Battle Software for a non security enthusiast?

[Venhiem]

I currently use Bitdefender, and it slows down the PC a lot. When I start up Windows I have to wait a few minutes in front of a black screen before the login appears (this doesn't happen without BD).

So I'm looking into a software thats good for someone who just wants antivirus (and antimalware and antiransom etc etc) protection, and maybe firewall, without the bloat of 'features' like PC optimiation and registry cleanup and file shredder and secure browser and antispam, and so on. Something that is light on the resources but doesn't sacrifice security for the purpose.

From my (inexperienced) observation, Emsisoft seems to offer what I want, and Kaspersky too maybe. Two other options I didn't mention above are Trend Micro and Avira, although I don't particularly like Avira because of its UI.

My PC isn't top of the line stuff, in particular I find the 4 GB RAM especially limiting when I want to play CSGO and use Firefox at the same time, and BD is back there eating up resources.

Anyway some input would be very much appreciated.

 

[kaerula3]

Let me tell you my experience with those 4 products.

Emsisoft - Decent detection, decent surfing protection, good behavior blocker, friendly support, fully respect your privacy & no bloat are things about Emsi that I could happily tell about them. The downside is due to its BB, there may be more pop-ups asking for user decisions compared to others which may confuse them (in the new release, they significantly improve this inconvenient thanks to the integrated cloud).

Kaspersky comes with more protection modules than Emsi does which is somewhat bloated to me (anti-spam, traces cleaner, file shredder, VPN...) but the secure browser & application control are nice. Their ability of curing infected files is also good enough for considering.
On different systems Kaspersky may be light on resource or not. Its protection is same - same good as Emsi imo.

Trend Micro is known as being a full-cloud product that (almost only) offers it full power - but also being the lightest one - when you're connected to internet: very good on surfing & behavior protection. What I dislike is, as it stumbles your requirement, provides the most bloats in 4 products.

Finally, I would avoid Avira & you would so if used to follow how it works & performs in tests provided by Youtube & MalwareTips AV testers. It does offer good signature-based protection but (only) that technology is ancient as the Earth that's no way enough to deal with the e-risks these days.
Despite that, I do recommend their extension Avira browser safety for browsers.

Hope it helps.

 

[shmu26]

like @threedots said, Emsi will give you alerts, so if you like a quiet experience, it is not for you.
Kaspersky might be just right at default settings. The only way to know is to try. For some people it is a dream, for others, a nightmare.

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

There is no perfect software for what your looking for.
Each software is going to behave differently based on the
environment it's installed within (your PC environment)
One of the best for gamers that move in my circles is Emsisoft,
but if that seems to not be a solution that works for you. Maybe try
MalwareBytes Beta 3.4 and see what you think ?
Good luck

 

[bunchuu]

I propose another solution, ESET. It's fast and reliable.
ESET is "just work" (if you familiar with apple terms) and have clean GUI (easy to use).

 

[Soulbound]

I currently use Bitdefender, and it slows down the PC a lot. When I start up Windows I have to wait a few minutes in front of a black screen before the login appears (this doesn't happen without BD).

So I'm looking into a software thats good for someone who just wants antivirus (and antimalware and antiransom etc etc) protection, and maybe firewall, without the bloat of 'features' like PC optimiation and registry cleanup and file shredder and secure browser and antispam, and so on. Something that is light on the resources but doesn't sacrifice security for the purpose.

From my (inexperienced) observation, Emsisoft seems to offer what I want, and Kaspersky too maybe. Two other options I didn't mention above are Trend Micro and Avira, although I don't particularly like Avira because of its UI.

My PC isn't top of the line stuff, in particular I find the 4 GB RAM especially limiting when I want to play CSGO and use Firefox at the same time, and BD is back there eating up resources.

Anyway some input would be very much appreciated.

Based on your system, I would recommend Emsisoft.

Default settings are good enough, no need to tweak.

Kaspersky can be a bit heavy at times if you do not tweak.

Please bear in mind that both are beginner user friendly.

Trend Micro is another decent option, which can be recommended as well.

My suggestion is to do a trial run of each and see which one you like.

 

[Evjl's Rain]

with a 4Gb ram machine, I would recommend an AV which consumes less memory as possible
for example avast with tweaked settings or emsisoft with memory tweak, eset

KIS, norton, BIS use a significant amount of allocated memory (which only shows when you open process explorer, in task manager they show a small number but in fact they consumes a lot more)

 

[jamescv7]

Why not consider Norton Security?

The program is not bloated and efficient especially for inexperienced users; cloud database is strong with less False Positives and Negatives.

Sonar (BB) is also good in untoward scenario.

------------------

Trend Micro is another good option out there, good counterpart from known AV's like ESET, BD and Kaspersky. *

* TM contains fully cloud detection with strong BB mechanism

F-secure has another good choice since their protection basis is fine including the DeepGuard (BB).

-------------------

Ransomware protection is a difficult task for implementation; better to set up a full system backup then set an incremental backup if needed.

 

[Jashin]

if u want light but good security try panda free av with brower protection, Its pretty light and simple to use

 

[toto]

I found Norton to be the one with the least impact on performance in my laptop, maybe even lighter then windows defender. Norton also offers great install and forget functionality, (default settings are very good) and very few popups.
I suggest you to try it.

 

[tim one]

You have Kaspersky and Emsisoft in your post but if you are looking for a good compromise of fluidity/protection, why not Webroot?
I used it for a year with satisfaction by testing it in a static and dynamic way with dozens of malware and I have to say that it is not bad.
From the point of view of computer performance, WSA is from another planet!

 

[frogboy]

If you are not a security enthusiast and won't a set and forget i would suggest Norton Security, great File Insight and Sonar.

 

[aragornnnn]

You should install their trial versions and see for yourself which AV runs best on your machine.

Edit: #typo

 

[Venhiem]

@threedots
@shmu26
@_CyberGhosT_
@bunchuu
@Soulweave
@Evjl's Rain
@jamescv7
@Jashin
@toto
@tim one
@frogboy
@aragornnnn

Thank you all very much for your valuable input. I have some questions - what is BB? Everyone says it and I just haven't the foggiest as to what it means. Secondly, what exactly is the memory tweak for Emsisoft?
It seems like the popular opinions are Emsi and Norton. I guess I will try both of them (one by one of course) to see which one is better, and then try the others if needed. Thank you all again.

 

[tim one]

@threedots
@shmu26
@_CyberGhosT_
@bunchuu
@Soulweave
@Evjl's Rain
@jamescv7
@Jashin
@toto
@tim one
@frogboy
@aragornnnn

Thank you all very much for your valuable input. I have some questions - what is BB? Everyone says it and I just haven't the foggiest as to what it means. Secondly, what exactly is the memory tweak for Emsisoft?
It seems like the popular opinions are Emsi and Norton. I guess I will try both of them (one by one of course) to see which one is better, and then try the others if needed. Thank you all again.

BB is behavior blocker.
In Emsisoft settings, you can flag the box to decrease the RAM usage of Emsisoft.

 

[Wave]

what is BB?

As @tim one said, it stands for Behavior Blocker.

The Behavior Blocker is a zero-day protection component which will monitor any non-trusted programs which start-up on your system (this may involve non-whitelisted objects which are currently unknown to the cloud or be based on file reputation and many other numerous factors); throughout the monitoring it will intercept when specific behavior is being executed, triggering the Behavior Blocker alerts.

That being said, the Behavior Blocker acts both as a HIPS/BB, mixed into one. Since it can alert and allow you to decide when a program is attempting to add itself to start-up (e.g. via registry modifications), attempting to install a device driver, attempting to alter the Windows Hosts file, performing network operations which show signs of a trojan downloader, and so on.

You can manually change the Behavior Blocker settings (e.g. what to block) and the whitelist settings directly from the Emsisoft GUI. The BB is one of the best you will find on the market compared to the ones provided by other vendors, and it also provides lots of flexibility since the user can have the main control over what should be blocked and on the decisions from the alerts.

 

[shmu26]

BB is behavior blocker.
In Emsisoft settings, you can flag the box to decrease the RAM usage of Emsisoft.

flagging that RAM usage box is important if your system has limited RAM. Don't forget to do that, or you might as well use something heavy like Kaspersky.

 

[DJ Panda]

There is no perfect software for what your looking for.
Each software is going to behave differently based on the
environment it's installed within (your PC environment)
One of the best for gamers that move in my circles is Emsisoft,
but if that seems to not be a solution that works for you. Maybe try
MalwareBytes Beta 3.4 and see what you think ?
Good luck

Didn't know you were trying out MB Beta. Although it might not be the best choice since it's not entirely stable

I would prefer a free solution like Avast, SecureAPlus or Windows Defender (Win 10). They get the job done and I haven't gotten infected in years!

 

[Behold Eck]

The lightest I`ve ever used was Webroot Secure Anywhere, like I really couldn`t feel it on my system at all.

Regards Eck

 

[BigWrench]

A LOT of good advice mentioned. I can concur with a few of them....

The lightest I`ve ever used was Webroot Secure Anywhere, like I really couldn`t feel it on my system at all.

Regards Eck

BB is behavior blocker.
In Emsisoft settings, you can flag the box to decrease the RAM usage of Emsisoft.

If you are not a security enthusiast and won't a set and forget i would suggest Norton Security, great File Insight and Sonar.

I have in one way or another, used or am currently using these that I mentioned. And yes, Webroot is insanely light, the rest will work fine on a 4gig machine. I do however prefer Norton on Windows10. (don't know your OS).... Can't comment on Trend Micro. Just haven't used it. Won't comment on Kaspersky, as I dont think you'll like it. (simplicity wise)