had no problems so far.

For now I narrowed down the problem to either hardware, drivers or combination of both and new system version (25H2). If I manage to get it create dump files I might get more information.
 
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Szellem said:
What happened with ESET NOD32 that made you switch to McAfee Antivirus?
Click to expand...
I've noticed that ESET's context menu app started to cause problems with dllhost.exe, which made it hang and be closed by Windows. It's a known problem with no solution ATM.
I will wait for version 19.1 to be released. New version is supposedly going to bring some improvements to that app.
 
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Minimalist said:
I've noticed that ESET's context menu app started to cause problems with dllhost.exe, which made it hang and be closed by Windows. It's a known problem with no solution ATM.
I will wait for version 19.1 to be released. New version is supposedly going to bring some improvements to that app.
Click to expand...
That's great! It's weird that there are known bugs like this and they're still working on fixing them. These are the kinds of things that should be fixed quickly.
I use Eset too, but I'm starting to get tired of it. There are Live Grid connection issues every week, etc.
 
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