antivirus for new HP win 10

[V40TC]

I have McAffe that came with the PC
the free trial expires in 2 weeks
I am unimpressed as the machine got a virus requiring Malwarebytes to remove it.
I have used Avast in the past,
any recommendations please?

[Thorburn]

Uninstall McAfee, use the built-in Windows Defender. Manually scan with the free version of Malwarebytes if you have anything out of the ordinary in-terms of advertising/popups/homepage changing.

Avast and AVG have gradually been getting more intrusive, scanning for irrelevant crap to try and up sell you to the paid versions, etc.

[C0ffin D0dger]

As above

[jays16]

Ahhh- i got something similar a while back and spoke to a PC pro mate of mine. He recommended any of the 3...it's worth paying trust me! I went for Kaspersky but I think you'll be good with any of them:

Symantec: https://uk.norton.com/norton-security-with-backup
Bitdefender: http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/solutions/internet-se...
Kaspersky: http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/total-security-multi-de...

[Thorburn]

jays16 said:

Ahhh- i got something similar a while back and spoke to a PC pro mate of mine. He recommended any of the 3...it's worth paying trust me! I went for Kaspersky but I think you'll be good with any of them:

Symantec: https://uk.norton.com/norton-security-with-backup

If he recommended Norton then I'd immediately disregard his opinion on any technical matters.

[grumbledoak]

Thorburn said:

Uninstall McAfee, use the built-in Windows Defender. Manually scan with the free version of Malwarebytes if you have anything out of the ordinary in-terms of advertising/popups/homepage changing.

Avast and AVG have gradually been getting more intrusive, scanning for irrelevant crap to try and up sell you to the paid versions, etc.

^^^ that.

[anonymous-user]

Bit Defender 1st choice
Avira 2nd choice

[Road2Ruin]

Stop downloading dodgy stuff. It's the only way to be sure, none of the virus scanners are fool proof.

[Mr Pointy]

Road2Ruin said:

Stop downloading dodgy stuff. It's the only way to be sure, none of the virus scanners are fool proof.

You don't need to be downloading dodgy stuff to get hit. Malware can arrive in adverts & phishing emails which can be very convincing.

Here's a peach: it doesn't require any user interaction at all:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/29/symantec_e...

To the op: The Kaspersky offer for £10 is still available:

https://www.7dayshop.com/computer-software

If you bank with Barclays you can get Kaspersky for free.

[Road2Ruin]

Mr Pointy said:

You don't need to be downloading dodgy stuff to get hit. Malware can arrive in adverts & phishing emails which can be very convincing.

Here's a peach: it doesn't require any user interaction at all:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/29/symantec_e...

To the op: The Kaspersky offer for £10 is still available:

https://www.7dayshop.com/computer-software

If you bank with Barclays you can get Kaspersky for free.

Yes, sorry I am aware, was being facetious. My point being you can't rely on any virus scanners. I am not saying don't use them just be aware of your own vulnerability in what you do.

[AndrewEH1]

I've been using Kaspersky after Norton killed a family computer about 12 years ago, been perfect.

Although Windows Defender is also pretty good!

[Who me ?]

Another + for Avast. Especially as I'm running XP/W7 & W10 and same version ( installed separately, of course) works on all OS.

[944fan]

Thorburn said:

jays16 said:

Ahhh- i got something similar a while back and spoke to a PC pro mate of mine. He recommended any of the 3...it's worth paying trust me! I went for Kaspersky but I think you'll be good with any of them:

Symantec: https://uk.norton.com/norton-security-with-backup

If he recommended Norton then I'd immediately disregard his opinion on any technical matters.

Having a virus is less damaging and disruptive than having Norton installed. Can't believe people still buy that crap.

[clonmult]

944fan said:

Thorburn said:

jays16 said:

Ahhh- i got something similar a while back and spoke to a PC pro mate of mine. He recommended any of the 3...it's worth paying trust me! I went for Kaspersky but I think you'll be good with any of them:

Symantec: https://uk.norton.com/norton-security-with-backup

If he recommended Norton then I'd immediately disregard his opinion on any technical matters.

Having a virus is less damaging and disruptive than having Norton installed. Can't believe people still buy that crap.

I'm continually irritated that corporates tend to use Norton or Symantec - both are utterly hateful, half of my PC performance problems have been down to these.

Windows Defender and Malwarebytes is the way forward.

[ManOpener]

Since Avast started cramming heaps of bloatware into their AV, I switched to Avira.
It's been great, never had an issue. Far less resource usage and much less intrusive than most of the other free solutions I've used.

Windows Defender lurches between excellent and appalling on an alarmingly regular basis. MalwareBytes is shockingly overrated at catching real, actual malware (rather than crappy adware) IME.

[Thorburn]

ManOpener said:

Since Avast started cramming heaps of bloatware into their AV, I switched to Avira.
It's been great, never had an issue. Far less resource usage and much less intrusive than most of the other free solutions I've used.

Avira seems good, and there are some programs that suppress the upgrade nagging popups.

[S6PNJ]

Sophos is free for home users. https://www.sophos.com/en-us/lp/sophos-home.aspx

[14-7]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

This.

Been using Defender for a few years now across numerous PC's with no issues.

[TurricanII]

Hmm for anything critical I wouldn't leave it to Windows Defender...

BitDefender all the way. It has been in the top three for years. Microsoft is frequently the worst of the lot:

http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php

[MattyB_]

I've given up on 3rd party AV too. I've recently moved to Windows Defender in Win 10, and also:

1. Always used the PC as 'User' account, not Admin
2. Firefox with AdBlocker
3. Run Malwarebytes 1-2 a week.
4. Backup. Backup. Backup.


I prefer the performance boost from lightweight AV, and while not foolproof, if I have any problems (Cryptolocker!) then just splat it and start again.