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Recommendations for better free antivirus software?
- Thread starter GeekyDad
- Start date
The Cockatrice
I'm retarded?
Why do you need an antivirus? Unless you dont click ads and download everything without any thought theres 0 need for an AV. Windows Defender is good enough. You can just download malware bytes and scan ur pc once a few months and just uninstall/reinstall when needed. Most illegal sites/downloads get blocked by Google/Chrome.
kurisu_1974
Member
Dude these products are a scam. Just stick to Defender.
V1LÆM
Gold Member
Windows Defender should be enough for most people. If for whatever reason you don't want to use it then I recommend Bitdefender Free. I have Bitdefender Total Security (paid) and have had no problems with it. I didn't buy it for any particular reason other than just to try it out. I'd be happy to keep paying for it but I know I'm probably wasting my money when Defender is more than enough.
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Magister
Member
Not true. I visited a legit online store and it was infected as someone was using a wordpress exploit to show fake human verification pages and Chrome didn't even block it.
I use Norton btw, it is paid. Malwarebytes sometimes too.
If you want to be 100% virus-proof use macOS or Linux as your OS.
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V1LÆM
Gold Member
there's no such thing as 100% virus proof.
you're just less likely to get infected on those operating systems. i get way loads more sketchy pages launching on Safari on my MacBook compared to Firefox on my PC.
The Cockatrice
I'm retarded?
Seems unlikely but that wouldnt protect you either way. AV doesnt protect you from being scammed on webpages. AV is useless if you have common knowledge. Sites getting hacked is not user error.
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winjer
Gold Member
For most cases Windows Defender is good enough. If you want something a better, try BitDefender Free.
BitDefender is not exactly free, as it requires to create an account. So you are paying with a modicum of your privacy.
If you want to scan downloaded files, I recommend using VirusTotal. It's a site that aggregates a few dozen AV scanners.
BitDefender is not exactly free, as it requires to create an account. So you are paying with a modicum of your privacy.
If you want to scan downloaded files, I recommend using VirusTotal. It's a site that aggregates a few dozen AV scanners.
Cyberpunkd
Member
Dedicated antivirus...
In 2024...
In 2024...
Tams
Member
Opinion discarded.
kruis
Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Windows automatically defrags your drives, no need to do it yourself.
thief183
Member
Antiviruses do the same things a virus would do but you pay for them
They slow your PC, send your data away, restrain you access to some files, and keep asking for money.
I'd say take a virus instead of an antivirus.
(Defender is free, already installed and better than most of the competition, eventually install malwarebytes for some fast scan once in a while)
They slow your PC, send your data away, restrain you access to some files, and keep asking for money.
I'd say take a virus instead of an antivirus.
(Defender is free, already installed and better than most of the competition, eventually install malwarebytes for some fast scan once in a while)
newtypepilot
Member
ublock origin
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
Likewise. Defender is great. Lots of clients I work with pay for Defender licensing. That’s for threat seeking and automation.
I use Bitdefender and Defender.
I use Bitdefender and Defender.
Dragon_Rocks
Member
/jk
DJ12
Member
I have bit defender also, it's destroys my launchbox install everytime I load it and despite me adding the folder and app into the exclusion section for everything it still does it.
Paid for a year, used it for 3 months absolute waste.
It's not just bit defender, had kaspersky for years too bit in it's more recent versions that also stopped respecting my exclusions.
I have a lot of emu stuff, some of which have old harmless viruses for dos, which would be lost with it ignoring what was set.
Never had a problem with defender at all.
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winjer
Gold Member
/jk
He didn't ask for a virus.
InterMusketeer
Member
I remember reading somewhere that it's best to just use windows defender. It's updated frequently and works fine. Third party anti-virus software is usually slower, less thorough and often causes weaknesses viruses can exploit.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Aces High
Gold Member
Yes, Bitdefender is legit.For most cases Windows Defender is good enough. If you want something a better, try BitDefender Free.
BitDefender is not exactly free, as it requires to create an account. So you are paying with a modicum of your privacy.
If you want to scan downloaded files, I recommend using VirusTotal. It's a site that aggregates a few dozen AV scanners.
Very light weight. Great performance. Comes with VPN and and password manager.
It's very easy to get a free key since they're doing promos a lot.
Make sure to set up your Windows with two users:
One admin account for installations, and a regular user account for daily use.
If you get hacked, the damage will be reduced since the hacked account does not have admin rights.
