As much as sometimes security companies help you protect your devices and network, part of their services is straight up conning of their customers.
I used to help out on the Bitdefender forum (Scott) and was a part of the Mod and Admin DM thread and mentioned about 2 1/2 years ago, that a person could be just as secure as Bitdefender by using Windows Defender in hardened mode, using WFC, uBlock, and TrafficLight...crickets, were the responses, LOL. So I do get what can be done paid (even some free) AV Suite free
I know you have said this frequently (a million times) I reject your well meaning advice though
And that's where I tend to be on what I use and why. No offense to you, @Marko :) but to each their own, for their own reasonsI know you have said this frequently (a million times) I reject your well meaning advice though
I agree with you on one thing: security programs (antivirus software) have gotten way too bloated these days. Almost all of them have turned into bloated behemoths. That’s not a good trend. Some tools are useful and actually enhance protection, while others are just resource and wallet drainers. Get rid of them.I respect everyone's opinion. If someone believes products from one company are better than using multiple tools from multiple vendors is better, great! I just haven't experienced the same throughout the years in this tech world.
I used to be huge Avast fan and avid hater of Microsoft Security Essentials/Windows Defender back in the days. And truth to be told, it did suck back then with pretty much every other antivirus offering a better protection. My views started to change when Avast started converting their products from antivirus to adware (possibly spyware); same happened with other companies.
I remember stuffing my PC with so many security tools you couldn't count them on fingers of two hands. Then I realized: "wait... all of this just wastes resources, let's see how many times each tool activated and provided me protection". The answer for all of them was—not even once. I started to remove one by one to see if I could surf without getting infected and I passed the test. Not only did I realize how slow my PC was because of these security tools, but it also turned out that reading all the security (dis)information in media only made me paranoid and insecure.
I hope every single one of you will enlightenment as I did.
When Microsoft stepped up in security game and made Defender very capable, antivirus companies knew they couldn't milk antivirus cow anymore so they had to do anything to try to keep their users. VPN came first, software/driver updaters a bit later, then it was system cleaners and optimizers, and lastly password managers. Convince people you need VPN to be secure at all times and you have a customer that will pay you on monthly basis—simple.I agree with you on one thing: security programs (antivirus software) have gotten way too bloated these days. Almost all of them have turned into bloated behemoths. That’s not a good trend. Some tools are useful and actually enhance protection, while others are just resource and wallet drainers. Get rid of them.
Nice postI respect everyone's opinion. If someone believes products from one company are better than using multiple tools from multiple vendors is better, great! I just haven't experienced the same throughout the years in this tech world.
I used to be huge Avast fan and avid hater of Microsoft Security Essentials/Windows Defender back in the days. And truth to be told, it did suck back then with pretty much every other antivirus offering a better protection. My views started to change when Avast started converting their products from antivirus to adware (possibly spyware); same happened with other companies.
I remember stuffing my PC with so many security tools you couldn't count them on fingers of two hands. Then I realized: "wait... all of this just wastes resources, let's see how many times each tool activated and provided me protection". The answer for all of them was—not even once. I started to remove one by one to see if I could surf without getting infected and I passed the test. Not only did I realize how slow my PC was because of these security tools, but it also turned out that reading all the security (dis)information in media only made me paranoid and not secure.
I hope every single one of you will enlightenment as I did.
) to modify whatever, or change a setting temporarily, and rather a software did as much for me as it could on all those devices, especially with 4. I also wanted to use the browser protection the AV more easily offered across multiple browsers. At times I worked 60-70 hours a week, and needed to keep things more streamlined, which a paid AV did for me. I've never had a serious malware incident other than the occasional PUP's found in the past.
See... this is one instance I'll make an exception. You own a business and you need a better protection than a home user. Businesses are the prime target of hackers, especially today, so no wonder you chose paid software. If I owned a business and was self employed, I'd probably also use paid security of some kind. Heck, my workplace (large size business) uses Fortinet routers and firewall, and on PCs there's TrendMicro installed with AI. Despite them using pretty much everything from Microsoft; security is something they use from someone else.Nice post
As for myself, I was self employed since 1995 - Dec of 2024, and my first experience with computers is when Windows XP was the OS. Ever since then I've used an AV, due to that lack of security with XP. Then when I started getting more files from my accounts from their email and portals, so really needed to use a AV, to let those AV engineers software help protect me on the 4 PC's used in my business. I wanted to make sure all emails, attachments, and files sent had at least a form of AV scanning security to them. This was before I knew about Windows Defender hardening tools.
I had tried Windows Defender in hardened mode (Windows 10 PC), but it at times it flagged a file modification from a known good file, and I just didn't want to take the time to play engineer (I am not one
In and through all of that, I've just appreciated what a paid AV could do for me. When I had a huge Dropbox account/folder, it would take Windows 10 a bit of time to populate that window, with F-Secure or Avast installed, it was instantaneous. Just some of the little features and settings things I like in a AV, let alone I'm not a huge fan of using a DNS personally, so I like the AV and browser extensions better
One of the things I like about F-Secure, is that you can absolutely get it without bloat, or pop up notifications with the Internet Security. The main UI now will show you ghost panels of what you could upgrade to (upsell panels) but it's totally quiet in that way.
And even though I'm no longer in business, I could absolutely get by with Windows hardened, uBOL (in Chrome), Brave (in my case), WFC, and TrafficLight and know I was secure. I do very little online as far as all over the web, or downloading and running multiple files, but I guess I'm just addicted to, or conditioned? in using a paid AV, and as far as what I like about themSee... this is one instance I'll make an exception. You own a business and you need a better protection than a home user. Businesses are the prime target of hackers, especially today, so no wonder you chose paid software. If I owned a business and was self employed, I'd probably also use paid security of some kind.
My post is primarily targeting home use scenario.
