Octopus Overlords

I McAfee because AT&T provides McAfee Internet Security Suite as part of my internet service. It's adequate (don't know enough to know if it's really good or I would recommend it).

But they're having "temporary issues" with their download that AT&T can't help, referred me to McAfee, not having much luck with them. From AT&T's forums, sounds like the temporary problem has been ongoing for several months. So can't put that on kid's new laptop.

While free is obviously better (who wants to spend money unnecessarily?), willing to pay a little as well.

Doesn't look like we have any threads on this in several years, suspect things might have changed, so started a new one.

Thanks in advance!

"Best" is subjective based on your needs.

Is this going on a PC with a careful user, or is the blind downloading and running of .exe files, clicking ads on questionable sites, and following email links likely?

Does performance impact and/or interference matter? Some really good security options have a tendency to be particularly aggressive, which can (for example) cause problems with games and mods.

Do you want to lock it down hard to the point that nothing will happen on that computer ever - good or bad - or do you want something more usable?

And is there particularly sensitive information on this PC (more than the usual SSN/card number stuff), and is there any reason to believe that this system would actually be targeted?

Personally, I'm a careful user, don't have any company secrets, and don't want to have something deleting game files as a matter of course - I just use Windows built-in antivirus. It's plenty for me and my situation.

I'm inclined to agree with Leo Laporte, who explains below why he no longer recommends paying for Windows antivirus software:

TechGuyLabs.com wrote:

Episode 1556 (1:27:36)
Kevin from Moreno Valley, CA

Kevin has an old laptop and wants to know if he needs Webroot antivirus. Leo says that back in the day, Webroot was very good. But lately, If he's able to update to Windows 10, Windows has its own antivirus called Windows Defender which is very good. Before Windows 10, Microsoft had Windows Security Essentials. Both are essentially the same, and they're free.

Leo doesn't really recommend paying for antivirus anymore because Windows' apps are free and very good. But the other reason is that hackers can beat an antivirus to the punch with so-called zero-day exploits. The best defense is to keep Windows antivirus up to date, as well as his OS, and then be careful with his online behavior.

Kevin should also turn on Secure Sandbox Mode in Windows Defender, and he can find out how to do that at thehackernews.com.

I use the built-in Windows Defender too. Never had any issues.

Add me to the list of Defender only as well, however, I have no children in the house and am careful about where I browse and click. I also run Oracle VirtualBox and if I have a need to go to a website, click a link, watch a video or a friend sends me a link to something and I am suspect of any of the above, I hop into a virtual desktop in VirtualBox first or only, as the case may be.

If your still looking for something more, "Defense in depth", we use Webroot at work on some of our air-gapped machines and it's pretty good, we also use Malwarebytes Enterprise and that works well too, guessing the commercial version should be the same.

Damn, I felt certain I was going to have people yelling at me that I'd might as well sign over my family to Russian hackers, but then everyone went and agreed with me.

College kid, not much techie. But he is aware that clicking on random links/opening odd attachments is bad. Supposedly limited web browsing and careful (so he tells me). I'm not so confident I am OK with no serious protection.

Microsoft Defender, look into Webroot/Malware (I've used Malware Bytes when scanning for malware before).

Zenn7 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:09 pm Microsoft Defender, look into Webroot/Malware (I've used Malware Bytes when scanning for malware before).

If you haven't yet done so, I recommend watching the video clip from Leo Laporte above. Because, as he goes on to explain, in order for third party antivirus software like Webroot to work, it necessitates hooking into your OS at a fairly low level. Which is not a prudent idea, for the reasons he clarifies in that clip.

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:02 pm

Zenn7 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:09 pm Microsoft Defender, look into Webroot/Malware (I've used Malware Bytes when scanning for malware before).

If you haven't yet done so, I recommend watching the video clip from Leo Laporte above. Because, as he goes on to explain, in order for third party antivirus software like Webroot to work, it necessitates hooking into your OS at a fairly low level. Which is not a prudent idea, for the reasons he clarifies in that clip.

He definitely makes a compelling case.

I use McAfee enterprise (which is a different entity altogether and about to get a rename to further distance itself from the consumer version of bloatware shite) - but Windows Defender should be fine, at least if it's the same as the Microsoft E5 security license, that shit is pretty good.

Otherwise you can always run Sophos home for free (although the last time I used it, it started nagging a lot to pay for a premium version that wasn't necessary)... At this point I'd probably just run defender, and hope for the best if you don't have access to an enterprise advanced threat prevention engine, at least until Microsoft abandons it like they've done without notice for all their previous security software (Forefront gateway I'm looking at you..).