The Best Antivirus for Windows 10 Revealed

But do any of them stop PUPs? These are overwhelmingly what I see clogging up people's machines nowadays.

As far as I know very few AV programs stop PUPs. Unfortunately.

wordsworth said:

The best anti-virus is you.

Gawd! Another AV thread. IMO this is always the best answer. Don't install crap, watch email attachments, and watch where one surfs.

eLPuSHeR said:

As far as I know very few AV programs stop PUPs. Unfortunately.

How can they since it's a crap program people consent to by installing other crap? Therefore it's registered as a legit program.

I use Defender. Never a problem. Besides any other AV would slow this old Acer down to a crawl. I don't think I would run any other AV on any other system either.

Hi there
when will people EVER learn that AV reports are 100% A WASTE OF TIME. A new virus could spring up at any time rendering all previous statistics out of date and obsolete.

This seems to be the last roll of the dice for desperate AV software companies who know that people actually don't need that stuff any more on W10 -- Windows defender is quite adequate and these days you are more likely to get scammed or hacked by simple methods such as opening email attachments or giving out personal information on the web.

Even Malwarebytes which seems to be hugely popular isn't really worth it any more.

Surf safely, be very careful in what you download (look for "hidden special offers" etc) and above all check what you download is really what you want -- these days download sites often make the real download hard to find amongst a load of other "trial, crap and adware") so double / triple check before clicking the mouse.

Always take a lot of backups too so you can restore if something horrible does get on to your machine.

As the previous poster says PUPS are likely to be more of a nuisance than viruses and software can't defend against those.

(My remarks here are for Home / Personal computers -- corporate sites do need defending against all sorts of things - not only against Viruses either).

Cheers
jimbo

linw said:

But do any of them stop PUPs? These are overwhelmingly what I see clogging up people's machines nowadays.

Malwarebytes will REMOVE PUP's very well, their is a free version available. Check out their web site, for a list of their programs.
I own the Pro version myself.

OldMike65 said:

Malwarebytes will REMOVE PUP's very well, their is a free version available. Check out their web site, for a list of their programs.
I own the Pro version myself.

Hi there
And how pray tell me do you "define" a PUP -- if it's a legitimate windows program then unless you get a definition from some sort of database then how does the AV program know it's a PUP or a legitimate windows program.

Also if you rely on definitions in a database then you might exclude a program which you really want.

The best way of controlling things like PUPS if you are unfortunate enough to get one is to set up your Firewall properly to check in and outbound stuff and also most decent routers have hardware firewalls too -- although if you have a cable box this is probably unlikely.

Cheers
jimbo

i dont need any tests to tell that 100% of the time, the best firewall and AV is between the bench and the monitor.

jimbo45 said:

Hi there
And how pray tell me do you "define" a PUP -- if it's a legitimate windows program then unless you get a definition from some sort of database then how does the AV program know it's a PUP or a legitimate windows program.

Also if you rely on definitions in a database then you might exclude a program which you really want.

The best way of controlling things like PUPS if you are unfortunate enough to get one is to set up your Firewall properly to check in and outbound stuff and also most decent routers have hardware firewalls too -- although if you have a cable box this is probably unlikely.

Cheers
jimbo

Well jimbo you are talking about TWO different types of programs. Malwarebtyes is a Anti-Malware program, which mainly checks for PUP's and also monitors where you go thur your web browser too. It can check for virus types too, but mainly checks for other types of Malware. Now for an anti-virus program like defender or other anti-virus programs what they try to do is scan for virus infections on your hard drive AFTER you get infected. You can have a router installed which is also suppose to give you protection, and a firewall installed too, which is suppose to also protect your computer. Do these work 100% of the time protecting your computer, NO they do not jimbo!!! If a person wants to improve their protection, by installing MORE protection for their systems, by using programs which scan for Malware and virus's and DO HELP PROTECT their systems, depending on how good these programs are, because some of these don't do as good a job as others. Just like some firewalls are better than other firewalls. I see no reason for YOU to slam any user asking information about what program they should use. These people are just asking for help in this area, definitions updates from programs like Malwarebytes is updated TWICE a DAY, EVERY DAY!!! Same with a program like Norton, which some folks use, and some folks hate, but it also updates its definitions 2 to 3 times daily!!!
Plus their is a BIG difference between a PUP and a actual virus too.

Bottom line everyone has their own way of protection, their own choice of what program they want to use. And also the right to ASK for advice of what they should consider to use for protection from PUP's and Virus's. Good programs like Malwarebytes AND Norton's KNOW the difference between Legitimate Windows programs and those that are not sir!!! Also these programs will offer you a choice of re-storing a PUP if you choose too. They have many options available to the user if they choose to re-store these PUP's.

If you don't want to use any of these programs, that is YOUR right to do so, and I respect that right. Just like I think you should respect other people's rights to RUN them if they choose to have MORE protection, than just Windows firewall, and Windows Defender.
Peace and to everyone today, I wish a Great and Happy Thanksgiving day Too!!!!
Mike.

Cluster Head said:

In Germany Avira is very often used as a Free Version. But there are no hardcore / heavy user.
They prefer: Avast, Eset, Kaspersky, Bitdefender.

Personally German's take to much pride in their work and strive to.be No1, I would trust the test & results.

OldMike65 said:

Well jimbo you are talking about TWO different types of programs. Malwarebtyes is a Anti-Malware program, which mainly checks for PUP's and also monitors where you go thur your web browser too. It can check for virus types too, but mainly checks for other types of Malware. Now for an anti-virus program like defender or other anti-virus programs what they try to do is scan for virus infections on your hard drive AFTER you get infected. You can have a router installed which is also suppose to give you protection, and a firewall installed too, which is suppose to also protect your computer. Do these work 100% of the time protecting your computer, NO they do not jimbo!!! If a person wants to improve their protection, by installing MORE protection for their systems, by using programs which scan for Malware and virus's and DO HELP PROTECT their systems, depending on how good these programs are, because some of these don't do as good a job as others. Just like some firewalls are better than other firewalls. I see no reason for YOU to slam any user asking information about what program they should use. These people are just asking for help in this area, definitions updates from programs like Malwarebytes is updated TWICE a DAY, EVERY DAY!!! Same with a program like Norton, which some folks use, and some folks hate, but it also updates its definitions 2 to 3 times daily!!!
Plus their is a BIG difference between a PUP and a actual virus too.

Bottom line everyone has their own way of protection, their own choice of what program they want to use. And also the right to ASK for advice of what they should consider to use for protection from PUP's and Virus's. Good programs like Malwarebytes AND Norton's KNOW the difference between Legitimate Windows programs and those that are not sir!!! Also these programs will offer you a choice of re-storing a PUP if you choose too. They have many options available to the user if they choose to re-store these PUP's.

If you don't want to use any of these programs, that is YOUR right to do so, and I respect that right. Just like I think you should respect other people's rights to RUN them if they choose to have MORE protection, than just Windows firewall, and Windows Defender.
Peace and to everyone today, I wish a Great and Happy Thanksgiving day Too!!!!
Mike.

Hi there

Oh dear -- you a) haven't actually answered the question on how an AV program is supposed to distinguish between a "Legitimate Windows program" and a "Rogue" Windows program which could contain no virus whatsoever but just be a plain nuisance --such as a typical PUP.

That was the reply I was querying when a poster said Malwarebytes couldn't really defend against PUPS. You implied that it could and I was merely asking HOW. I wasn't asking about protection against Viruses / Trojans or some other types of malware.

b) Windows defender DOES give REAL TIME PROTECTION - and anybody who thinks it doesn't is confusing it with the earlier version which ran on W7.

The current version of Windows defender (Windows 10) is built into the windows kernel and is based on the earlier Enterprise program Forefront Security essentials.

It's actually quite good.

Of course batch scanning for any infected files is also a good idea but to suggest that Windows defender doesn't provide real time protection is just plain wrong.

Cheers
jimbo