What security software do you use?

[jag272]

Windows Firewall + Avast Free + Malwarebytes Pro for me, very rarely have any issues. If I'm visiting any site I suspect could be dodgy I close out of it in my main browser and open it up in Sandboxie too. Never had any issues with this set up.

I used to use Norton until it got to the point where it was throwing around so many false positives it would probably even try to delete system32, at that point I got fed up and switched. It's idea of automatically quarantining lesser known files, while helpful to some, was downright disruptive also.

[Jowsey]

The best protection is monitoring system logs and being very circumspect about opening e mails.

To reiterate this.

The best protection is to just generally not be in an idiot. To use an analogy, if you mess with the bulls you get the horns.

[chris_gg]

To reiterate this.

The best protection is to just generally not be in an idiot. To use an analogy, if you mess with the bulls you get the horns.

I'm with you, but still run MS Security Essentials (aka Windows Defender) as part of a belt-and-braces approach. Would you advocate going without security software full stop, maybe for performance reasons?

[Jowsey]

I'm with you, but still run MS Security Essentials (aka Windows Defender) as part of a belt-and-braces approach. Would you advocate going without security software full stop, maybe for performance reasons?

Oh, must certainly not. I run Avast and Malwarebytes, and I guess I think I still have Windows Defender on in the background, but I think I may have disabled it. The performance hit from 'lighter touch' antivirus software is a lot smaller than what it once used to be. Not very long ago a gaming session would be slowed to a crawl because Norton has decided to go ahead with its scheduled scan.

My point was that even the best armour has to have air gaps.

But since I don't browse through a lot of 'indecent' material I'm not running that the risk of picking up something. And that is probably the biggest threat.

If you open every single dodgy e-mail you get there will eventually be one your antivirus has not heard of before and something nasty will land on your computer. I never open e-mails that I'm not 100% sure of where they come from.

[Tenbob]

I only access the net on my DAW for updates - no cruising! As such I use MSE. Also use Malwarebytes.

[emperoralku]

I really like the last few years of norton releases. Fast and seems to block everything as well as can be expected.

[jag272]

I really like the last few years of norton releases. Fast and seems to block everything as well as can be expected.

Trouble I had with Norton is that in recent years I found it was simply blocking too much and so I dropped it 3 years ago now. In particular the safety network thing they set up, while a nice idea, was horribly troublesome. Any file that wasn't downloaded by the masses got instantly quarantined, this was particularly bothersome for game modifications, you could be downloading say the HD Textures for Deus Ex and it would just instantly quarantine the file. On top of that it was frequently blocking other files of mine which I knew were clean too.

It certainly does keep malware out, but I found it was causing far too much hassle on the inside for my liking. Not to mention the ludicrous RAM usage.

[jordanf2209]

MS and Malwarebytes , I like to stick to fairly lightweight programs.

[ltron]

I use Kaspersky internet security, consistently one of the best in terms of detecting viruses. However, I think sometimes it overreaches itself in terms of trying to monitor https connections and overriding windows settings/making sure they can't be tampered with. Still a very good program, not resource intensive and I've bought a 2 year license twice over the last 4 years.

[Captain Fizz]

Used Kaspersky too much in the last 2 jobs.........
Highest detection, apparently one of the least impact on PC performance.

The latter is highly debatable in non-lab conditions IMHO.

[zzkenseizz]

Used Norton and McAfee but very disappointed i both 1 is too slow and 1 too many bug so back to microsoft essentials security no price, easy to use and not take too much resources so its a win-win situations

[Timo]

Avast, Spybot and Malwarebytes, free versions only. Used AVG at some distant point in the past, but it failed to stop a virus running amok on my system so I quickly ditched it. Avast has been perfect for around ~15yrs of usage. Wish it didn't have stuff like GrimeFighter et al, but I've just disabled those extras and kept the anti-virus portion.

[dturtill]

i use kaspersky and up until windows 10 never had an issue however windows defender now wont disable so may need to re plan

we use commodo a lot at work and i cant stand it, it seems to kill networked machines and cause more harm then good

[Matt.]

I like to say I'm a savvy surfer, so just use Windows 10 built in defender.

I remember 10 or so years ago, I bought a comprehensive Norton package. Norton IS 2006 I think. It come along with a restore package which done a scan on every boot. I got fed up of 30 minute boots after a few months. Those were the days - waiting for IS to do its stuff before being able to use your PC.

[Stormsys]

I've stopped using dedicated security software, as some posters have said the best method is prevention. dedicated security software just slows your pc down .

[Mr_Chris]

Always been a user of Kaspersky. I've found it to be quite light on the system, never had an issue with it.