Serious Discussion WD and Free Antivirus programs are bad, says this PC Gamer article. Do you agree?

[Tiamati]

What do you think of this article? Is it a honest review or a sneaky ad for a paid antivirus software?
I found this article on PC Gamer where the author says that Windows Defender failed to protect his PC from a malware attack and that he tested some popular free antivirus alternatives but they were not good enough. He then suggests a paid antivirus software that he claims works great for him. I’m curious if this article is authentic or just a clever way to promote the paid product. Do you agree with his opinion?

 

[Jonny Quest]

I didn't see him promoting a paid version by name, and voted for Honest history due to his last two paragraphs. I believe some of his observations about the free versions are correct. I think the thread title is maybe a little misleading, brandishing more of a spin, skewing it by using the word "suck"?

If you're not prepared to shell out any money for a good AV, then Windows Defender really is the one for you. Yes, it let me down once, but honestly after many years of trouble-free usage, I really shouldn't have abandoned it so quickly. It's discreet, updates often, scores very well under testing, and gets on with the task of keeping your PC well protected without asking you for any extra cash, or keeping its key features locked behind a paywall.

No antivirus is foolproof, but this particular fool has learnt his lesson. Come back to me now, dear Defender. All is forgiven. The horrors I have seen since leaving you behind have thrown your brief transgression into sharp relief.

 

[Tiamati]

I didn't see him promoting a paid version by name, and voted for Honest history due to his last two paragraphs. I believe some of his observations about the free versions are correct. I think the thread title is maybe a little misleading, brandishing more of a spin, skewing it by using the word "suck"?

You are right, i fixed it

 

[LennyFox]

I didn't see him promoting a paid version by name, and voted for Honest history due to his last two paragraphs. I believe some of his observations about the free versions are correct. I think the thread title is maybe a little misleading, brandishing more of a spin, skewing it by using the word "suck"?

If you're not prepared to shell out any money for a good AV, then Windows Defender really is the one for you. Yes, it let me down once, but honestly after many years of trouble-free usage, I really shouldn't have abandoned it so quickly. It's discreet, updates often, scores very well under testing, and gets on with the task of keeping your PC well protected without asking you for any extra cash, or keeping its key features locked behind a paywall.

No antivirus is foolproof, but this particular fool has learnt his lesson. Come back to me now, dear Defender. All is forgiven. The horrors I have seen since leaving you behind have thrown your brief transgression into sharp relief.

And then there is Configure_Defender or DefenderUI free to improve the protection level

 

[Jonny Quest]

And then there is Configure_Defender or DefenderUI free to improve the protection level

I also had that in mind when reading the article, well done, Lenny

 

[Moonhorse]

free software can be as effective as paid products, its always on users end if they use cracked software or do visit malicious sites on purpose, no software can help if you always manually disable protection urself

Microsoft defender itself offers strong protection, wich can taken further with free software as we have seen
Also using microsoft edge offers strong protection & privacy features , edge + defender configured properly is one of the best combinations to go with

 

[Shadowra]

I've just tested Microsoft Defender, I invite you to have a look at my test to make up your own mind
It's more than enough and it's free.

 

[Jonny Quest]

I've just tested Microsoft Defender, I invite you to have a look at my test to make up your own mind
It's more than enough and it's free.

You're too humble to include your own link, so I'll do it for you

App Review - Microsoft Defender Antivirus with Andy Ful WHHLight

Microsoft Defender has been the standard antivirus provided by Microsoft since Windows 8. On Windows 10, Microsoft considerably improved its antivirus, and continued with Windows 11. In this test, I've been asked to add @Andy Ful WHHLight with settings predefined by the editor. I'm also adding...

malwaretips.com

 

[Tiamati]

And then there is Configure_Defender or DefenderUI free to improve the protection level

Which i use (config Defender and hard config) despite i wonder the degree of improvement in general defense

 

[Tiamati]

I've just tested Microsoft Defender, I invite you to have a look at my test to make up your own mind
It's more than enough and it's free.

Nice. I was outdated about this new andyfull tool. Is it suposed to be used with hard config? I didnt get the idea

 

[monkeylove]

Ads can be turned off in the settings and the ones in the interface can be blocked using the built-in firewall, but for some several popup ads can't be removed.

I don't recall seeing real-time protection limited for most. That explains results in tests.

Several do show the paid features, but I think most don't look at the AV interface most of the time.

Some of the same tests show results for performance.

All AVs, paid and free, collect information by default. Even the OS and built-in security do the same. Meanwhile, companies monetize what's collected, and not just from AVs but from various apps.

Finally, there's are reasons why what's tweaked in the built-in AV isn't turned on by default.

 

[WhiteMouse]

Finally, there's are reasons why what's tweaked in the built-in AV isn't turned on by default.

Dev home app just got blocked by Defender's ASR rules yesterday, and it's an app made by Microsoft.

 

[oldschool]

Dev home app just got blocked by Defender's ASR rules yesterday, and it's an app made by Microsoft.

Not the first time and won't be the last that MS blocks MS.

 

[Ink]

What do you think of this article? Is it a honest review or a sneaky ad for a paid antivirus software?
I found this article on PC Gamer where the author says that Windows Defender failed to protect his PC from a malware attack and that he tested some popular free antivirus alternatives but they were not good enough. He then suggests a paid antivirus software that he claims works great for him. I’m curious if this article is authentic or just a clever way to promote the paid product. Do you agree with his opinion?

Honest review.

He doesn't promote a single Paid AV, in fact he continues to recommend Microsoft Defender.

If you're not prepared to shell out any money for a good AV, then Windows Defender really is the one for you. Yes, it let me down once, but honestly after many years of trouble-free usage, I really shouldn't have abandoned it so quickly. It's discreet, updates often, scores very well under testing, and gets on with the task of keeping your PC well protected without asking you for any extra cash, or keeping its key features locked behind a paywall.

No antivirus is foolproof, but this particular fool has learnt his lesson. Come back to me now, dear Defender. All is forgiven. The horrors I have seen since leaving you behind have thrown your brief transgression into sharp relief.

Summarized by GPT-4

• The article on PC Gamer by Andy Edser discusses his experience with free antivirus alternatives after he felt let down by Windows Defender. He found that these free alternatives were not up to the mark and had several issues.
• Edser had been using Windows Defender, which is enabled by default in modern Windows installations and scores highly in independent antivirus testing. However, he noticed some odd behavior on his backup laptop, such as fan boosts at idle, slight hitching during YouTube playback, occasional explorer crashes, and a fluctuating pagefile. Despite suspecting a virus, repeated Defender scans came back negative.
• He decided to try out some popular free antivirus alternatives, including Avira Free, Total AV, Panda, Avast, and AVG. Unfortunately, he found that all of them had problems. Some of the issues he encountered included poor performance, intrusive ads, and a lack of thoroughness in scanning and protection.
• In conclusion, the author suggests that while free antivirus alternatives may seem appealing, they often leave a lot to be desired in terms of performance and reliability. He implies that users might be better off sticking with Windows Defender, which is already installed on their PCs and performs well in tests.