Battle Windows Defender vs Bitdefender Free vs Kaspersky Free (2019)

brod56

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Feb 13, 2017
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I already have an opinion on this matter, but would like to hear yours too. It's always a popular comparison, and it would be great to take a look at it as of early 2019 in my opinion.

Most important points of comparison:
1. Perfomance impact - ram usage, internet speeds, disk speeds
2. Cloud protection and/or behavior blocker - reliability, speed
3. Offline signatures - static file detection, website filtering, false positives
4. Customization - useful settings
5. Privacy - telemetry, use of personal data
 
Last edited:

Vasudev

Level 33
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Nov 8, 2014
2,224
@Evjl's Rain I'm getting a considerable hit on battery life with KFA Free with CPU spiking to 15%. When I pause KFA and WD takes over cpu usage is below 2%. So do you think WD is blocking and contending for resources?
Is it recommended to full scan with KFA free after installation like @mlnevese suggested?
EDIT:
kasp-batt.png

KFA did allow CPU to go to idle mode C6 faster than WD but because of constant wakeup on idle battery life has taken a hit.
wd-batt.png

With WD c6% is low but battery life/drain is very minimum.
Any ideas?
 
Last edited:

Evjl's Rain

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Apr 18, 2016
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@Evjl's Rain I'm getting a considerable hit on battery life with KFA Free with CPU spiking to 15%. When I pause KFA and WD takes over cpu usage is below 2%. So do you think WD is blocking and contending for resources?
Is it recommended to full scan with KFA free after installation like @mlnevese suggested?
EDIT:View attachment 205274
KFA did allow CPU to go to idle mode C6 faster than WD but because of constant wakeup on idle battery life has taken a hit.View attachment 205275
With WD c6% is low but battery life/drain is very minimum.
Any ideas?
I think you should completely disable WD using ooshutup
I have no problem with kaspersky

CpU spiking can be due to idle scan, rootkit scan or automatic update, or it can be you opening a folder full of exe files for the first time

I'm not sure about battery life. You should disable WD to prevent them from conflicting each other
 

Vasudev

Level 33
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Nov 8, 2014
2,224
I think you should completely disable WD using ooshutup
I have no problem with kaspersky

CpU spiking can be due to idle scan, rootkit scan or automatic update, or it can be you opening a folder full of exe files for the first time

I'm not sure about battery life. You should disable WD to prevent them from conflicting each other
Those idle scans and rootkits are disabled for now. I'm running full scan and I feel they are much slower than KRD and WD. Well, hover to see scan %age is buggy and main UI shows 75% after 15 mins.
Battery life is taking a hit in KFA free unlike KIS and KTS version where battery life and cpu idle was like NO AV was installed. Paid AV makes such as difference.
 

Evjl's Rain

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Those idle scans and rootkits are disabled for now. I'm running full scan and I feel they are much slower than KRD and WD. Well, hover to see scan %age is buggy and main UI shows 75% after 15 mins.
Battery life is taking a hit in KFA free unlike KIS and KTS version where battery life and cpu idle was like NO AV was installed. Paid AV makes such as difference.
I feel the opposite. KIS is much much slower for me
you can try to reboot your PC, then launch some of your commonly used apps and close them. I think KFA will work as it should
kaspersky will reset its temporary caches every time we reboot our PC

besides my settings, did you apply harlan's tweaks? I confirm some of them can significantly impact weaker PCs
 

Vasudev

Level 33
Verified
Nov 8, 2014
2,224
I feel the opposite. KIS is much much slower for me
you can try to reboot your PC, then launch some of your commonly used apps and close them. I think KFA will work as it should
kaspersky will reset its temporary caches every time we reboot our PC

besides my settings, did you apply harlan's tweaks? I confirm some of them can significantly impact weaker PCs
Where can I find Harlan's tweaks?
 

Cavehomme

Level 1
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Apr 16, 2014
36
If you are going to use a free tool then use Windows Defender. It's detection rates as shown on AV Comparatives and AV Test are superb. Add Malwarebytes Premium and it's enough.
 
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brod56

Level 15
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Feb 13, 2017
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If you are going to use a free tool then use Windows Defender. It's detection rates as shown on AV Comparatives and AV Test are superb. Add Malwarebytes Premium and it's enough.
In my opinion, Malwarebytes, in its current state, is far from being a reliable real time AV companion. If you want to boost WD protection, I'd suggest you tweak it with Hard Configurator and/or pair it with a anti-exe like Voodooshield.
 

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