Question What av to take?

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Just reinstall of Windows
For millions upon millions of people, particularly IT Pros - this answer to remove an infection is not acceptable.

The reasons why people think this sort of nonsense have to do with the people, and not anything else.

It's a long, long winding discussion. And the discussion would surely anger, frustrate, and offend many who harbor this perspective. I mean, calling people out for being "lazy" should not be considered offensive or a personal attack, but given that so many hoomans have turned soft - into such delicate and sensitive creatures - it is best to avoid the discussion entirely. The thread will get locked within only a few posts because of the tsunami of snowflake complaints.
 
Have you noticed that when Windows 10 came out and, with it, more capable Defender, every single AV company started adding more and more paid crap into their AV software? VPN, cleaner, software updater, driver updater, totally secure web browser and such, why do you think that happened?

Ever since Microsoft made Defender a competing product they all knew sooner or later, they won't be able to live of antivirus product forever. This is why all of those "advanced security" modules require payment. They have to keep their users no matter what so what they did was bundle crap into their beloved antivirus software and started charging for it, all in the name of security. This is what ultimately keeps them alive, but as Defender's marketshare grows more and more each year, they'll have to find another cow to milk.

Now you probably think I'm wrong, let me ask this—do you remember antivirus apps for Android back in 2011/2012? The antivirus apps were just scanners with option to locate a lost phone; nothing else.
Open any antivirus app today... what do you see? The antivirus of antivirus app being just 1%. Now these apps are VPN, cleaner, app locker, permission manager, network speed test, password manager and billion other things.

Do you know what happened how we came here? Simple... Google released Play Protect, a antivirus built into Google Play. And in order for people to keep their crappy apps installed, they had to do something which is bundle bunch of crap into the app and begging users to buy it. It's like I saw this happening somewhere, sometime... oh yeah, on Windows!
It's the driver, not the car :cool:
 
The guy has a 5090, he can afford a paid AV. I would go for ESET, you can find a NOD32 license for about $10USD. If more protection needed then other ESET suites.
Exactly! For reference in USD:
 

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According to results from one recent test shared here, Avast Premium or Kaspersky Premium. According to other tests, Bitdefender, and still others, ESET.

Overall, it looks like the top ones overall are usually Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky.

To find out which ones are the lightest for your PC, you'll have to try the trial version of each, then do a simple benchmark test plus gauge on feel, by browsing the 'net and folders with different file numbers and sizes, etc. In all cases, you have to do a complete uninstall, using free removal tools by the developer, and reboot before installing the next AV to test. YMMV, but for one test, Avast is one of the lightest, with Kaspersky in the middle, and Bitdefender heavier.

Finally, I found out that several of these are sold cheap in various online stores, e.g., I bought Avast Premium for $3.
 
Probably not a good idea to post on here asking 'what's the best AV for my system' ?

Question: which is the best medium sized car in UK? Some would say the VW Golf, if that were fully the case that would be the only medium sized car on the road in the UK, its not by a long way - I drive a KIA, I'm not really sure why (I like them & have for some time) I prefer them over the likes of VW/Audi etc. etc. - Personal preference, & no matter how many times I'm told I ought to use defender its unlikely I ever will, (I have though) nor do I use hardly any of MS's built in modules as usually others do it better (I Feel) All down to personal preferences...
 
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I have a deep interest in human psychology, what I have found is human & animal psychology is very similar, people seem to feel we are very individual but we are not often dissimilar, at least in base: You only have to sit on a beach a pub or a restaurant to see how we are more alike than unalike - The herd instinct in humans in a live & well & should not be underestimated as it influences our behaviour far more than mot realise in almost all choices.
 
Fairness has nothing to do with it. Either the behavior is legal or it is criminal.

I am 100% anti-piracy no matter what - no matter where they live - even dirt poor living on the massive dump outside of Bueno Aires.

I am 100% for governments taking down sites such as 123movies or Putlocker. and prosecuting ALL software pirates.

Heck, if it were up to me, I'd make everybody get a surveillance chimp implant and put agents in their socks. Plus, just like Natalia Kaspersky, I believe 100% of all data belongs to the state. So everyone's network stream would be monitored 24/7/365 from birth to death. Where the person goes, the state is there with them until they are pushing up the daisies.
Well fortunately people are very much pro-privacy so chances are your dystopia won't happen in the developed world. Don't take this personally btw.
 
Well fortunately people are very much pro-privacy so chances are your dystopia won't happen in the developed world. Don't take this personally btw.
No hard feelings to anyone, but people like him live in illusion that because of total control, there will be no crime whatsoever. In real world, laws and total control only apply to average people, not to those with money or in higher positions. There isn't a country in this world which applies laws from top to the bottom; there will always be people above the law.

Those who want total control only want it because they never lived under regime that makes everything illegal. In reality, they wouldn't survive in that regime for more than 6 months and would quickly turn their opinion for 180°.

We went off-topic so...
 
Those who want total control only want it because they never lived under regime that makes everything illegal. In reality, they wouldn't survive in that regime for more than 6 months and would quickly turn their opinion for 180°.
Nah. I lived under the Soviet system and I never had any problems with it. Not one of those that ended up in the gulag.

I rather enjoyed the Soviet system. I got on very well with the Khmer Rouge too.
 
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It is not, and it never will be. Unless the companies that create antivirus disappear from the map. Which I find quite unlikely.
Well, there are facts and opinions. What I said is an undeniable fact, and it has been proven through numerous tests here at MT. What you said is an opinion that some may agree with and others may not.

Regarding the existence of third-party antivirus companies, this is not evidence that Windows needs them. There are more Windows system cleaners/optimizers on the market than antivirus companies. Is this evidence that Windows needs them? No. Any expert will confirm that the built-in cleaning tools on Windows are sufficient, but if you want to use them to clean up more junk files, that's up to you.

From my experience, every time I try a third-party antivirus, it doesn't find anything suspicious on my system. However, when I remove it, Windows Defender sometimes finds suspicious files that the third-party antivirus couldn't detect.

Finally, experts say that if Windows Defender can't keep a user safe, no other antivirus software will be able to do so, because the problem will be with user behavior, not the antivirus software itself.
 
Extreme arguments on either side of the Microsoft Defender debate should be questioned. Microsoft undoubtedly made significant leaps developing their consumer security over the last 20 years, and they operate one of the largest cybersecurity networks in the world with 78+ trillion daily signals. Extremely numerous engineers work full-time to this end.

However, people always have different inclinations. Some find other solutions better for many different reasons. The leading antiviruses are largely comparable in the end. No security product is perfect, and they're all vulnerable and disagreeable in one way or another.
 
Well, there are facts and opinions. What I said is an undeniable fact, and it has been proven through numerous tests here at MT. What you said is an opinion that some may agree with and others may not.

Regarding the existence of third-party antivirus companies, this is not evidence that Windows needs them. There are more Windows system cleaners/optimizers on the market than antivirus companies. Is this evidence that Windows needs them? No. Any expert will confirm that the built-in cleaning tools on Windows are sufficient, but if you want to use them to clean up more junk files, that's up to you.

From my experience, every time I try a third-party antivirus, it doesn't find anything suspicious on my system. However, when I remove it, Windows Defender sometimes finds suspicious files that the third-party antivirus couldn't detect.

Finally, experts say that if Windows Defender can't keep a user safe, no other antivirus software will be able to do so, because the problem will be with user behavior, not the antivirus software itself.
It depends, not everything lies in the user. Yours is also a personal opinion.
As long as third-party antivirus exists, WD will be irrelevant. It's like being in a car and not putting on a seat belt because you think you'll never have an accident. Until it happens. If antivirus companies exist, it is because WD is useless. Otherwise all users would have WD and nothing else would exist. If Microsoft makes serious mistakes in its Windows 11, which even leaves SSDS practically dead due to a bad update, what do I expect from its "antivirus"?
I don't believe Microsoft at all, much less with what has happened with its flagship system Windows 11, with the Xbox console and with what they are doing in the gaming field.
 
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