Need an Anti Virus/Internet Security Package that works

Samsung User · 07 Oct 2016

Funny my Defender updates 2 to 3 times a day and it scans 3 times a day but you can scan it more if you want, better than others I have used.
Some I have used only updated and scanned once a week

HRC · 07 Oct 2016

Same here with Defender updates 2-3 per day.

prikker · 07 Oct 2016

Okay, but the protection is not good enough (for me personally) and scanning I do once a month automatically with Malwarebytes.

RubberDucky · 07 Oct 2016

prikker said:

Firewall W10. I don't use Defender, because it's protection I find very poor and it updates to little. I use Avira free (it updates every 2 hours) in combination with Malwarebytes home Premium (lifetime), and Malwarebytes anti-exploit free. Seems more than adequate to me. And of course myself

Avira Free signature update every 2 hours? I thought the free version you only get 2 updates per day( 12 hours = 1 huge update).

simrick · 07 Oct 2016

rolldog said:

I've been struggling to find an Anti Virus/Firewall/Internet Security package that is fully compatible with Windows 10, and all of my components in all of my PCs.

It wasn't long ago that I was getting the Blue Screen of death regularly, and after doing a little research, I found out that some people were having compatibility issues between Kaspersky Total Security and that build of Windows 10. Before Windows 10 was even released, I was having compatibility problems between Bitdefender and AI Suite, which cam with the MB of my desktop computer, so I didn't want to switch back to them because I'm not sure if this is still an issue. My internet service provider offers a copy of McAfee for anyone who has their internet service through them. I downloaded it and installed it, but it seemed like a very stripped down version of McAfee.

Does anyone have a suggestion for some sort of Total Internet Security Package that's fully compatible with Windows 10 and doesn't hog all the memory? If you've heard about these problems with Bitdefender and/or Kaspersky but know that the compatibility issues have been worked out, I would love to know. I'm currently using Windows Firewall and Defender, which is totally inadequate for me, so if anyone has any suggestions for a good Total Security Package, I would love to hear about it, even if it's one of the ones I mentioned but the issues have been fixed. This time, I'll download their 30 trial package instead of just buying a 1 year membership since I now have 1 year memberships for 3 different applications.

Thanks a lot, and I hope to hear from someone soon.

Hi rolldog and welcome to Tenforums.

Kaspersky did have some problems at one point; they appear to be resolved now.
ASUS AI Suite tends to be a problem with W10. I had to completely remove it from my system because of the BSODs.
I wouldn't use McAfee.
Bitdefender may be okay now, not sure.

A layered approach is best and here's what I would recommend:
ESET NOD32 for anti-virus (use the 30-day trial for now). It's very light on resources, and excellent (paid) protection.
- or -
AVAST! Free AV (install only the three web shields) Note: There is some setup needed to get it working best (let me know if you need that)

Malwarebytes Antimalware (Free or Pro) The free version is an on-demand scanner and requires some settings to be checked when used. It plays nice with your AV. The Pro version also plays well with your AV, and will eventually incorporate their anti-ransomware module, which is in BETA now.

MBAE Malwarebytes anti-exploit (Free), for protection against zero-day browser exploits

SuperAntiSpyware (Free) On-demand scanner for cookies, PUPs and other malware. They also have a paid version.

Unchecky (free) to prevent those "other" programs from installing when you download free stuff off the web.

CryptoPrevent (Free) Which sets Group Policies to prevent malware from executing from known places on your drive.

WOT add-on in your browser, to prevent you from going to known questionable web sites from a search.

OpenDNS DNS servers on your NIC.

With all this, Windows Firewall should be sufficient. :)

Hope that helps!

EdTittel · 07 Oct 2016

To the excellent recommendations in the preceding post, I'd add one more (free) software item: the Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Toolkit, aka EMET. It provides good zero-day and "mysterious execution prevention" capabilities. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2458544 for details.
--Ed--

prikker · 08 Oct 2016

RubberDucky said:

Avira Free signature update every 2 hours? I thought the free version you only get 2 updates per day( 12 hours = 1 huge update).

In configuration you can set the update sequence. Open Avira launcher, extras, configuration.

rolldog · 08 Oct 2016

Wow! Thank you all very much for the much needed advice. I've downloaded a trial of Malwarebytes, and it detected something on the first scan. I just purchased a new laptop a couple of weeks ago, and I've been trying out multiple AV packages but I always start having problems with it. I've also spent the last 6 months building my new desktop, which is almost finished as soon as my custom laser cut acrylic comes in from PrimoChill. Once it's up and running, I'll need to upgrade the OS to Windows 10, since all my drives came out of my previous build, and I'll need protection for it.

I setup my company's email system using Google Apps for Work, and earlier this week Google locked my account because their computers noticed someone was trying to hack my email. My systems usually run 24/7, so this latest incident has me worried, but with all of your recommendations, I'll definitely have some things to try out and see which ones I feel most comfortable with. I hated how much all the other AV packages weighed down my system performance, so I'm eager to try some of these ideas. When my email was being hacked and Google's systems shut it down, the guy I spoke with at Google said they were trying to access my info through my Android cell phone,which surprised me. Android is pretty much the same, you can buy packages of AV software, which slow down your phone a lot, and they have hundreds of free software to prevent this from happening.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with Windows 10, but is anyone familiar with protection on an Android device? I know some of the bigger packages, which we discussed avoiding, also contain a mobile app, but is anyone familiar with a good AV protection for Android? If not, I can find another forum to ask on. Right now, per the Google guy's recommendation, I've setup my email for 2 factor authentication. This at least prevents someone from hacking my email. Now I'm just concerned about someone accessing something else.

It sucks to have to worry about this so much, but I sure am glad there are forums like this where I can go seek some advice.

simrick · 08 Oct 2016

rolldog said:

...snip...
I know this doesn't have anything to do with Windows 10, but is anyone familiar with protection on an Android device? I know some of the bigger packages, which we discussed avoiding, also contain a mobile app, but is anyone familiar with a good AV protection for Android? If not, I can find another forum to ask on. Right now, per the Google guy's recommendation, I've setup my email for 2 factor authentication. This at least prevents someone from hacking my email. Now I'm just concerned about someone accessing something else.

It sucks to have to worry about this so much, but I sure am glad there are forums like this where I can go seek some advice.

I use ESET on my Android phone, and Malwarebytes. :) Two-factor authentication is a must these days.