Question Which AV are you using and why did you choose this one ??

[Marko :)]

You're defending it. So, by your logic, no one on the forum knows anything about IT. Everyone here—or the vast majority of us—uses antivirus software or some form of data protection, including you (since you use Windows Defender).

No, I am not. I'm stating the facts. Facts that go against your beliefs. Microsoft often gets critics from me, so does Google and Apple. But I will give applause when someone deserves it. Microsoft definitely doesn't deserve the applause because their products are garbage, but I still say majority of issues with Windows are caused by users messing around where they shouldn't. This isn't me defending them, these are the facts.

And I never said no one here on the forum knows anything about IT. I did say multiple times that many members of this forum are paranoid. It's true. When you need tens of 3rd party tools to be protected, then it's a fact, you're not very skillful when it comes to security. Open your antivirus software and see how many times it was alerted since installation. Ever since I use Defender, it hadn't alerted me once. This is true indicator if you need to pay for 3rd party antivirus software or your money is going down the drain.

I said I have enabled Defender so it doesn't nag me all the time. I used PC for years without any antivirus software and never got any malware so whether Defender is enabled or not, doesn't change anything. If nothing, this only shows I'm experienced user that knows how to protect himself without needing additional assistance. Not only that, I was never hacked. Obviously that should tell you something. I've been dealing long enough with PCs, especially with security; ever since I was a kid. I don't work in IT, but I am from that profession so I have pretty good idea what I'm talking about.

And if that’s your argument, then Microsoft doesn't know anything about IT either, seeing as they use third-party antivirus software (CrowdStrike) on their servers; what a stupid thing to say. You should be careful what you say—loose lips sink ships.

Microsoft uses CrowdStrike on their servers? Would you mind giving us a source for that claim? Thanks!

 

[Sorrento]

My drive did not fill up with 500 Gig of junk on two Windows PC desk & laptop & I don't know anyone's who did, I look after a few Windows PC's (some directly some if there are issues) family & friends & none of those were affected either, there are very few if any issues with those PC's for a long time? There are & will be issues as has been said with the huge variety of software & hardware Windows users is, however I still feel 11 is the best 'all in all' OS MS has made & I've used them all.

 

[Marko :)]

My drive did not fill up with 500 Gig of junk on two Windows PC desk & laptop & I don't know anyone's who did, I look after a few Windows PC's (some directly some if there are issues) family & friends & none of those were affected either, there are very few if any issues with those PC's for a long time? There are & will be issues as has been said with the huge variety of software & hardware Windows users is, however I still feel 11 is the best 'all in all' OS MS has made & I've used them all.

The less software you have installed on your PC the better and more secure it is. The more you install, the greater are chances of them causing issues and making your PC more vulnerable.

This is literally everything I have installed on my PC.

 

[Acadia]

Would everyone who hates Microsoft so much please stop sending them money every so often, and write your own Operating Systems!
Acadia

 

[Parkinsond]

Would everyone who hates Microsoft so much please stop sending them money every so often, and write your own Operating Systems!
Acadia

We do not; we use Windows and Office free of charge

 

[stonjean633]

We do not; we use Windows and Office free of charge

I can't imagine a world without Microsoft. Tech will never be the same without Uncle Bill.

 

[Parkinsond]

I can't imagine a world without Microsoft. Tech will never be the same without Uncle Bill.

Good software development requires money; MS and G, regardless of their cons, are essential for the process to continue.

 

[RansomwareRemediation]

No, I am not. I'm stating the facts. Facts that go against your beliefs. Microsoft often gets critics from me, so does Google and Apple. But I will give applause when someone deserves it. Microsoft definitely doesn't deserve the applause because their products are garbage, but I still say majority of issues with Windows are caused by users messing around where they shouldn't. This isn't me defending them, these are the facts.

And I never said no one here on the forum knows anything about IT. I did say multiple times that many members of this forum are paranoid. It's true. When you need tens of 3rd party tools to be protected, then it's a fact, you're not very skillful when it comes to security. Open your antivirus software and see how many times it was alerted since installation. Ever since I use Defender, it hadn't alerted me once. This is true indicator if you need to pay for 3rd party antivirus software or your money is going down the drain.

I said I have enabled Defender so it doesn't nag me all the time. I used PC for years without any antivirus software and never got any malware so whether Defender is enabled or not, doesn't change anything. If nothing, this only shows I'm experienced user that knows how to protect himself without needing additional assistance. Not only that, I was never hacked. Obviously that should tell you something. I've been dealing long enough with PCs, especially with security; ever since I was a kid. I don't work in IT, but I am from that profession so I have pretty good idea what I'm talking about.

Microsoft uses CrowdStrike on their servers? Would you mind giving us a source for that claim. Thanks!

Don't try to change the narrative now; it’s obvious you’re defending Microsoft. Is using third-party antivirus software paranoid? That’s like saying wearing a seatbelt in a car is paranoid. You’re protecting your life. It’s the same thing here: you’re protecting your data and your hardware.
Take the 2024 incident, for example, where various Windows systems crashed—even at airports—due to a glitch in a third-party antivirus update (CrowdStrike).
Bear in mind, that failure was global.

 

[Marko :)]

Don't try to change the narrative now; it’s obvious you’re defending Microsoft. Is using third-party antivirus software paranoid? That’s like saying wearing a seatbelt in a car is paranoid. You’re protecting your life. It’s the same thing here: you’re protecting your data and your hardware.

I'm not changing the narrative at all. Everyone can read my posts from beginning and can clearly see that.

You believe that 3rd party antivirus software provides better protection than the antivirus software developed by the company that also developed the OS. Defender is deeply integrated into Windows on a level that no 3rd party antivirus software can match. And because it's core part of the Windows OS, it has guaranteed compatibility with the OS itself. Hence I really do believe Defender can provide the best protection if configured properly. Though, even with default settings, it's more than enough for average user.

Your information is based on 2010 era when Windows was coming without any protection whatsoever. That was 16 years ago. Things changed and for the better. And it's not me claiming that, companies testing antivirus software say that too. All software tests are public and you can clearly see Microsoft stepping up their game in security from 2010 to today.

Take the 2024 incident, for example, where various Windows systems crashed—even at airports—due to a glitch in a third-party antivirus update (CrowdStrike).
Bear in mind, that failure was global.

I'm still waiting for the source claiming Microsoft uses CrowdStrike on their servers for protection. Do you have proof for that or not?

You were right to point that CrowdStrike that caused PCs to crash, and not Microsoft or Windows Update. CrowdStrike themselves confirmed they released bad update and apologized. Then, Microsoft worked together with them to help bring PCs to functional state and it took them weeks to do so.

All of this only proves my point—PCs using Defender never crash. PCs using 3rd party antivirus software crash and in fact, very often.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

I'm not changing the narrative at all. Everyone can read my posts from beginning and can clearly see that.

You believe that 3rd party antivirus software provides better protection than the antivirus software developed by the company that also developed the OS. Defender is deeply integrated into Windows on a level that no 3rd party antivirus software can match. And because it's core part of the Windows OS, it has guaranteed compatibility with the OS itself. Hence I really do believe Defender can provide the best protection if configured properly. Though, even with default settings, it's more than enough for average user.

Your information is based on 2010 era when Windows was coming without any protection whatsoever. That was 16 years ago. Things changed and for the better. And it's not me claiming that, companies testing antivirus software say that too. All software tests are public and you can clearly see Microsoft stepping up their game in security from 2010 to today.

I'm still waiting for the source claiming Microsoft uses CrowdStrike on their servers for protection. Do you have proof for that or not?

You were right to point that CrowdStrike that caused PCs to crash, and not Microsoft or Windows Update. CrowdStrike themselves confirmed they released bad update and apologized. Then, Microsoft worked together with them to help bring PCs to functional state and it took them weeks to do so.

All of this only proves my point—PCs using Defender never crash. PCs using 3rd party antivirus software crash and in fact, very often.

I agree with the part about MD. The only reasons I use a 3rd part security solution are purely "cosmetic". But in terms of protection any gains are negligible according to 3rd part lab tests.

 

[brambedkar59]

Kaspersky because it doesn't slow down my system (unlike defender), is not buggy and stays out if my way.

 

[k1esa]

When I could no longer use Kaspersky, ESET best met my needs. I have been using ESET Smart Security Premium for several years now.

 

[roger_m]

You believe that 3rd party antivirus software provides better protection than the antivirus software developed by the company that also developed the OS.

All of this only proves my point—PCs using Defender never crash. PCs using 3rd party antivirus software crash and in fact, very often.

There are some better options than Defender. Not that it's bad antivirus. It provides excellent protection, but I would rate some third party antiviruses as being better. It certainly would provide enough protection my use. But I never use, as it's too heavy for my liking. I'll only use an antivirus if it is always very light.

As for the second point, that really depends on the antivirus. In my experience, some third party antiviruses never cause issues.

 

[Sorrento]

I use a 3rd party AV & my PC's literally never crashes, I cannot even remember the last time they did, it just does not happen, I have no issues with Defender but IMHO I can do better & for a pittance, there are many reasons a PC can become unstable & badly managed AV it but one of them.

 

[Marko :)]

There are some better options than Defender. Not that it's bad antivirus. It provides excellent protection, but I would rate some third party antiviruses as being better. It certainly would provide enough protection my use. But I never use, as it's too heavy for my liking. I'll only use an antivirus if it is always very light.

As for the second point, that really depends on the antivirus. In my experience, some third party antiviruses never cause issues.

I use a 3rd party AV & my PC's literally never crashes, I cannot even remember the last time they did, it just does not happen, I have no issues with Defender but IMHO I can do better & for a pittance, there are many reasons a PC can become unstable & badly managed AV it but one of them.

And that's okay, we all have different look regarding this topic. My take is that Defender offers best protection IF configured correctly. Out-of-the-box is protection is good, but be assured it has way more defense options than what 3rd party antiviruses have. All of them are located in the Group Policy. This is only possible because Defender itself is the core part of the Windows operating system, meaning it works on level no 3rd party solution could.

Regarding the stability of the system, you might not have PC ever crash with 3rd party software, I actually did back in time when I used Avast, later Bitdefender. I was interested about situation today and went to Avast forum to see if people report BSODs. And yes, they do. Same goes for Kaspersky, Bitdefender, Norton and others. I also clearly remember when Windows 10 released feature update in 2017 (I think), update was blocked for users of some 3rd party antivirus software because they used to crash PCs due to incompatibility. If you're using Defender, chances of it crashing PCs are practically zero.

Lastly, performance. I remember Defender being way to heavy, using up to 1 GB of RAM, slow transfer speeds over the local networks as well as slow copying speeds to drives. I can't say I experienced any of this in Windows 11. Perhaps, they fixed performance issues? Because this is what's Defender using at the moment for me. System also doesn't feel slow like it did before.

 

[jerzy601]

I also have no problems with Defender, apart from it I have Hard_Configurator + Configurator Defender and Hardenig Firewall installed and I don't need any other
antivirus, everything works normally without too much load and nothing hangs up, but everything needs to be properly configured. I have been using this configuration for years and I haven't changed anything.

 

[jerzy601]

I use Microsoft Defender.

 

[Marko :)]

I also have no problems with Defender, apart from it I have Hard_Configurator + Configurator Defender and Hardenig Firewall installed and I don't need any other
antivirus, everything works normally without too much load and nothing hangs up, but everything needs to be properly configured. I have been using this configuration for years and I haven't changed anything.

Weird. Considering your avatar is old Kaspersky logo...

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Weird. Considering your avatar is old Kaspersky logo...

Nostalgia

 

[jerzy601]

Weird. Considering your avatar is old Kaspersky logo...

what's strange about that? what does it have to do with the fact that I have the old Kaspersky logo?
I haven't used Kaspersky for about a year now, so what does it have to do with my configuration?
I use what is good for my system and it does not cause me any problems.