Antivirus

[leboeuf]

Hi, hope somebody can point me in the right direction. what do you guys use for antivirus? i had bullguard for years, which was great until norton bought them. id previously had problems with them, so i didnt want to use theirs. most recently, i used bit defender which was ok. my subscription has now expired, and i went to renew (up to 5 devices) which was 30 odd quid. upon checkout, it jumped up to 80 odd quid. i then looked at mcafee, which was 35-40 which upon renewal jumped up to 95.95.
help!

TIA

 

[steaky360]

Microsofts Windows Defender on its own is perfect! I'd suggest just using that and nothing else.

Edit - obviously only applicable if you use windows, I did make a wee assumption there

 

[leboeuf]

Microsofts Windows Defender on its own is perfect! I'd suggest just using that and nothing else.

Edit - obviously only applicable if you use windows, I did make a wee assumption there

really? so ive been buying antivirus for nothing then? and yes, im using windows. thanks

 

[SpyderTracks]

really? so ive been buying antivirus for nothing then? and yes, im using windows. thanks

Since windows 8 really you haven't needed separate AV, windows defender is usually better than any 3rd parties and almost always uses less resources.

 

[leboeuf]

Since windows 8 really you haven't needed separate AV, windows defender is usually better than any 3rd parties and almost always uses less resources.

thanks. saves me some money as well then. what about phones and tablets tho?

 

[SpyderTracks]

thanks. saves me some money as well then. what about phones and tablets tho?

Depends which model of android. But Apple devices don’t need it

 

[Martinr36]

another vote for windows defender, as for on my phone, I generally just use common sense and also keep the security patches up to date

 

[leboeuf]

Depends which model of android. But Apple devices don’t need it

my phone is android 10, and tablet android 13

 

[SpyderTracks]

my phone is android 10, and tablet android 13

So again, depends what model.

But android 10 went out of support at the beginning of this year, so it’s impossible to protect it even with AV, it’s completely unsecured

 

[leboeuf]

So again, depends what model.

But android 10 went out of support at the beginning of this year, so it’s impossible to protect it even with AV, it’s completely unsecured

model, as in make? both samsung

 

[SpyderTracks]

model, as in make? both samsung

So the android 10 one is unprotectable, there’s nothing you can do about that. Once the OS or device is out of support it’s completely exposed at the foundation level. Software runs on top of the os, like a house is built upon foundations. Doesn’t matter what improvements you make to the house, it’s still going to eventually crumble when the foundations give way. As the OS is out of support, as soon as it hits the internet it’s like a blinking sign notifying anyone out there that you’re unprotected and they can gain access whenever they want either through infection or just merely remote connection to the device as there’s no locks or bolts on it anymore.

The tablet should be fine without AV

 

[leboeuf]

So the android 10 one is unprotectable, there’s nothing you can do about that. Once the OS or device is out of support it’s completely exposed at the foundation level. Software runs on top of the os, like a house is built upon foundations. Doesn’t matter what improvements you make to the house, it’s still going to eventually crumble when the foundations give way. As the OS is out of support, as soon as it hits the internet it’s like a blinking sign notifying anyone out there that you’re unprotected and they can gain access whenever they want either through infection or just merely remote connection to the device as there’s no locks or bolts on it anymore.

The tablet should be fine without AV

interesting thanks. so basically, anyone with an old phone is vulnerable. need a new one. i was thinking of using a graphene OS (obviously with a new phone).

 

[SpyderTracks]

interesting thanks. so basically, anyone with an old phone is vulnerable. need a new one. i was thinking of using a graphene OS (obviously with a new phone).

Anyone with a device that’s out of support is totally exposed, yes.

People mistakenly think they can still use a windows 7 OS and save the cost of upgrading or simply because they don’t want to learn the new OS layout.

These are the people who invariably have their identities stolen and bank accounts hacked.

There’s such poor basic IT education for so many, people don’t understand what it is that’s actually held on their pc or how it’s broadcasted when they access the internet.

As such, they are completely unaware of the risks of using an out of support device.

If you’ve ever made any kind of purchase on your PC, or have any email setup, any hacker has full traceability over years of your purchasing history, therefore which websites to brute force, that’s assuming you used a secure password manager they can’t access, but invariably people store passwords in the browser for convenience so the hacker already has all your accounts, a lot of which have all your payment methods stored.

A decent hacker as well will do as much analysis and account breaking without the person ever realising. The best viruses are the ones that go unnoticed.

Graphene OS is excellent.

 

[Steveyg]

Always remember no anti virus on planet earth can protect your device from you. You are both the largest and strongest defense to any virus and also the both the largest and strongest threat to any device

Educating yourself on how to browse and use the internet safely is much greater than anything out there to be honest

You're both the first and last line of defense so be diligent and you'll be fine

 

[leboeuf]

Always remember no anti virus on planet earth can protect your device from you. You are both the largest and strongest defense to any virus and also the both the largest and strongest threat to any device

Educating yourself on how to browse and use the internet safely is much greater than anything out there to be honest

You're both the first and last line of defense so be diligent and you'll be fine

thanks. i try to be (diligent, that is)

 

[leboeuf]

Anyone with a device that’s out of support is totally exposed, yes.

People mistakenly think they can still use a windows 7 OS and save the cost of upgrading or simply because they don’t want to learn the new OS layout.

These are the people who invariably have their identities stolen and bank accounts hacked.

There’s such poor basic IT education for so many, people don’t understand what it is that’s actually held on their pc or how it’s broadcasted when they access the internet.

As such, they are completely unaware of the risks of using an out of support device.

If you’ve ever made any kind of purchase on your PC, or have any email setup, any hacker has full traceability over years of your purchasing history, therefore which websites to brute force, that’s assuming you used a secure password manager they can’t access, but invariably people store passwords in the browser for convenience so the hacker already has all your accounts, a lot of which have all your payment methods stored.

A decent hacker as well will do as much analysis and account breaking without the person ever realising. The best viruses are the ones that go unnoticed.

Graphene OS is excellent.

graphene is certainly something i'll think about. its probably more the cost of the phone in my case, as i understand it works on a google pixel handset? im not one of these constantly glued to my phone, using social media. the only thing i use when out is spotify, as i like some music on the go. so not using facebook, instagram etc isnt a problem.

thanks for all your advice, and help mate. you've given me good advice on here before. you are a fountain of knowledge. its much appreciated.

cheers

 

[Martinr36]

Always remember no anti virus on planet earth can protect your device from you. You are both the largest and strongest defense to any virus and also the both the largest and strongest threat to any device

Educating yourself on how to browse and use the internet safely is much greater than anything out there to be honest

You're both the first and last line of defense so be diligent and you'll be fine

Yep totally agree, hence my comment earlier about common sense and keeping the OS security patches up to date (waiting for One UI 6.0 to land on my Z4)