Advice Request What are some popular security softwares that everyone uses, that you don't?

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roger_m

Level 41
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Content Creator
Dec 4, 2014
3,015
Microsoft Defender - I sometimes find it to be too heavy for my liking. I prefer to use a third party antivirus which is lighter and has more options.
Malwarebytes - I like it a lot, but I don't feel I need to use it, even though I have a lifetime license. But I do have it installed on my test PC.
AdGuard for Windows - Websites were taking longer to load with it running, so I disabled it.

I prefer to use antivirus software, which does not have auto quarantine, which severely limits my choice of antivirus on my main system. But I have many antiviruses installed on my test PC.
 

Cortex

Level 26
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Well-known
Aug 4, 2016
1,465
I can't really think of software that everyone uses apart from WD which I dislike & will never use? Dislike Malwarebytes this last few years though I once liked it - Probably most AV solutions without a built in firewall.
 
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plat

Level 29
Top Poster
Sep 13, 2018
1,793
Not using:

Emsisoft Emergency Kit--reason: over 600MB in size last time I used it.
ESET Online Scanner--reason: much too slow
Malwarebytes--reasons: don't quite trust the in-built protections, new versions may have residual bugs, HitmanPro has my back
uBlock Origin--reason: doesn't work as perfectly in latest chromium browsers
Any Password manager--reason: my system holds up well--"have I been pwned" says things are OK for now, using 2FA.
Any VPN--reason: some slowdowns, just not into it. Free isn't free far as I'm concerned and paying for it isn't in my budget.
 

Divine_Barakah

Level 29
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May 10, 2019
1,854
MD. Each time I decided to stay with it, I could not. Simply it does not suit my needs. First, I need to use a 3rd part tool to harden it, or do it via GP which is a very tedious process. Second, I do hate the interface and I find it stupid. Third, I hate the fact that I need to stick to MS Edge to take advantage of MD’s full power and that I also need to use an extension such as BDTL to enhance protection. Finally and, at least on my systems, MD feels heavier than other products I tried.
 

Nagisa

Level 7
Verified
Jul 19, 2018
341
Application Guard and Smart Screen probably


I think WD Application Guard could be a distinct feature. Like how mitigation module of Windows Defender Exploit Guard works even with 3rd party AVs.

SmartScreen is also available on OS level, so in fact if you download files from Chrome or Firefox they get checked with 2 different reputation service.

For phishing sites, to be honest I wouldn't rely on either of those.
 
Last edited:
May 14, 2020
62
Malwarebytes, highly overrated AV, claims that their Anti-Malware is somehow is better than Antivirus when in fact it's just a marketing tactic, trash real time protection, just lackluster overall and I hate it when people recommend it claiming it's the best when other scanners like Emsisoft Emergency Kit, Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool, Norton Power Eraser or HitmanPro are much better alternatives. However I do like AdwCleaner and Windows Firewall Control.

Windows Defender, pretty decent for default protection, but the Windows Security dashboard is super buggy, like I talked about in this post.
 

AXYZE

Level 1
Feb 9, 2020
12
VPNs in general. Why? Because they lie.
In terms of "privacy" - you are redirecting whole traffic through one VPN server from VPN provider that you know nothing about which has its server or rents server space from another company, about which you also dont know anything. Now, you have people that work there, someone needs to install hardware, someone needs to supply hardware... too many points where someone could install some sort of "blackbox" which could intercept a lot of data. Lets say someone tried to install "blackbox" at "xxx"VPN and "xxx"VPN saw unusual traffic and they manage to fix that - would they tell people about such problem problem? No. No VPN company would tell you about such thing because they would lose customers which is only thing that matters to them.
They just want to earn money and they wont risk to lose anything in order to save you, a $3/mo subscriber.

VPN is like MiTM, but with your knowledge and you also want to pay for it.
It is just centralized alternative for "less centralized" internet. Its good if you want to bypass censorship, geoblocking, hide your IP or something like that, but its not "magic heal for all bad things" like companies try to tell you.
 

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