BullGuard

SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
NoddyPilot said:
Just looking there on MB.com - it says the free version will only clean up an already infected system after an attack. Is that basically the idea here? That Defender and careful browsing keep you safe, but you have MB in case anything gets through the net?

Or are MB telling little porkies to get you to buy the Premium version! I assume you can manually scan your system with the free MB whenever you want?
Click to expand...
It's more for downloaded files, so windows defender would actively scan them as you download, but as a secondary protection, once they're downloaded and before you proceed to install or extract or something, you right click the file and scan with malwarebytes.

Then once you're satisfied both scanners return safe results, you can proceed.

But for a full system scan, it's just an added layer to run once a week or something. No scanner is perfect, they all are "catching up" with new infections, so having 2 just increases the chances that you'll catch something before it's too much of an issue.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I don't know whether most people are aware of this, but on most Windows Update runs one of the 'updates' that is regularly 'installed' is the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). This is a malware scanner loaded up with all the latest malware signatures and which scans your system for the latest threats. The MSRT runs during most Windows Update sessions very much like a manual Malwarebytes scan.

In addition Windows Defender has an offline scanning tool for detecting and removing the most stubborn malware. There is a good tutorial on how to run it (and what to expect) at https://www.windowscentral.com/use-windows-defender-offline-remove-tough-viruses-your-windows-10-pc.

I'm a big fan of using additional antimalware scanners (like Malwarebytes) but I think it's equally important to be familiar with the tools that Windows already provides. :)
 
Tron1982

Tron1982

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
May i ask you what you think about Avast ?
(i know it's a bit of the subject ... sorry about that)
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Avast now harvests and sells your browser data which is criminal in my eyes, aside from the BSODS and performance hit it induces also, really poor performer in general.

They didn't publicise the fact that they'd started harvesting data and selling it until they were forced by the public to admit to it, and then put a clause in the terms and conditions after that. They're no better than Chrome or Facebook in their harvesting crimes:

www.cnet.com

Antivirus software maker Avast is reportedly selling its users' web data

Sensitive browsing data is repackaged and sold by a subsidiary called Jumpshot, according to a Motherboard and PCMag investigation.
www.cnet.com www.cnet.com

www.tomshardware.com

Avast Responds to Concerns About Selling User Data

This is how you pay for a free antivirus solution.
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com
 
Tron1982

Tron1982

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Do you know if there is a free alternative to avast ?
(if i'm correct, malwarebyte don't work as an antivirus)
 
NoddyPirate

NoddyPirate

Godlike
SpyderTracks said:
Avast now harvests and sells your browser data which is criminal in my eyes, aside from the BSODS and performance hit it induces also, really poor performer in general.

They didn't publicise the fact that they'd started harvesting data and selling it until they were forced by the public to admit to it, and then put a clause in the terms and conditions after that. They're no better than Chrome or Facebook in their harvesting crimes:

www.cnet.com

Antivirus software maker Avast is reportedly selling its users' web data

Sensitive browsing data is repackaged and sold by a subsidiary called Jumpshot, according to a Motherboard and PCMag investigation.
www.cnet.com www.cnet.com

www.tomshardware.com

Avast Responds to Concerns About Selling User Data

This is how you pay for a free antivirus solution.
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com
Click to expand...
Jeez - like so much these days - when it's 'free' someone else is paying for it - and probably not in a way that works in your favour.....🤦‍♂️

Windows Defender by the way is paid for - cos it's part of the support for your paid Windows licence as far as I am concerned - which is another reason why it can be trusted.....
 
D

Deleted member 41971

Guest
SpyderTracks said:
Martin, you should know better! Why have you got your mum on an unsupported and therefor unprotected OS? Doesn’t matter what AV she’s running, won’t do any good as the OS is completely open to attacks.
Click to expand...

martins mum now needs bullguard :LOL:
 
NoddyPirate

NoddyPirate

Godlike
RichardDavies99 said:
I've installed BitDefender & things seem to be OK so far, it doesn't seem to noticeably slow my computer down at all.
Click to expand...
Same for me - I do think it slows the system down - but only marginally. It's certainly not like Norton or Bullguard in that regard.

BitDefender does seem to be right up near the top of the pile. What I like about it most though is the easy interface and super Parental Controls as I mentioned earlier. I can control my kids PC (my old Lenovo repurposed!) remotely and monitor browsing and app usage and apply restrictions at every level I could want. 5 installs covered in one subscription also - including phones if you want.

Without a need for Parental Controls, I'm not sure I would have it - and would probably live with Defender and MB - but it good at what it does overall.
 
D

Deleted member 41971

Guest
NoddyPilot said:
Same for me - I do think it slows the system down - but only marginally. It's certainly not like Norton or Bullguard in that regard.

BitDefender does seem to be right up near the top of the pile. What I like about it most though is the easy interface and super Parental Controls as I mentioned earlier. I can control my kids PC (my old Lenovo repurposed!) remotely and monitor browsing and app usage and apply restrictions at every level I could want. 5 installs covered in one subscription also - including phones if you want.

Without a need for Parental Controls, I'm not sure I would have it - and would probably live with Defender and MB - but it good at what it does overall.
Click to expand...

A useful website is

www.av-test.org

Test antivirus software for Windows 11 - October 2024

The current tests of antivirus software for Windows 11 from October 2024 of AV-TEST, the leading international and independent service provider for antivirus software and malware.
www.av-test.org www.av-test.org

shows info for many av
 
NoddyPirate

NoddyPirate

Godlike
Jeez - talk about performance hogs - was playing around with bits and pieces this afternoon - and got a PassMark score well below my last one from a while back - the Disk mark score was down about 10% alone. I tried disabling BitDefender and iCue and a few other 'most likely' culprits - for an improvement but not a significant one.

Then I uninstalled Nvidia Geforce Experience and Nvidia Control Panel - cos I don't use them - and everything is back to normal now. :rolleyes:

Amazing how quickly you end up filling your system with bloatware if you're not careful. Bulllguard added to the list could make for a rather shocking loss of hard-earned spec!!
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
enduser said:
A useful website is

www.av-test.org

Test antivirus software for Windows 11 - October 2024

The current tests of antivirus software for Windows 11 from October 2024 of AV-TEST, the leading international and independent service provider for antivirus software and malware.
www.av-test.org www.av-test.org

shows info for many av
Click to expand...
I despise these AV test sites and personally consider them largely worthless.

First off, they all claim to be independent, but are they? We don't know. We do know there are benchmarking sites that are biased one way or another due to vendor 'sweeteners' and I see no reason why AV comparison sites should be any different. These people don't do this work out of the kindness of their hearts and it's way too easy for AV vendors to get the results skewed the way they want.

Secondly, how are they testing? Indeed, what are they testing? For this site you have to do some digging to find out how they test, and this all they tell you....
In the Windows laboratory, the product evaluated is subjected to the following standard test modules:
  • In the protection module, the malware experts at AV-TEST examine the protective effect against the latest malware attacks (real-world test) as well as against common malware (AV-TEST reference set). Clear findings in terms of the influence of the security product on the performance of the computer, e.g. when launching websites, downloading programs and other test scenarios reflecting daily use, are the outcome of an additional module. Whether and to what extent the use of tested products adversely affects the usability through false alarms is also put to the test.
  • In the test, successful products are recognized with the "AV-TEST Certified" (for home users) or "AV-TEST Approved” (for corporate users) certificates.
Click to expand...

...not exactly comprehensive testing is it? No tests at all on how the product protects against using common exploits I note, nor any information on how they report detections, what quarantine options you have, how easy the exclusion lists are to use, how often the signatures get updated, what loads they placed on system resources, nor whether they caused any BSODs(!), etc. etc. And in any case, a proper malware defence is WAY more complex than simple detection.

Third party AV tools are rapidly going the way of tune-up tools and registry cleaners, they're becoming little more than expensive snake oil.
 
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