Decent free anti-virus software?

[SXIPro]

Can anyone recommend a decent $0.00 anti-virus software for a non tech savvy old dude? TIA for the help.

 

[mikidymac]

For windows you can use Windows Defender. No clue how it compares to the paid services.

 

[johnmarchetta34]

Malwarebites is king. You can get a free trial that will clear up your computer

 

[kawa js550]

Ive been using avast for about 4 or 5 years now.

 

[MADMAT]

Zero.None.Zilcho.Rippoff.scam.1990's.useless.garbage.resourcehog.criminal.

 

[Quinc]

avast and malware bytes. I work for a huge IT company and we pay a ton of money for Mcafee and yet it has never once found a virus or malware. But Malwarebytes always does. Avast is good because you can do scans pre boot. Or just run linux like a real man.

 

[MADMAT]

avast and malware bytes. I work for a huge IT company and we pay a ton of money for Mcafee and yet it has never once found a virus or malware. But Malwarebytes always does. Avast is good because you can do scans pre boot. Or just run linux like a real man.

Yet they still give the fleeing murderous felon money annually?

(kidding I know he sold it)

 

[Sanoman]

avast and malware bytes. I work for a huge IT company and we pay a ton of money for Mcafee and yet it has never once found a virus or malware. But Malwarebytes always does. Avast is good because you can do scans pre boot. Or just run linux like a real man.

Been reading up on linux.May be what l go to because of the secure online banking.And it can run alongside windows.Still researching at this point

 

[mthomps]

For windows, ironically enough, Microsofts own Windows Defender is arguably the current king of anti-virus.

Malwarebytes used to be great but its not free anymore. McAfee is a waste of cpu cycles that only IT guys who deal with Microsoft access databases and write prompts in visual basic like. Which is quite often.

I do not reccomend Linux to the average joe although the distros have come a long way. "Non-tech-savy old dude" doesn't gell with Linux.

@Sanoman for security if you're on Linux you are already a head of the curve but from what I understand the distro kodachi is what you would want. It connects to the internet on a VPN and you can change it to whatever you want If you have your own.

 

[E350]

You don't actually "run" Windows Defender" it is just running in the background. MalwareBytes is $39 per year and also runs in the background and has found malware on my computer. I am not a tech guy, but unless someone can convince me to do something different, this combo is good enough for me.

 

[Sanoman]

For windows, ironically enough, Microsofts own Windows Defender is arguably the current king of anti-virus.

Malwarebytes used to be great but its not free anymore. McAfee is a waste of cpu cycles that only IT guys who deal with Microsoft access databases and write prompts in visual basic like. Which is quite often.

I do not reccomend Linux to the average joe although the distros have come a long way. "Non-tech-savy old dude" doesn't gell with Linux.

@Sanoman for security if you're on Linux you are already a head of the curve but from what I understand the distro kodachi is what you would want. It connects to the internet on a VPN and you can change it to whatever you want If you have your own.

thanks!

 

[SXIPro]

I'm still searching. I tried Avast and it slowed my laptop to a crawl so I had to uninstall it.

 

[bird]

I'm still searching. I tried Avast and it slowed my laptop to a crawl so I had to uninstall it.

You still running 98 on a P4?

 

[Big Kahuna]

@Goldfishnado We were just talking about this a few weeks ago!!!!!!!

 

[OCD Solutions]

I have been using Avast for 10+ years now but experts I trust swear that Windows Defender is more than adequate.
I have added a VPN to one of my old PC's that I use for downloads and such.
I have the VPN on my main PC as well but it interferes with some of my streaming software, (Playon), so I end up turning it off.

A few of my co-workers are playing with personal firewalls using a dedicated passthrough appliance between your ISP and home router.
It's a bit more involved to setup originally but they protect your entire network so it ends up being much more secure with less upkeep.
PFSense, (now Untangle), is their preferred firewall software but they are also playing with OpnSense, (free).
I haven't had any time to play with either but I do have a small micro PC with dual Gigabit ethernet ports that I will use as the pass through appliance.

 

[smokeysevin]

IMO the best thing you can do is prevent your stuff from getting compromised.

Use something like ublock origin and/or noscript while browsing (I use ublock origin on firefox), don't click sketchy/unfamiliar links, don't torrent stuff, don't open attachments unless you are sure about what they are, and keep a good current recovery image of your computer. Keep a running backup of your important files that is not connected to your computer all the time (basically an offline incremental backup).

Malwarebytes free run as a contingency IF you get the computer herpes but as time has gone one I have become more of a "nuke it from orbit" guy as it is really the only way to be sure. Yes, it is probably paranoid but why risk it?

Linux wise, the new distros of ubuntu are great and even non computer-savy people can pick them up really quickly.

Sean

 

[SXIPro]

You still running 98 on a P4?

No, that's too rich for my blood. I'm still on:

 

[Quinc]

IMO the best thing you can do is prevent your stuff from getting compromised.

Use something like ublock origin and/or noscript while browsing (I use ublock origin on firefox),

Sean

I run ghostery ADblocker. Cant remember the last time I watched an ad on youtube.

 

[2lick]

Windows Defender for anyone that doesn't want to pay or put more effort into it.

 

[fastgtfairlane]

pfizer, moderna. astra zeneca or johnson and johnson are the best.