Antivirus and firwall free programs or use Windows Defender instead?

[films&games]

Hi,

I have been running Avast antivirus and Comodo Firewall both free versions.

Once I am able to setup my new PCS build, would it be better to not install these or any other third-party programs and just use Windows 10 – Windows Defender for both instead?

I am currently unable to run the “Real time protection” in Windows 10 and also cannot the “Ransomware Protection” on my old PCS build.

How good is the antivirus and or firewall protection in Windows 10 – compared to free third-party programs?

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated, please.

Thank you.

 

[Scott]

I don't use any AV software at all. I don't recommend that any does nowadays unless heavily into security with the potential of people wanting to target you (so unlikely you would need a tinfoil hat to consider it).

Malwarebytes is recommended to install along side the standard Windows AV (Windows Defender). The free version allows periodic scans. One scan every week or 2 would see you confident in your system.

 

[ubuysa]

I run Windows Defender and Comodo Firewall. The principal reason I run Comodo's firewall (which is free) is because it includes Comodo's containment (sandbox) feature which means that all unknown processes run in the sandbox. Containment is undoubtedly the way forward for dealing with malware and is the only way that zero-day infections can be stopped. I care not that malware has got past my anti-malware product because Comodo's containment will always run it in the sandbox from where it cannot affect real machine resources, and (and this is useful sometimes) the malware doesn't know it's running in a sandbox either.

I run Defender for my anti-malware tool, because it's bundled in Windows, because it runs in its own sandbox (within Windows) making it very secure, because it contains extensive exploit protection, and because anything that gets past it will run in Comodo's sandbox in any case.