Advice Request What to do with with new PC?

[AMD1]

Hi,

Hoping for a bit of assistance.

I have recently bought a new PC which came pre-loaded with a trial version of McAfee LiveSafe. I already have a subscription for KSC Personal and Malwarebytes Privacy VPN. KSC Personal and the VPN have just a few months before they need renewing.

Would your opinion be to re-install the subscribed products and renew them when near to the expiry dates or perhaps revert to Windows Firewall and Defender as these seem to offer better protection these days, or configure something completely different?

I also have Voodooshield Pro but not installed at this time and Malwarebytes Premium, again not installed at this time.

If it helps my PC online activity is generally browsing, shopping and banking.

The other thing is that I run Win 11 Pro and have Bitlocker enabled on the C operating system drive. I also have two other external HDD's one labelled as Data which has my OneDrive containing documents, pictures, desktop etc and the other labelled Backup which contains my Macrium Reflect backups, all of which are password protected and Image Guardian enabled. I have Bitlocker enabled to auto unlock the Data drive but should I also have Bitlocker enabled on the Backup drive ?

Any help/guidance would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

 

[Dave Russo]

In my opinion KSC is more than enough protection as its excellent, Forget Mcafee, with your Macrium back up program, you have not good but great security, Not sure at all about enabling or not Bitlocker on your backup drive

 

[Arequire]

Depends on whether you feel you're getting value out of any of the subscribed products. If so, continue to use and renew the ones you deem valuable and dump the ones you don't.

Personally I feel Microsoft Defender is good enough when adhering to safe browsing habits and best security practices, but you may feel differently.

 

[AMD1]

I have just uninstalled the trial version software which came with my new PC and currently just running Windows Firewall & Defender. With the paid security software I have, I have not had any issues with it and have not been infected but if I were to get the same level of defence with WF and WD then I am considering whether it is worthwhile retaining the paid products.

Perhaps maybe a combination of WF & WD with Malwarebytes Premium and Voodooshield ??

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

I think the real " art" here is creating a security configuration that has the right balance between security and usability.

Get to know the AV you want to use and get to know their weaknesses and strengths.
Testing done in the past by @cruelsister on YouTube, testing done nowadays by @Shadowra , testing done by various (highly regarded members) I in the Malware Hub on this forum.
User reviews on this forum and the insights from @Andy Ful on current threats.
All this can give you a lot of information.

Some links:

Video Reviews - Security and Privacy

Video reviews for security and privacy software.

malwaretips.com

Malware Hub: Samples

Malware samples and tests that are performed by our community members.

malwaretips.com

Security Statistics and Reports

Discussions about statistics and tests for different security products.

malwaretips.com

New Update - Simple Windows Hardening

There can be many advantages of strong firewall restrictions, especially in business networks. Some of these advantages are still welcome at home. Of course, one can use complex firewall hardening alongside SWH, and even with policies made by the FirewallHardening tool. Svchost is only one of...

malwaretips.com

I wouldn't just use a bunch of software together.
Choose one AV that's highly regarded and works well for you on your system and only add what's missing and/or needed to get better protection.
To get the best possible answer we need to know what else you are using, for example adblocker, passwordmanager, backup.
You can post your current security config here:

PC Setup Configuration Help & Showcase

Share your PC security set-up with the community.

malwaretips.com

 

[oldschool]

Less is more. Stay safe, not paranoid!