Which anti-virus should I get? (1 Viewer)

[TheTwoOfUs]

My McAfee subscription has expired. Is there a good free anti-virus programme or should I just re-subscribe to McAfee?

 

[Brains]

You get what you pay for.

I'd not go for a free version, unless it was on a bit of kit I did not mind losing.
McAfee is good (there are others) get the family version which covers 3 devices.

It then means if you replace you current computer with a new one, you can have both old and new covered whilst both are still in use.
It also means the 'two' in 'two of us' gets covered as well.

 

[Garfields]

On the off chance you are with BT broadband Norton is free. I think you can have it of five bits of kit

 

[VXman]

Not neccesary in my opinion. I had McAfee on my laptop when new and ran it for 1 year but didn't renew. The laptop I kept for 6 years and used it on some dodgy sites (not that kind of dodgy!! Just downloading TV shows from via bit torrent) and never had any issues.

Microsoft (Windows) Defender, built into your system (I'm assuming you have a windows PC) is enough and doesn't get the recognition it deserves as a anti virus protector. Many sites say it is as good as McAfee.

Microsoft Defender (formerly Windows Defender) Review 2024: Is it Better Than the Free Windows Security?

Is Microsoft Defender the ultimate antivirus solution? Check out our Windows Defender review for the latest info on its features, protection, and pricing.

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Actually McAfee annoy me - they are the worst 'virus' in my opinion. Since I unistalled their software I constantly get spam messages popping up telling me I am in danger and unprotected. (Which I am not!)

 

[Guigsy]

You get what you pay for.

I'd not go for a free version, unless it was on a bit of kit I did not mind losing.
McAfee is good (there are others) get the family version which covers 3 devices.

It then means if you replace you current computer with a new one, you can have both old and new covered whilst both are still in use.
It also means the 'two' in 'two of us' gets covered as well.

I'm not a fan of McAfee. In a corporate environment, they were slow to add new threats. And their system was a power hog and was buggy. And we were paying them lots of money. I'm not convinced that the home version would be any better.

There are a few sites that review anti virus software. Most of them are pretty similar. Even the built in Windows one does pretty well. The only reason to not use it is because it makes you a more unusual target. But the counter argument is safety in numbers. The free versions of anti virus use the same databases. You pay for less nagging.

Personally I'm currently using Bitdefender. That I pay for AV is one of my work contract requirements... I've also used Avira, AVG, Kaspersky. I get whichever offers a good deal.

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[Lenny HB]

AGV Free is pretty good and combined with Defender you are quite well protected.

McAfee always used to be a nightmare really good at grinding machines to a halt terrible overheads on the system.

 

[TDub49]

My McAfee subscription has expired. Is there a good free anti-virus programme or should I just re-subscribe to McAfee?

This from Which?, describing BitDefender Free:

• Pros: Three licences in a free product
• Cons: Takes a while to clean connected USB devices
• Availability: Free / three licences / Bitdefender.co.uk

Bitdefender Free Edition is arguably the best example of the kind of quality you can now expect from decent, free antivirus. It includes anti-malware, anti-phishing and anti-spyware, and all are of competent quality.

Bitdefender's scanning capabilities are powerful and comprehensive. It’s great at detecting and dealing with any threats. However, it's sluggish when dealing with threats from USB devices. While it successfully detects and scans, it can take a few minutes to deal with any threat. This isn't especially bad, but the process could be made faster in the future.

Ads – so often the greatest annoyance of free software – are minimal and not aggressive. Which is refreshing, as some free software we've tested can be annoying to use due to the proliferation of ads.

Uniquely for a free product, you’re granted three licences. This lets you cover three devices under a single account.

This is impressive software, and all this quality is free.

Verdict: The best free software this year

 

[clanjones]

I have been using Bitdefender Total Security for 3 or 4 years. I use it on phones, tablests and PC's. I have a a 5 device license which you can get from eBay resellers for about £15.00. Never pay the full subscription and make sure you turn off Auto Renewal. The great thing is if you see a good deal you can buy it mid term and your subscribtion will increase from the end of the current subscription period.

 

[Riverbankannie]

I use Norton Internet security. As above buying each year from Amazon resellers , 5 licences for about £15. Includes a VPN too. Use on ipad, phone, laptop etc.
Also as above, you have to subscribe and then login and turn off auto renew.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

I have used Eset for years for personal and work computers and phones, never had a issue and it does not seem to slow things down.

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[St3v3]

Windows Defender.

 

[TheBig1]

I have a Bitdefender subscription across all my devices. It works silently in the background without hogging resources until it detects an issue. Seems to catch everything and you can choose the version with a VPN built in

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

Just checked the system and the Norton one is already installed. Can't stop the McAfee flashing up warnings though now, I've tried to find it to uninstall it but can't find it.

 

[Pukka]

Look for my old post, Used and sold eset for 20 years

 

[ChrisL]

Another vote for Eset, we used it at work and I installed it on all my personal devices (and paid the subscription)

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[Hettie's Crew]

Bitdefender, I have it on a Windows laptop, a three year deal that was quite reasonable, though it appears to have gone a lot.

 

[97243]

Avast free version for me with Windows Defender and stand alone ExpressVPN, which knocks any of the incorporated VPNs into a cocked hat.

 

[dunnah01]

+1 for AVG - used it for years on loads of devices with no issues

 

[97243]

+1 for AVG - used it for years on loads of devices with no issues

I used to until I wanted to get rid of it. Impossible to remove.

 

[HKF]

Not neccesary in my opinion. I had McAfee on my laptop when new and ran it for 1 year but didn't renew. The laptop I kept for 6 years and used it on some dodgy sites (not that kind of dodgy!! Just downloading TV shows from via bit torrent) and never had any issues.

Microsoft (Windows) Defender, built into your system (I'm assuming you have a windows PC) is enough and doesn't get the recognition it deserves as a anti virus protector. Many sites say it is as good as McAfee.

Microsoft Defender (formerly Windows Defender) Review 2024: Is it Better Than the Free Windows Security?

Is Microsoft Defender the ultimate antivirus solution? Check out our Windows Defender review for the latest info on its features, protection, and pricing.

allaboutcookies.org

Actually McAfee annoy me - they are the worst 'virus' in my opinion. Since I unistalled their software I constantly get spam messages popping up telling me I am in danger and unprotected. (Which I am not!)

I agree. Any third party AV seems to be so resource-hungry it defeats our quest for faster speeds. Not only that but I got sick of hearing the fan running under the strain.

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[Yorick]

Windows defender is not a real AV solution.
It's written by the same folk who program Windows which is full of holes and insecurities
Even they admit it's not a real AV solution.

I worked for McAfee for years. It's great, but let down by the muppets who provide the front end to it.
I still use it coz I know how clever the folk there are.

AVG free is the only free one I'd use.

I used to test the top 10 products every week against a million viruses and send reports to the bosses.

 

[Guigsy]

Windows defender is not a real AV solution.
It's written by the same folk who program Windows which is full of holes and insecurities
Even they admit it's not a real AV solution.

Independent testing disagrees. Defender does a pretty good job. The multinational I'm currently working for uses Defender for Linux on all their on-prem cloud infrastructure.

 

[VXman]

Windows defender is not a real AV solution.
It's written by the same folk who program Windows which is full of holes and insecurities
Even they admit it's not a real AV solution.

I worked for McAfee for years. It's great, but let down by the muppets who provide the front end to it.
I still use it coz I know how clever the folk there are.

AVG free is the only free one I'd use.

I used to test the top 10 products every week against a million viruses and send reports to the bosses.

Well no one is perfect as the number of government and international companies that get seriously affected show.

 

[Yorick]

Independent testing disagrees. Defender does a pretty good job. The multinational I'm currently working for uses Defender for Linux on all their on-prem cloud infrastructure.

Independent testing. Hmm.

I do know that these PC magazines that do the testing only have about 100 viruses to test against.
How are they going to get and keep the viruses safe?

The AV companies share all viruses.
It was a million, 10 years ago. Probably more now.
I worked in a super safe environment where all these viruses where kept in a "vault"

Magazine tests should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

[Guigsy]

The other thing to consider... I've not had a virus for about 15 years. My current virus scanner could be doing absolutely nothing, I'd never know.

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[activecampers]

Ask any IT person, and they'll say McAfee or Norton are just as bad as viruses!
(Rephrase that, any IT person not on commission/referral/affiliate links - which pay up 70%+ commission....).

For all my corporate clients, we run BitDefender as its fairly cheap, non intrusive, central management and just works with a small footprint. Hassle free and does a good enough job.

There is a home free version https://www.bitdefender.co.uk/solutions/free.html - I used to recommend this but newer version tries too hard and needs registration, so a bit "meh". But may be worth it if you don't mind registering.

Look at https://www.av-comparatives.org/comparison/

Microsoft inbuilt is actually pretty good and would suffice for most, but no one recommends it "just in case".... Not much configuration possible but for simple users who behave and are intelligent users....

IME AVG was my recommended answer for home until it became massively bloated, nagged like hell, and just tried to upsell tat to people.

But everyone has different requirements and experiences, so no right answer.

 

[activecampers]

The other thing to consider... I've not had a virus for about 15 years. My current virus scanner could be doing absolutely nothing, I'd never know.

knowingly

Its the other vectors, like dodgy emails/phishing/fake logon sites etc. I see/block 100s of these daily, and many are "zero day" ones, that get through now, but in an hour are blocked. Rather annoying.

User training/testing is much more important. but sadly many are too important/stupid/busy to listen/get trained. One customer lost c. £20k through fake emails. Nothing secure/insecure about them, simply someone emailed pretending to be CEO and got the finance guy to pay some fake invoiced urgently. Then asked me to help lol. The emails would not get blocked by any scanner, as they were genuine emails just had changed display name. The accounts guy even said he thought it was weird, wasn't written in the same tone or addressed to his usual abbreviated name, and thought the email address (gmail) was new. But did it anyway as he was busy....

Most "hacks" aren't hacks, its people stupidly giving out their passwords to something by choice and without thought. But its easier to blame a "hack" than admit being fooled.

 

[Guigsy]

knowingly

Its the other vectors, like dodgy emails/phishing/fake logon sites etc. I see/block 100s of these daily, and many are "zero day" ones, that get through now, but in an hour are blocked. Rather annoying.

User training/testing is much more important. but sadly many are too important/stupid/busy to listen/get trained. One customer lost c. £20k through fake emails. Nothing secure/insecure about them, simply someone emailed pretending to be CEO and got the finance guy to pay some fake invoiced urgently. Then asked me to help lol. The emails would not get blocked by any scanner, as they were genuine emails just had changed display name. The accounts guy even said he thought it was weird, wasn't written in the same tone or addressed to his usual abbreviated name, and thought the email address (gmail) was new. But did it anyway as he was busy....

Most "hacks" aren't hacks, its people stupidly giving out their passwords to something by choice and without thought. But its easier to blame a "hack" than admit being fooled.

But most of those attacks aren't viruses or worms. They are insecure software exploits, or people being tricked into running software. So an anti-virus might not even be able to tell you that you've been compromised. AV is not a complete shield.

 

[Al n Val]

Get an Apple machine, i’ve had them for 15 years, Imac, Macbook, ipad pro, ipad and never had any reason to use antivirus software
The previous 20 years on Windows used to be a nightmare

 

[activecampers]

But most of those attacks aren't viruses or worms. They are insecure software exploits, or people being tricked into running software. So an anti-virus might not even be able to tell you that you've been compromised. AV is not a complete shield.

Totally correct.
But some AV do offer protection from them, and most "users" don't really care where the threat comes from and want protecting from the baddies (aka themselves)
No easy answer.
The user communities I look after get tested with fakes from me etc and any failures get a talking to from the bigwigs as its quite a serious failing, often overlooked with no responsibility taken which is wrong.
No system is perfect, but the "brain" of the user is a critical part that needs to be engaged.

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