Is paying for antivirus a waste of money?

jimbo45 · 12 Mar 2016

Hi there
If I were to get any problems with the computer I would simply wipe HDD and restore

If people can't take around 5 - 6 mins to back up a decent system then there really isn't any point in doing anything else.

Here's my last backup using Macrium Reflect - I have my OS + programs on an SSD - my data is protected and distributed elsewhere -- it's the OS I'm basically concerned with here - my data HDD's in any case have decent protection on them and are stored on a NAS with it's own protection -- running a CENTOS Linux system so that also has its own protection mechanism.

Backing up the OS to external USB HDD and then copied to NAS over wireless (Wifi--Ethernet Bridge being used so decent WIFI speeds) 6.33 mins for the initial backup to USB 3 portable HDD.

Surely 6 mins is worth anybody's time for decent backup. I keep 5 - 10 images so even if I miss an infection - I can go back a further backup.

Is paying for antivirus a waste of money?-macrium.png

If it makes you FEEL better by all means use AV software - I've never found it necessary with W10 -- in general it can cause problems with other software - especially when testing new releases etc or messing around with new hardware.

I use a VM for Torrents if I'm using those so no direct like between Torrent site and Host OS. If the VM gets hosed up I just bin it and launch a new one. Sometimes there are TV shows that we will NEVER get here - so even if I wanted to buy them I couldn't -- so unfortunately this is sometimes the only way to get hold of that material. Once the Movie / TV studios release stuff electronically world wide then I'd buy it - but until then --Mea Culpa !!!!!.

Using your BRAIN sensibly is the most effective way of keeping safe and above all watch out for new scams against which any Software won't protect you.

Cheers
jimbo

slyphnier · 12 Mar 2016

jimbo45 said:

Hi there
If I were to get any problems with the computer I would simply wipe HDD and restore

If people can't take around 5 - 6 mins to back up a decent system then there really isn't any point in doing anything else.

Here's my last backup using Macrium Reflect - I have my OS + programs on an SSD - my data is protected and distributed elsewhere -- it's the OS I'm basically concerned with here - my data HDD's in any case have decent protection on them and are stored on a NAS with it's own protection -- running a CENTOS Linux system so that also has its own protection mechanism.

Backing up the OS to external USB HDD and then copied to NAS over wireless (Wifi--Ethernet Bridge being used so decent WIFI speeds) 6.33 mins for the initial backup to USB 3 portable HDD.

Surely 6 mins is worth anybody's time for decent backup. I keep 5 - 10 images so even if I miss an infection - I can go back a further backup.

If it makes you FEEL better by all means use AV software - I've never found it necessary with W10 -- in general it can cause problems with other software - especially when testing new releases etc or messing around with new hardware.

I use a VM for Torrents if I'm using those so no direct like between Torrent site and Host OS. If the VM gets hosed up I just bin it and launch a new one. Sometimes there are TV shows that we will NEVER get here - so even if I wanted to buy them I couldn't -- so unfortunately this is sometimes the only way to get hold of that material. Once the Movie / TV studios release stuff electronically world wide then I'd buy it - but until then --Mea Culpa !!!!!.

Using your BRAIN sensibly is the most effective way of keeping safe and above all watch out for new scams against which any Software won't protect you.

Cheers
jimbo

what you done on your system might not work on other else , Why ?
1. most common is that most people dont have proper back up plan ... paying backup storage online isnt really option as it take more time to the process...
getting backup storage / NAS cost money, which not all people willing to spend

2. depends on usage, someone can have bigger system size than others because many reason such as more software, adobe suits give u good 50gb, and not counting the extension... bigger size = longer restoring time
5-6mins restoring is sound to good if you comparing to other system specs, system enviroment etc.
plus not all people have good system as yours

indeed people have decent sense in computing security, paying for AV maybe not worth much

but for most people, human logic/brain work with experience and knowledge, good luck saying "sensibly" to people that dont have decent security knowledge

thus Internet Security is better for most people

Wynona · 12 Mar 2016

Cliff S said:

@rusty post,
I don't leave Home(page) without it!!
My thread: Solved Latest Version Malwarebytes Anti Exploit - Windows 10 Forums

No @Wynona that isn't it. You're thinking of Anti-Ransomware Beta.

Anti-Exploit does this:

No, Cliff, I'm not thinking of Anti-Ransomware. The one I'm talking about came from Malwarebytes and had nothing to do with ransomware. It was to protect my system from malware, but it didn't at all; it decided that the Microsoft Office Update was malware and completely disabled Office 365 2016 to the point I had to do a complete reinstall of Windows 10. Once you mess up O365, there's not much else you can do.

Winuser · 12 Mar 2016

Wynona said:

No, Cliff, I'm not thinking of Anti-Ransomware. The one I'm talking about came from Malwarebytes and had nothing to do with ransomware. It was to protect my system from malware, but it didn't at all; it decided that the Microsoft Office Update was malware and completely disabled Office 365 2016 to the point I had to do a complete reinstall of Windows 10. Once you mess up O365, there's not much else you can do.

I have Office 365 and Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit running without any problems. I did have a lot of problems trying to run Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomeware.
Edit: Because of Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomeware I did have to reinstall Office 365.

Night Hawk · 12 Mar 2016

slyphnier said:

what you done on your system might not work on other else , Why ?
1. most common is that most people dont have proper back up plan ... paying backup storage online isnt really option as it take more time to the process...
getting backup storage / NAS cost money, which not all people willing to spend

2. depends on usage, someone can have bigger system size than others because many reason such as more software, adobe suits give u good 50gb, and not counting the extension... bigger size = longer restoring time
5-6mins restoring is sound to good if you comparing to other system specs, system enviroment etc.
plus not all people have good system as yours

indeed people have decent sense in computing security, paying for AV maybe not worth much

but for most people, human logic/brain work with experience and knowledge, good luck saying "sensibly" to people that dont have decent security knowledge

thus Internet Security is better for most people

Having web filtering in place is the major portion of internet security to begin with. If your system protections filter bad sites you have a much better prevention method in use. For testing new downloads I have the option here of either downloading to a VM if not the second desktop I access remotely! That's more or less 99% totally isolated with both machines have effective firewalls.

As for system images the 10 drives as well as VMs are all running Insider builds solving that problem since those get upgrade over monthly just about. I made one for the 7 side of the dual boot on machines right before downloading 10 last summer and recently added another one for each machine after increasing the capacity on both with external drives in use.

When was the last time I was to restore an image? Well let's see the original 7 install on the present build put together in 2010 was getting buggy without bugs in May 2013 where the Oct. 2013 image made six months after the case was put together note was then restored. A month later the clean install then replaced that. Presently I will eventually get around to almost the other day to seeing the next clean install take place. The second build has been running off of a restored 7 image now since last August!

TairikuOkami · 12 Mar 2016

Winuser said:

Edit: Because of Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomeware I did have to reinstall Office 365.

Various Anti-Ransomeware software creates user restriction on apps folders, which creates even more problems.
And the defense against ransomware is actually pretty simple, just use UAC, disable WSH, protect startup entries.
Majority of malware, which "runs by itself", runs thanks to scripting, most people do not really need WSH.

For example: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-cerber-ransomware-not-only-encrypts-your-data-but-also-speaks-to-you/

RolandJS · 12 Mar 2016

TairikuOkami said:

Various Anti-Ransomeware software creates user restriction on apps folders, which creates even more problems.

Yes, that's why I went with WinPatrol Anti-Ransom, it allowed me access to the user AppData folders.

bobad · 12 Mar 2016

Yes and no. For sure I wouldn't pay for a subscription antivirus. It makes no sense. I despise the Windows Defender, but it may be better now than when I learned to hate it.

I rely more on backups. I carefully set up Windows and all apps that I normally use. This can take a week of of intermittent work. I then back up my entire boot drive on to my D drive with a FREE backup program. (Aomei Backupper). It takes about 6-8 minutes to save a weeks worth of tedium.

If I should get virused, it would only take 15 minutes to boot from DVD drive and restore the disk image stored on my D drive.

I still use a very lightweight FREE antivirus (360 Total Security) to prevent me from installing junkware if I'm not paying attention. My AV seldom alerts, but when it does, it's a valuable learning experience.

Night Hawk · 12 Mar 2016

The subscription here was a one time purchase for the Lifetime which is good for upto 5 pcs. I had an older laptop included until that suddenly did nothing with or without the ac adapter plugged in no longer see any post screen while the power button still lights up. Haven't been able to find the model at the HP support for how to reset the cmos which might work.

The 10/7 dual boots on both desktops are covered and the new 10 laptop saw a 2yrs. sub there as well since like the 7 laptop upgraded to 10 that could also go belly up in a couple of years while won't be seeing much web time there.

When not having the av program running here which also contains a firewall with web filtering strange things can happen! When a sudden problem with Firefox 44 came up just awhile ago I ran a deep scan after first finding an adware generator attached itself to FF! After the scan and deletion from quarantine the generator was still at act but only with FF! Not seen at all with Waterfox or Cyberfox. When starting up the previous version's 43.0.3 installer the installer went for 45.0 now seen and no more traces.

The av program had found other traces and when going to test the idea that something had been clicked on this is how not just paid for av programs but paid for av programs with firewalls as well as effective web filtering processes such as seen with Internet security suits can actually be the preventative measure.

Is paying for antivirus a waste of money?-bad-site-blocked.jpg

Winuser · 12 Mar 2016

TairikuOkami said:

Various Anti-Ransomeware software creates user restriction on apps folders, which creates even more problems.
And the defense against ransomware is actually pretty simple, just use UAC, disable WSH, protect startup entries.
Majority of malware, which "runs by itself", runs thanks to scripting, most people do not really need WSH.

For example: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-cerber-ransomware-not-only-encrypts-your-data-but-also-speaks-to-you/

I was just running Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomeware to test it. It caused to many problems so I uninstalled it. I don't have any immediate plans of reinstalling it.