[The Pact]

I have actually never paid for it and I had Malware Bytes but people have said I don't need that either with Wiindows Defender? But anyway McAfee on my Lenovo laptop is really invasive and bugging me all the time about buying it and I guess there should be some way I can disable it? But it keeps doing pop ups and telling me I need it and telling me to restart my laptop because it can't scan. Do I need it now I've cancelled Malware Bytes and can I disable all these pop ups demanding I buy it?

[Pentatonix]

Having an antivirus is a good idea for Windows users. The only reason you get McAfee popups is because that's who your OS/device manufacturer has partnered with.

This is a great thread for the proper section. Computing Lounge

[source]

The best security is cyber security knowledge

[oRequiem]

Whoever said you don't need Malwarebytes because you have Windows Defender isn't exactly correct.
Yes, Windows Defender has been upgraded since it released, but so has Malwarebytes. I've been using Malwarebytes for a very long time and never had any issues with them. Here's a video you can watch to that explains everything you need to know.

This video is still relevant to this day.

EDIT: Also, don't ever get McAfee, it's just terrible.

[Pentatonix]

The best security is cyber security knowledge

Good luck with that, lmfao. The average HF user couldn't pass A+ if you gave them 2 weeks to study, let alone any real Cyber task.

[DashPHP]

Being on a Mac I don’t have an AV, and when I was on Windows back in the day, i did start off using one, but it was so intensive that I deleted it and just started practicing better security opsec.

Try not to download things from unverified sources ect ext

[StuffSneak]

I do have Bitedefender just in case but it is rarely needed because most importantly what is needed is just your common sense on what to click on, what to download.

But having one does strengthens your protection a bit because sometimes, threats can still come eve if we are very careful. We never know your trusted softwares might be backdoored. Prime example was Electrum Wallet. You would think official downloaded installer from the official site would be safe. But little do we know.

[Undead]

McAfee is like the equivalent of giving your computer cancer

[Airbourne]

Not really and especially not McAfee. Idk if its still the case but in the past with McAfee the most common question was asking how to remove it.
Usually windows defender is good enough but if you want to pay, go for something like ESET or other more "enterprise" solutions.

[Sand Ferret]

Windows Defender and a small amount of common sense is all you need, in most cases.

[DashPHP]

but what about java drive bys or malware thru browsers?

If you have a modern browser, then they do not exist.

You cannot force download and open, only download. Even even these days an alert would popup indicating a download is performing.

Java applets are no longer supported in modern browsers.

[DashPHP]

Also there's a larger numbers of malware written for Apple OS's. Compared to years before.
Not comparing windows we know most malware runs on windows.

I use windows and linux. I would love to ditch windows but video games and most popular software
runs on windows. The other OS's you have to always check for any software or video game you want to play
or run to make user they have their own version of the software or game that can run on your OS that is other than windows.
Sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're not.

As long as you download games from official libraries like Steam then you’ll be fine haha.

[honeyspoons]

Windows Defender works alright for real-time protection, Malwarebytes is good for thorough scans. I don't think you really need to pay for an antivirus.

[DashPHP]

EDIT: OP, you should be using ESET or WD. Couple that with a bit of common sense and the general user should be fine.
You can buy a yearly key from services like AmazingLicense for dirt cheap.


Are you one of those people that believes the "Mac computers/iOS cant get viruses" PR rumors?

Not that it can’t but relative to how many Windows gets hit, it’s just very unlikely.

[rshacker13]

Windows Defender and a small amount of common sense is all you need, in most cases.

Same. Before, I was using Nod32, now, just windows defender.