Serious Discussion What do you tell the "common" man (or person) about their PC security choice. Simplified Version.

[tofargone]

So after reading tons of posts here at MET's and asking questions, and then trying software, as suggested. I came to a finalistic, simple conclusion for dummies, like myself (just a common man).

Here is my simplified advice, maybe you will agree?

If you are just using your PC for some gaming, news, surfing, and movie watching, and have no risky behaviors online. My advice for your PC security is to do the following:

Choose one of the brand name, recognized apps in the following list, while ignoring those that are slated as being unreliable here at MWT's.

Bitdefender
Avast
G-data
Norton
AVG
Avira
Kaspersky
Zone-alarm
K7
McAfee
F-Secure

......There are bound to be some I am missing...

Now on a clean install of Windows, make an image of this clean install...

Now test all the above mention (plus any missed) software's. Then choose the one that seems the most responsive on your PC.... End of story, just use it. If anything happens you have your image, which you can update as needed.

 

[Bot]

Your advice is quite solid! It's important to choose a reliable antivirus from a reputable company. Making an image of a clean Windows install is also a great idea for quick recovery. However, don't forget to regularly update your antivirus software and operating system for the best protection.

 

[tofargone]

With default settings, here was my experience...

The 2nd fastest for me, was K7. The 1st was Panda, but it's not advised by the experts here at MWT's. So K7 gets first place.

Bitdefender was highly advised, ran good, but not the fastest, maybe 4th or 5th in the slot.

Zone-alarm, seemed super secure, but while not slow at all, came in about 4th or 5th with Bitdefender.

Avast one was probably #3, but the advice, notices, ads etc. bugged me

Avira was trouble, on my clean install, each day some software, that worked previously, and with other av's would say "file corrupt/missing, please re-install.

McAfee tied up with K7.

Webroot and AVG slowed my PC.

Norton was fast, but their to big, and I don't trust they don't have Gov ties, same for McAfee

 

[oldschool]

......There are bound to be some I am missing...

MS Defender. Keep it simple. Stay safe, not paranoid.
App Review - Microsoft Defender Antivirus (Default Settings + DefenderUI Recommanded Settings)

 

[Victor M]

With only an AV you are putting all your eggs in one basket. I recommend some hardening, like WHH Light. You can't have just one layer of defense.

MT forum specializes on AV reviews only. There is much more to security than just AV. Buy a CompTIA Security+ book. The curriculum teaches all the fundamentals about computer security. This is a good one: Amazon.com For the price of a good AV, this book can guide you onwards for many years to come.

 

[tofargone]

With only an AV you are putting all your eggs in one basket. I recommend some hardening, like WHH Light. You can't have just one layer of defense.

MT forum specializes on AV reviews only. There is much more to security than just AV. Buy a CompTIA Security+ book. The curriculum teaches all the fundamentals about computer security. This is a good one: Amazon.com For the price of a good AV, this book can guide you onwards for many years to come.

did that before making image after the clean install... Thanks

 

[tofargone]

MS Defender. Keep it simple. Stay safe, not paranoid.
App Review - Microsoft Defender Antivirus (Default Settings + DefenderUI Recommanded Settings)

I don't doubt you,

I hear this over and over BUT.

I get at least a 1-300mg increase on file transfers, and on Macrium Reflect it is around 8gigs faster when making my images

 

[Jonny Quest]

I don't doubt you,

I hear this over and over BUT.

I get at least a 1-300mg increase on file transfers, and on Macrium Reflect it is around 8gigs faster when making my images

I tend to get better Windows performance and speed with a 3rd party AV as far as opening files, loading Dropbox in Explorer (25.3 GB) etc. The best for me in that regard was Kaspersky, and F-Secure is doing a wonderful job as well. But, "your mileage may vary"

And I agree with the common man being fine with one AV, and letting it do its job, then this:

Serious Discussion - Can I Fill This Empty "Web Protection" in Windows Security With a Product Without Installing a 3rd Party Antivirus?

Like most members in MT I like to try new antivirus software because Microsoft Defender is not complete with its components but after days I go back to Microsoft Defender because it is lighter, so I'm thinking about completing the missing components in Microsoft Defender, so as the title said...

malwaretips.com

 

[roger_m]

K7

K7 will not protect a computer as well as most big name antiviruses. This has been discussed here before. If you want something that is exceptionally light and are an advanced user who has a low risk of getting infected, it will be fine. For anyone else, I would recommend using something else.

 

[tofargone]

K7 will not protect a computer as well as most big name antiviruses. This has been discussed here before. If you want something that is exceptionally light and are an advanced user who has a low risk of getting infected, it will be fine. For anyone else, I would recommend using something else.

Thank You

 

[Sorrento]

As mentioned above: Backup, backup, backup - This will give you protection against almost anything, don't leave a backup hard drive plugged in & don't backup data/images on all drives at the same time lest one is infested without you knowing - On a personal basis I have five hard drives I backup too.

 

[Acadia]

As mentioned above: Backup, backup, backup - This will give you protection against almost anything, don't leave a backup hard drive plugged in & don't backup data/images on all drives at the same time lest one is infested without you knowing - On a personal basis I have five hard drives I backup too.

And I would like to add, use more than one backup program, test them doing actual recoveries making sure that you know how to use them.
Acadia

 

[monkeylove]

I guess you can do an image, test an AV, measure performance, restore the image, test another AV, and so on, but I don't think the "common" man can do that easily unless he's a hobbyist. And you'll have to do that routinely if AVs are updated, together with the OS used, leading to speed-ups or slowdowns.

In which case, it might be easier to just go over some results of tests made by others (like AV Comparatives), and then decide what to get. The three things to look for are usually protection (the most complete is best but that may affect system performance), system impact (might be light but not provide enough protection), and use. Get the one that does the best on average for all three.

Finally, backups give you protection against data loss, but not against data theft. You need protection against both.

 

[lokamoka820]

IMHO I think users should stop thinking about installing antivirus software, and think more about how to harden the browsers, MS Defender good enough these days, just add security extension to the browser, and that's it.

3rd party antivirus have their own problems, MS Defender integrated well with the system.

 

[Moonhorse]

I just rely on web protection, i dont play with malware im only scared about phishing links ( not myself, just about my family )

Use adblocker, i rather use system wide blocker like adguard much more effective than browser extension
use dns that filters out malware/phishing urls, nextdns, controld, adguard, dns0 & quad9 all gets job done
use antivirus with strong web filter i rely on trend micro, better than simple extension and also scans for malicious scripts
use SAC if possible

ms defender + ublock origin + common sense is often adviced when asking for antivirus, but thats poor man choice, defender is slow, ublock origin is ripoff of adguard and common sense is not valid reason unless you really care about antiviruses, internet habits and security

maybe ms defender + ublock origin and common sense works for someone but i rather dont trust into that, i rather harden my os, browser security and use any known antivirus with strong web filter

not a hate post a gainst ms defender or ublock origin, just my personal preference...trend micro can lack on malware packs aswell but its not my first priority to download malware pack on my desktop

 

[pxxb1]

So after reading tons of posts here at MET's and asking questions, and then trying software, as suggested. I came to a finalistic, simple conclusion for dummies, like myself (just a common man).

Here is my simplified advice, maybe you will agree?

If you are just using your PC for some gaming, news, surfing, and movie watching, and have no risky behaviors online. My advice for your PC security is to do the following:

Choose one of the brand name, recognized apps in the following list, while ignoring those that are slated as being unreliable here at MWT's.

Bitdefender
Avast
G-data
Norton
AVG
Avira
Kaspersky
Zone-alarm
K7
McAfee
F-Secure

......There are bound to be some I am missing...

Now on a clean install of Windows, make an image of this clean install...

Now test all the above mention (plus any missed) software's. Then choose the one that seems the most responsive on your PC.... End of story, just use it. If anything happens you have your image, which you can update as needed.

Since you are not asking for advice, only stating facts, i say i agree. But with this added, look up the results of the AV:s in test companies like AV-Test and AV-comparative so you do not chose a bad one. And with mentioned Pc behaviour you do not need to pay for security. Free is enough.

For non-risky behaviour this security would be enough, maybe add Malwarebytes Browser Guard and use a DNS that avoids ads and risky sites, like Cloudflare:s DNS. This instead of Windows Smartscreen that also slows down a Pc.

 

[Andy Ful]

That looks OK for non-Edge browsers.
If one uses Edge with Enabled Smartscreen in the web browser, then Malwarebytes Browser Guard is probably unnecessary.

One note: Windows SmartScreen does not slow down a PC. It is triggered only once when you run EXE/MSI installers downloaded from the Internet (files with Mark of the Web). After the first run, the Mark of the Web is removed, and SmartScrenn is no longer triggered on that file. All installed applications do not trigger Windows SmartScreen.

 

[pxxb1]

That looks OK for non-Edge browsers.
If one uses Edge with Enabled Smartscreen in the web browser, then Malwarebytes Browser Guard is probably unnecessary.

One note: Windows SmartScreen does not slow down a PC. It is triggered only once when you run EXE/MSI installers downloaded from the Internet (files with Mark of the Web). After the first run, the Mark of the Web is removed, and SmartScrenn is no longer triggered on that file. All installed applications do not trigger Windows SmartScreen.

That dependes on how you interpret the words - slow down a Pc.

 

[bazang]

Norton was fast, but their to big, and I don't trust they don't have Gov ties, same for McAfee

Well then you're just gonna hate the fact that Microsoft works very closely with every single U.S. federal government branch and agency. They even have Microsoft personnel on-premises at key U.S. Government facilities. Not only Microsoft, but all the major internet service providers (ISPs) do the same.

There is not a single U.S.-based major technology provider that does not cooperate extensively with federal, state and treaty agreement governments. And why is that? The contracts are extremely lucrative, and under certain provisions of U.S. national security they have no choice.

I might as well head this off while I am at it... somebody is going to mention "Apple does not cooperate. It will not assist the FBI to decrypt iPhones." That is citing only one single high-profile case that Apple's lawyers guided the "non-cooperation." What the general public does not ever see is the 99.999% of other cases where Apple cooperates fully with federal, state, local and internal (e.g. Interpol) law enforcement authorities.

 

[Andy Ful]

That dependes on how you interpret the words - slow down a Pc.

Yes, that is true. But, even if someone constantly installs one new application daily, the slowdown caused by Windows SmartScreen (SmartScreen for Explorer) is only one moment (a few seconds) per day. The rest of the day is without slowdowns.
I think that far more inconvenient can be a systematic slowdown while running daily tasks (like browsing). This can be caused by software that checks websites, DNS filtering, etc.