It might be time to stop using antivirus??

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  1. Posts : 318
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 Build 19045.2788
       #1

    It might be time to stop using antivirus??


    An interesting article:- It might be time to stop using antivirus, and just regularly update your software instead | Ars Technica UK

    Should we all switch to Windows defender and save the costs of AV software?
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  2. Posts : 7,254
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
       #2

    Because of the nature of my work, I am very reluctant to move away from Avast which I trust. I deal with hospital information and often hospitals get bought up or change domains. Those domains change hands and I've had several websites blocked because of that.
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  3. Posts : 216
    Windows 10 Home 64-bit
       #3

    I use Windows Defender because its hardly noticeable running in the background. Personally I care more about annoyance-free programs than high protection. I reckon regular Windows Updates and Windows Defender + Firewall is enough for good security.

    It probably comes down to whether you appreciate more protection or silent background antivirus's with no ads. Also if you are running some sort of secure database, it is probably worth paying a bit extra for some security.
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  4. Posts : 32
    Windows 10, MacOS Lion
       #4

    Hairy Scot said:
    An interesting article:- It might be time to stop using antivirus, and just regularly update your software instead | Ars Technica UK

    Should we all switch to Windows defender and save the costs of AV software?
    unfortunately not
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  5. Posts : 5,442
    Windows 11 Home
       #5

    The article basically says, that you should stop using other AVs, because they are very good in what they are supposed to do. ROFL does not even start describing, what to think about it.
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  6. Posts : 1,026
    Win10 Version 21H2 19044.1645
       #6

    TairikuOkami said:
    The article basically says, that you should stop using other AVs, because they are very good in what they are supposed to do. ROFL does not even start describing, what to think about it.

    I did not get that perception. Fair article. Fact is all AVs (Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Norton) are having issues adapting to Win10.

    From article:


    All this isn't to say that you (or your parents) shouldn't use antivirus software, but you should certainly be aware that using antivirus software doesn't necessarily make your computer any more secure. In some cases, AV might make your computer less secure, and cause a deleterious effect on system performance—and, if you believe the browser makers, the continuing popularity of AV software might have a gnarly knock-on effect on other developers, too.The nail in the coffin, according to O'Callahan, is that software vendors rarely speak out about antivirus issues "because they need cooperation from the AV vendors." He then links to a mailing list thread in 2012, where he suggests keeping a list of the AV software that interferes with Firefox. Later in the thread, Mozilla PR swoops in and tells him to knock it off.
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  7. Posts : 31,467
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #7

    torre said:
    I did not get that perception. Fair article. Fact is all AVs (Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, Norton) are having issues adapting to Win10.

    From article:
    Actually, I think the paragraph before the one you quoted says it all...

    Back in June last year, Google's Project Zero found 25 high-severity bugs in Symantec/Norton security products. "These vulnerabilities are as bad as it gets," said Tavis Ormandy, a Project Zero researcher. "They don’t require any user interaction, they affect the default configuration, and the software runs at the highest privilege levels possible. In certain cases on Windows, vulnerable code is even loaded into the kernel, resulting in remote kernel memory corruption." Over the past five years, Ormandy has found similar vulnerabilities in security software from Kaspersky, McAfee, Eset, Comodo, Trend Micro, and others.
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  8. Posts : 5,442
    Windows 11 Home
       #8

    torre said:
    I did not get that perception.
    It says, that AVs are too intrusive and he considers it as a flaw and later he contradicts himself.
    the AV software itself presents a very large attack surface. As in, without AV installed, a hacker might have to find a vulnerability in the browser or operating system
    It is not might, they do it all the time. Not using good AV is way worse than using AV, which might do some damage.

    Yes, AVs are vulnerable as any other software, particularly because they run with system privileges, but that is, what makes them harder to disable unlike WD, which can be disabled by one reg entry. That expert has very, very one-sided view on the issue, I would say from dev perspective, but he forgets, that MS does not make it easy for AV vendors either. It was not until recently, that MS released tool for AVs to make it possible to bypass patchguard, etc.
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  9. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #9

    Hairy Scot said:
    An interesting article:- It might be time to stop using antivirus, and just regularly update your software instead | Ars Technica UK

    Should we all switch to Windows defender and save the costs of AV software?
    Hi there

    Absolutely correct for HOME computers. WD is just fine.

    Current set of protection is based on Last century's model -- we've moved a long way from pimply teens in bedrooms writing malevolent code "just for fun".

    The name of the game these days is FRAUD or SCAM. No software can protect you against this sort of stuff.

    WD is fine for most people -- Ms update it almost daily so it's likely to be more up to date than any 3rd party product and will guard against any people still wasting their time writing malware -- a diminishing group in any case..

    I've long since thought the whole A/V industry was a bit of a fraud in any case basing it's main selling point on FEAR.

    OK some viruses are still around but if people learned HOW TO USE COMPUTERS SAFELY and TOOK BACKUPS REGULARLY the whole problem of Malware and Viruses would disappear.

    Learn how to avoid FRAUD and being SCAMMED -- this is far more prevelant these days --just look at Police crime statistics in most Western type countries (include places like Singapore, Taiwan, Japan in the mix too) where the largest growth (by far) is in Computer / Internet Fraud. In ALL of these cases (yes 100% of them) A/V software would have been 100% ineffective -- but BRAIN would have worked !!!!!.

    Corporates - different considerations - Home users don't need to worry about DDOS attacks and other things designed to disrupt corporates - and make money out of them to fix !!!.

    I think most people would worry more about their Bank accounts being emptied - or even their House being sold !!!! by Fraud than worrying about some stupid piece of Malware which a 10 - 15 min restore from Backup would get rid of.

    There actually was a case in the UK where a person impersonated another in order to get a 100,000 GBP loan -- he took out a loan against the victim's house and got the 100,000 GBP and disappeared (of course).
    Next thing is Bailiff's letters and Bank wanting to sell house to pay back the loan (which of course Victim never tool out.

    I think in the end Bank agreed to forego the money -- but it shows by simply giving out too much data over the internet and not being sensible with passwords etc -- this is what can happen.

    Cheers
    jimbo
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  10. Posts : 5,442
    Windows 11 Home
       #10

    jimbo45 said:
    I've long since thought the whole A/V industry was a bit of a fraud in any case basing it's main selling point on FEAR.
    Indeed, it has actually got a name, scareware. It is used to mark fake AVs, but it applies to real ones as well. Basically they keep saying, if you go online without AV, you will get infected within seconds, umm no, you do not. Even if people would not use Defender, Windows and browsers are way more secure than in days of Windows XP. Then again, you would not ask a doctor to fix a car. People want to enjoy a computer, not to be bothered by it, by thinking.

    Actually the reason, why I have gained some knowledge about Windows is because of it. I used to get infected all time and I was like, how is this possible, when I have installed the best AV?! Eventually I have found out, it is not as simple as it looks. I think, I might have finally figured out and so far it works for me. :)
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