OK, this is probably a highly subjective question but I've been using Norton for years but now that I'm on Win10 and my Norton subs is up, I wonder if I should just rely on Windows built in tools like Defender or if I should be using a paid or a free third party tool over what's included in Win10. I would love some insights on this.
Thanks
Keith
Hi Keith,
Windows Defender has come a long way, and really is pretty good in Windows 10. Coupled with the paid version of Malwarebytes Antimalware and the free version of Malwarebytes Antiexploit, I think the combo-protection is very robust and certainly sufficient for most users. Of course, the best protection is the one between the chair and the mouse! :)
Keith, if you keep; your credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Social Security number, etc, off your computer, Defender will do everything you need. If you keep those numbers on your rig, you might need to buy one or more of the more powerful AVs.
What for - detecting a virus after it has damaged your system makes little sense. And the virus scanner may remove the virus but not repair your system.
It's really simple. The one problem with defender is the fact that being (built into Windows 10) it is most likely the most commonly used av solution. So if you wanted to develop a piece of malware that evades virus scanners, where would you start? Certainly with defender because most of your "targets" run it. So using an av solution of another company adds an extra layer of security because in order to intrude into your system the malware must no only evade Microsoft's defender but also specifically the solution that is installed on your system.
In fact it's the same thing as with Linux and viruses. Is Linux immune against virus attacks? No. Is your computer less likely to catch a virus while using Linux? Yes, because of the simple fact that it's not profitable to develop Linux viruses, the vast majority of the potential "targets" don't use Linux.
Two easy steps to keep you virus and malware free:
Make extra certain that you know exctly what you are clicking on when surfing the web. Especially if you are trying to download freeware or shareware - make sure you are clicking on a link to the actual program you want and not to a "download manager".
When installing a program, always click on the advanced options or custom install. That is where a lot of companies hide the extra crap/malware - and uncheck what you don't want installed. Also read every EULA you are agreeing to, at least far enough to make sure it is for the software you want to install. Again, disagreeing to EULAs is the way some companies force you to opt out of crap/malware.
Follow those two steps religiously and you likely won't have any problems and if you do manage to have a problem, most of it can be erradicated by a good hard drive cleaning with CCleaner and built Windows disk cleanup.
And try not to share flash drives and external hard drives from others.
I still prefer to do my downloads with a virtual Linux machine and check the downloaded file with Virus Total before I turn it loose.
https://www.virustotal.com/
Heard of this before, thanks i bookmarked it for future use.
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