Advice Request Why do you like the security software that you use?

[ForgottenSeer 58943]

I switch between 3 av's from time to time

Norton Security because it's ultralight and best web protection for me
Gdata AV/IS because dual engine and very good behavior blocker
Bullguard IS because light and with bitdefender signatures

Smart minds think alike. I like Emsisoft over Norton, even with Emsisoft FP's, bugs and some strange slowdown issues I've seen in the past.

Gdata - for your reasons, but also the decent firewall, clean interface and no bloat. (Good privacy too)
Bullguard - this thing is light as a feather, I agree, also the new firewall is pretty robust. (GREAT privacy)
Emsisoft - my third choice, instead of Norton. Mostly for privacy reasons, but good web filter, dual engines and nice BB. (Even greater privacy)

For free - I think FortiClient is the best, especially with all of the extra modules in the free version enabled like Advanced Threat Detection, Anti-Exploit, etc.

 

[plat1098]

Well, I don't actually "like" Windows Defender but for me, the risk of problems with the OS is lower when it's enabled. Defender is always augmented with a rotation of good stuff: Sandboxie, OSArmor and the Emsisoft Kit for example, so I feel the machines are protected adequately--with minimal annoyances. As others report, Emsi Antimalware had some issues for me also, such as interface freezing.

However, the expertise and courteous professionalism of the support personnel keep me loyal. Emsisoft developers have created a number of free decryption tools for file recoveries from certain ransomware, so their contributions to the greater community are significant. I'll use some variation of Emsisoft for the longterm.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

I like my security software choices because I think it works.

 

[Tony Cole]

Kaspersky IS 2018 and AppGuard always lock-down mode

Kaspersky stops the majority of malware, web threats etc., but AppGuard catches the rest and zero-day malware that other antivirus software would fail to stop. Plus both very light on system resources.

 

[DavidLMO]

I use Bitdefender Total Security+Malwarebytes Premium+Zemana Antimalware Premium+Voodoo-Shield Pro+Heimdal Pro+Hitmanpro

All at the same time? Sheesh

 

[DavidLMO]

I think they Fortified Windows Firewall to make it better.

Could you elaborate on this? TIA

 

[Syafiq]

@DaidLMO They fortified Windows Firewall because Av's firewall are now had the same technologies with Windows Firewall, plus some additional stuff like net monitoring, etc. Emsisoft dropped their firewall because of that, they just need to 'protect' the Windows Firewall from unathourized changes, CMIIW

 

[Deleted member 178]

Emsisoft AM : simple, light and efficient. no bloat, no useless features, secure out-of-the-box (no need to tweak anything), great support. To me the best AV for average Joe.

Appguard: because the best 3rd party SRP on the market to lockdown your system.

ReHIPS: a Sandbox with Application control on top, all i want is there. The best sandbox for me.

Sandboxie: another great sandbox.

NVT ERP : best anti-exe on the market, others can't even compare with its efficiency.
NVT OSA: a new excellent program, sit already on one of my systems.

 

[outlawxtorn]

I personally use F-Secure and Voodoo Shield Pro. If you can deal with some of the false positives with F-Secure(which have gotten better lately) it's a solid and lightweight program combined with Voodoo Shield.

 

[AtlBo]

I like all the comments about Emsisoft. I agree it's good, and I especially like the mentions of support and privacy. I would only add a couple of things that are based on impressions. First, my impression is that the Emsisoft BB and use of the cloud is VERY smart. The devs seem to get it that if you catch 99.99% effectively, then almost everyone will already be happy. But then the BB and the cloud kick in, and it must be almost 100% fool proof all the while being the simplest out there to use. Second, I would add that the internet protection (browser) is very good and at the top of the game. I think Emsisoft really understands this as very important too, and I agree with that thinking if they do.

For me:
Comodo Firewall-if the dev is not in the Trusted Vendor List, app is in the sandbox (unless allowed by Cloud Lookup) . Also, I like HIPS and Comodo's is good and I love the firewall for control of application connections...not to forget about command-line monitoring.
Qihoo 360-Hate the ads, but Comodo blocks them. Love the sandbox for MS Office and even delayed Bitdefender and partial Avira are effective. Also, good BB.
AppCheck AR/W-Protects MBR for free now, so why not. I test apps Comodo doesn't like outside the box, when I am sure about the source, etc. Partly this is because of A/C
EMET 5.5-Mostly for system-wide DEP in Windows 7, but I worked pretty hard to protect apps too. Fairly extensive list of apps I added to EMET...
Zemana Pro A/M-It's mosly light (except with RAM during a long boot). Almost no processor usage here, so why not?

This setup is light on the processor. I like that. It's not really light on RAM with all the pieces together, but none of them are horrible on RAM. On a clean boot I start out at about 28% of 8 GB. PC runs well though so I guess I am happy but mostly really looking forward to the upside potential for Comodo and Qihoo. CF v10 is such a powerful template. Looking forward to seeing how it improves...

 

[ichito]

i notice that a lot of knowledgeable people use emsisoft even though it does not score high on av-test, av-comparatives, etc.

There is similar thread...read this because it could be useful
Just curious do you think really comodo FW add sometthing good to emsisoft AM?

BTW...from years I'm using SpyShelter and Shadow Defender as enough combo on machines - XP, Vista, Win 8.1.
SpyShelter - the best signature-less security app with a lot of useful and efficient features covered different attack vectors
Shadow Defender - nothing else but this easy, strong and efficient protection of system or non-system disk.

 

[tonibalas]

Emsisoft is great.
But at the moment Eset AV is lighter on my system so i have this installed.
Made a few tweaks and i am good to go.
Forgot to mention that EAM is installed on my wife's pc

 

[Viper007]

love eset cause im mainly a gamer so its very light, no issues and like no resources needed.
Has great web detection and in my past tests in done really good and im smart so its all i need something simple, effective, light, and gets the job done.

Emsisoft is very good and has a really good BB dont look at them sites and scores and decide from them, look on youtube review tests or malware hub time to time and see based on that it always scores highly.

 

[CMLew]

i notice that a lot of knowledgeable people use emsisoft even though it does not score high on av-test, av-comparatives, etc.

Why I use?
1) Cheap - with loyalty program kick in I can get very affordable price
2) Technical Support - their forum is more responsive than most.
3) User friendly - install-n-forget type of program. No need to tweak.

technicality about BB, signature, etc etc.. i don't care.. XD

 

[Evjl's Rain]

1/ KIS:
- Pros:
+ Tweakable to make it very light
+ The best protection on the market with the best BB (hub and personal tests proved that)
+ Great cloud and extra useful features like exploit protection, network attack blocker
+ Application control can be tweaked to make it closed to impenetrable

- Cons:
+ more tweaking = more bugs, compatibility issues
+ can be heavy if not tweaked
+ very very weak against PUPs and adwares, better with PUP protection enabled but still average
+ firewall is quite confusing and buggy
+ application control can slow down the system a lot
+ very slow scanning speed

2/ EAM:
- Pros:
+ easy to use and great out of the box
+ no obvious weakness
+ great against PUPs, second best BB (in my tests, it missed quite a lot of malwares)
+ very fast scanning speed -> fast on daily usage
+ great signatures for non-zero-day malwares (from BD)

- Cons:
+ high memory usage (problem for some users)
+ not many things to tweak for better protection
+ some irritating bugs which make it unusable after exiting from the tray icon and re-opening
+ not good signatures against zero-day malwares (due to BD going downhill)

3/ Avast:
- Pros:
+ very light after tweaking
+ relatively good signatures, cloud and BB for FREE
+ can be tweaked and pair with other security tool for almost impenetrable level (for intermediate and advanced users), potentially better than EAM but nowhere near out of the box

- Cons:
+ really really buggy, newer versions = new bugs, new bloatwares
+ slow fixing of previous bugs
+ laggy UI, some performance issues in some machines
+ slow scanning speed
+ frequently conflicts with many other apps
+ web shield is not well optimized and slows down internet speed a lot with high CPU usage
+ some modules are connected to each others so 1 is disabled, the others are not functioning
+ yearly subscription -> irritating/dangerous for clueless users
+ very poor against java-based and script-based malwares, so-so against PUPs, not the best against ransomwares out of the box
+ ads, popups in free version

 

[kellysi]

I like webroot, but than again I also am into malwarebytes, and Eset

 

[tonibalas]

@kellysi i know this will come a shock to you but i was using Webroot for 2 months
and when i removed it and installed Eset my system performance and my browsing became a lot better, much faster.
That was a shock to me because i thought that Webroot had the best performance from all AV.
But unfortunately no Eset is much lighter on my system.
I think Webroot was good but it's time to take a good step step forward on both performance and protection.
Now these days security products that where considered heavy on a system they have improved a lot.
The 2 that come first in my mind are Bitdefender and Kaspersky

 

[Hector1]

I don't like AV at all because they slow down my system and I had issue with most of them
Reboot restore Rx clean my Pc at restart, and my current session is protected by Voodooshield free+ Binisoft WFC + Adguard extension: all is smooth and fast.

 

[WinXPert]

EAM is great. If I still have my quad core desktop surely it will have EAM (until the license expires)

Now I'm using a slower dual core, I'll stick to CF.

 

[Deleted member 65228]

I have been using Emsisoft for about a year now. No malware, adware or viruses on my PC & I check monthly with a couple second opinion scanners. ZERO infections found! I think they Fortified Windows Firewall to make it better. Why Microslop could not do this is beyond me?

Marg, I'll be honest with you.

I think that deep down you are just a really talented and knowledgeable individual, and that the main reason you've not been infected is due to skill not luck.

I agree too, Emsisoft is a great vendor and produce quality products. They have one of the best customer support mechanisms available, always happy to help and they actually enjoy helping. No one forced them to do free MRA either but they did it anyway for people who don't even use their services.