Battle Which free AV for my low-end laptop criteria? (bundles not required/ KPA KPSC BD Panda Nod32)

JeanCraie

Level 1
Thread author
Verified
Apr 5, 2019
23
Hello guys :)

I found your forum posts making much sense to me than spending hours reading any "top-10" blog comments so i came to ask your opinions free from Microsoft fanboyism and "use common sense" helpless gimmicks ;)

I still do not trust Windows Defender AV despite the continuous improvement, and would like to install a 3° AV instead.

My criteria for this AV:
1- must be FREE (fine as long i can untick bars/stuff prior installation)
2-less intrusive telemetry (fine as long i can untick these settings) - for that matter Avast is not desired
3-good real-time / heuristics, efficient definition updates
4-not too heavy (less than 500mb process), not too battery consuming.
5-just doing real time AV is already enough to me (for ex. i'll use malwarebytes free for one-time scans from time to time)
6- i am ok with tweaking the AV, (so default config doesn't have to be considered in your advices)

Main question:
7>>>>>> Which one to pick between Panda , BitDefender, Nod32 , Kaspersky ?



optional questions:
8> About K., does the free cloud one still have compatibility issues with WD detecting it as a firewall? Also heard the non cloud K.AV is not so good against trojans.
9> Do you recommend me to keep WD on for its others features or should i install other 3° complements (firewall, antiexploit, etc) then just disable WD ? (oo-erasing WD? seems to bring more bugs than anything else imho). Would using ZA free or Comodo as active firewall alongside with WD as first layer ip-blocker be ok?

My laptop configs:

-win 10 home 64x (regularly updated)
-intel gemini lake (1.1-2.4 ghz)
-8gb ram ddr4 (reserving 4-5gb ram for homework tasks) - remaining storage of 100gb ssd
Will use less-corporate internet browsers with proper extension (ublock/decentraleyes/etc) and other lightweight privacy stuff found on Answers to common security questions - Best Practices - Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware, and Privacy Software


Thanks :)




==========
ps: can i duplicate this thread to 1-2 of your other subforums for more visibility?
pps: curious why nod32 being invisible in all these hype "top 10" blogs while seeming a decent option in tech forums?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
L

Local Host

Panda is light but ineffective in the Free Version, quite honestly even the Paid Version falls behind in Malware detection.
BitDefender can be buggy, and the Free Version tends to have delayed signatures.
ESET is not Free.
Kaspersky Cloud Free still has the Firewall Bug.
Kaspersky Free is just as effective as Kaspersky Cloud Free, the only difference is you lack advanced settings.
The Windows Firewall is more than good enough, third party Firewalls tend to cause more problems than you need (do not fill your computer with security software, we don't need to be paranoid).
 

oldschool

Level 81
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Top Poster
Well-known
Mar 29, 2018
7,044
Panda is light but ineffective in the Free Version, quite honestly even the Paid Version falls behind in Malware detection.
BitDefender can be buggy, and the Free Version tends to have delayed signatures.
ESET is not Free.
Kaspersky Cloud Free still has the Firewall Bug.
Kaspersky Free is just as effective as Kaspersky Cloud Free, the only difference is you lack advanced settings.
The Windows Firewall is more than good enough, third party Firewalls tend to cause more problems than you need (do not fill your computer with security software, we don't need to be paranoid).

Excellent and concise answer, especially your last point about firewalls. (y)
 

FrFc1908

Level 20
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Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 28, 2016
950
Hi and welcome to MT! To be completely honoust, most free av's out there will make use of telemetry and harvest user data. and all of the av's has pro's and cons ( lacking important features, filled to the brim with ads / scare tactics and so on) the that is the most feature rich, least intrusive, highly tweakable would be comodo firewall with cruelsiters settings ( as shown in a video, a couple of answers back.) hope this helps.
 

Nestor

Level 9
Verified
Well-known
Apr 21, 2018
397
@Local Host:
This is not completely true, this bug was there with W10 1803, but was fixed with the coming of W10 1809 many months ago, I've installed several KSCloudFree 2019 in W10 and none of them have that bug...
I am using KSCF (windows 10 1809) for 3 months and for another month in the end of 2018, never had a firewall bug.
 
L

Local Host

@Local Host:
This is not completely true, this bug was there with W10 1803, but was fixed with the coming of W10 1809 many months ago, I've installed several KSCloudFree 2019 in W10 and none of them have that bug...
That due to the update on the Windows Security Center in 1809, however the bug is still present on W10 1803. If W10 1803 had dropped support, I would say it's fixed.

Still useful information for OP though, thanks for correcting me.
 
Last edited:

Deletedmessiah

Level 25
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Content Creator
Well-known
Jan 16, 2017
1,469
Kaspersky free or Cloud free is my pick from above. Eset Nod32 isn't free. You can also use Windows defender and set it up using Andy Ful's Configure defender. If you have safe browsing habits and don't fall for silly malware tricks online, it should be enough. Some people like me have performance issue with Defender, high disk and Cpu uses at times so I don't use Defender. If there wasn't this issue for me, I'd stay with defender.
 

Dmitry_rus

Level 1
Feb 13, 2017
11
Avast free Avg free and 360TS . All three are light and with good protection
That's right, all of these AVs are light, but I wouldn't recommend installing 360TS 'cause of the large number of false positives. Moreover, 360TS has now become an "OS optimizer" with a dubious reputation and a lot of bells & whistles... If you still want to try 360, try 360TSE (Total Security Essential).
 

Wraith

Level 13
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Well-known
Aug 15, 2018
634
If you're using Windows 10 1903 just download Hard_Configurator and Malwarebytes Windows Firewall Control. H_C properly setup(disable run as admin and instead use run by smartscreen, set default deny to ON and configure Windows Defender to HIGH settings). It should be enough if you have good security habits. Then you can use adblockers like uBlock Origin and Emsisoft Browser extension to protect against bad websites. And if you want an on demand scanner Emsisoft Emergency Kit is always there. I've been using these on my college laptop and it's super-light.
 

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