Anti-antivirus - Why you better get rid of your antivirus software

[flyDelight]

Why you absolutely don't need a 3rd party antivirus

- Always makes your system slower
- Regularly blocks legitimate programs and files (worldwide regularly Windows systems are destroyed by a virus scanner)
- Stupid/unnecessary questions (you like to allow rundll.dll? you like to update? you like to upgrade?)
- Spam (every year 'you have to upgrade for $$$' announcement)
- Regularly destroys the internet connection
- Virus scanners are a palliative, preventative measures are much more important and smarter. Creates false sense of security, while it is not a preventive measure.
- Virus scanners have many unnecessary junk such as a firewall (everyone already has a firewall of the OS + hardware firewall/NAT on the modem/router)
- Wear of the hardware (through daily scans... Your data becomes less secure by this)
- Higher electricity consumption
- Screen pollution by extra buttons, toolbars sys icons
- Personally I have nothing but inky experiences with all brands of scanners, except for Microsoft Security Essentials. That it detects less does not matter to me, it detects the major virus outbreaks very well (better than the big brands), and it prevents: blacklist of websites, uninstalling Adobe/Java, stops all kinds of advertising, etc.

Personally I absolutely hate antivirus programs, that may be clear.

[OccamsRazor]

Nonsense for most of the above and irresponsible to tell members to not use them. No matter how good you are at due diligence and self protection, something will or can get through without additional protective systems in place. Plus many are not sufficiently computer literate to know or how to apply alternate methodologies. Being in IT for decades I've seen what can happen without these protection mechanisms in place at a work place.

[GeorgeBrown]

Avg free, protection without system slow down.

[Chicog]

I'd rather the inexperienced had something rather than nothing, even if it is mostly ineffective on its own.

The more layers of protection, the better, and that includes the human one.

But to suggest nothing at all smacks of a very poor troll or an idiot.

[kkerry]

Higher electricity consumption

Well that's the clincher... no more anti-virus for me... will be deleting mine before it destroys my Windows computer... thanks OP...

[Crossy]

Perhaps our OP could provide credible links to supporting data.

[MAJIC]

Avg free, protection without system slow down.

IMO Avg is the pits,if you wan't a free edition vigilant Anti Virus, try Bitdefender it's done me great for a year now! and it's non intrusive

Edited November 16, 2015 by MAJIC

[ThaiTJ]

Get a Mac computer ...

[trd]

Why not just use Windows Defender which is built into the Win 8 OS. Seems to work well.

[The manic]

Windows BD by their own account about 3 years ago was acknowledged as not being sufficient protection. Paid for AVG plus anti malware bytes is a good solution but then real question is do we need additional anti virus and antri malware software with the new Windows 10 operating system?

[KhunBENQ]

This could become a heated threat

There is much truth in what the topic starter writes, though a bit overshooting with "wear out" or "power consumption".

Its no surprise that is not so easy to find text to support the argument.

The antivirus industry is a billion dollar enterprise and will take care to maintain the level of anxiety.

Quickly found this:

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/i-dont-use-anti-virus-software-am-i-nuts/

That they come with useless "add-ons" (additional firewalls, internet nanny etc.) is completely true.

No internet nanny substitutes for using brain and common sense (think before you click, no you can't earn 5000$ while squatting, no they don't have women in excess in their community, no this hottie is not after you etc.pp.).

Who goes for P2P, torrent, latest movie for free looks for trouble.

Everything free is suspicious in the first run.

As I wrote in another thread (WinXP is back) I do not use an on-access scanner on my private PCs/laptops since ages.

BUT: I consider myself somewhat aware about the overall topic of computer safety which goes way beyond using a virus scanner.

Going into detail would probably blow-up the thread?

[crabdog]

I believe the OP has his knickers in a twist over one or more bad experiences with anti-virus in the past. Seems to be overreacting pretty majorly though. I find most of the anti-virus solutions today are mostly non-intrusive and just sit quietly in the taskbar doing their thing.

If you're worried about them slowing down your system then you either 1) have more than one running simultaneously on the same machine, 2) have an ancient / very low powered PC or 3) made a poor choice of anti-virus software. Keep in mind also that that many of the "extra features" of anti-virus programs are optional (parental control, safe site search etc) and can be disabled in the settings.

It's true that most online threats can be avoided with common sense but unfortunately a lot of people are lacking in that or are just inexperienced with computers. Even with a good security setup in place an idiot can still get themself into all kinds of problems.

As for "you like to allow rundll.dll?" I haven't come across anything like this for many, many years, due either to improvements in software or possibly my substantial personal experience since then. Were you running on maximum protection / paranoid mode when that happened?

[mike324]

AVG slow things down for me. Avira for free anti virus worked best for me without slowing down my computer and no popups.

For paid I used ESET Nod32 before, it was great.

I notice most viruses are caused by visiting non legit websites or downloading files that are infected (which is quite rare unless you download bootleg stuff, porn, or you thought you won $1 million and try to download a form), or through sharing usb drives

I find it hard to get a virus if you don't do any of those nowadays.

[BuaBS]

This could become a heated threat

There is much truth in what the topic starter writes, though a bit overshooting with "wear out" or "power consumption".

Its no surprise that is not so easy to find text to support the argument.

The antivirus industry is a billion dollar enterprise and will take care to maintain the level of anxiety.

Quickly found this:

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/i-dont-use-anti-virus-software-am-i-nuts/

That they come with useless "add-ons" (additional firewalls, internet nanny etc.) is completely true.

No internet nanny substitutes for using brain and common sense (think before you click, no you can't earn 5000$ while squatting, no they don't have women in excess in their community, no this hottie is not after you etc.pp.).

Who goes for P2P, torrent, latest movie for free looks for trouble.

Everything free is suspicious in the first run.

As I wrote in another thread (WinXP is back) I do not use an on-access scanner on my private PCs/laptops since ages.

BUT: I consider myself somewhat aware about the overall topic of computer safety which goes way beyond using a virus scanner.

Going into detail would probably blow-up the thread?

"Who goes for P2P, torrent, latest movie for free looks for trouble".

Sorry K.B , but that is just not true. Never ever had trouble with them. (even software from torrents, but you need a trustworthy uploader)

flydelight:

I think the OP is wrong and using the wrong software. The free antivirus like Avira , is very good , doesn't hog the computer , no slowdowns nor electricity increase. I use 2 firewalls, no problem.

Daily scans ? You've got to be kidding. I update my security every week to 10 days , scan maybe once a month . Clean as a wistle. I monitor the amount on my C drive nearly every day, and it is constant.

2 extra icons in the right corner is all "screenpolution" 555 !

[bodymassagemyfriend]

'Nonsense for most of the above '

I am afraid not , Antiviruses slow down the system because it need to scan the data and detect virus signatures.

For instance the IP stack is intercepted with the Win32 socket API hooks. Same applies to the file system.

The only true antivirus that is very efficient and usable with average Joes is to have a tool like FarStone backup or even the Windows system restore which periodically creates restore points.

You rollback your PCs 6 months backward in case you identify something weird. This solution is a 0% overhead solution and removed 100% of the viruses. I did fix my mothers PC like that.

If you plan to browser weird website , use a PC emulator in your pc like Oracle VirtualBox, to sandbox your PC.

[OJAS]

If you plan to browser weird website , use a PC emulator in your pc like Oracle VirtualBox, to sandbox your PC.

But can you be sure that this won't slow down your system as well?

Not sure I like the sound of my PC being "sandboxed" anyway!

[fang37]

I have been using "360 Total Security" - a freebie - prior to the installation of W 10.

I have checked out others but 360 is fine for me.

[Chicog]

I have been using "360 Total Security" - a freebie - prior to the installation of W 10.

I have checked out others but 360 is fine for me.

It's better than most because it has two A/V engines (which you have to configure yourself), it doesn't have much of a performance downside on new-ish computers, and it has some great extra tools.

Not a bad choice IMHO.

[flyDelight]

I've seen what can happen without these protection mechanisms in place.

Exactly the same with al the Nortons and McAfees installed or even worse because it creates a false feeling of security. Doing pc repair on demand for years I removed tons of malware infestations from computers and they all had antivirus installed. Antivirus is useless for people missing awareness on what they are doing.

Even met an elderly lady who enjoyed that advertisements popping up on her desktop randomly...

[angiolo]

Avg free, protection without system slow down.

IMO Avg is the pits,if you wan't a free edition vigilant Anti Virus, try Bitdefender it's done me great for a year now! and it's non intrusive

PANDA is fantastic,have used for some years,updating to perfection.

[lostinisaan]

I'd rather the inexperienced had something rather than nothing, even if it is mostly ineffective on its own.

The more layers of protection, the better, and that includes the human one.

But to suggest nothing at all smacks of a very poor troll or an idiot.

+ 1

I've just "upgraded" two PC's to Windows 10 and one was so full of viruses that I needed quite a few programs to get rid off them. No idea where I caught them.

All files, including the registry, were infiltrated. It's like bumm bumm with 1,000 prostitutes without a condom. Nonsense.

Kaspersky works for me. When I read the free AVG stories, I need to smile a lot in the Land of Smile.

Edited November 18, 2015 by lostinisaan

[Thaiaddict01]

I use nod32 but just found out my windows 7 is 64 bit version and nod32 is 32 bit version, heard it should work fine is that right? or should I get the 64 bit version?

[Peterw42]

23 minutes ago, Thaiaddict01 said:

I use nod32 but just found out my windows 7 is 64 bit version and nod32 is 32 bit version, heard it should work fine is that right? or should I get the 64 bit version?

 

The program itself should prompt you if an upgrade is required.

[Ace of Pop]

All this has done has given a list of Porn Watchers .No Porn or doubtful stuff ,no infections


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Peterw42]

I have worked in local computer shops for years, Have seen every conceivable virus, infection, you can imagine.

(The best one was a nun with a laptop full of donkey porn, but thats another story)

My advice would be,

Pick one AV solution, and only one, keep it up to date, and do what it says.

Avoid, speed optimisers, download managers, registry cleaners, toolbars, search addons etc, 90% are rubbish.

If its a product or service that costs money (fonts, codecs, games, programs) and its poping up for free, Its not.

 

 

 

[Chicog]

On 11/17/2015 at 6:46 PM, bodymassagemyfriend said:

'Nonsense for most of the above '

I am afraid not , Antiviruses slow down the system because it need to scan the data and detect virus signatures.

For instance the IP stack is intercepted with the Win32 socket API hooks. Same applies to the file system.

The only true antivirus that is very efficient and usable with average Joes is to have a tool like FarStone backup or even the Windows system restore which periodically creates restore points.

You rollback your PCs 6 months backward in case you identify something weird. This solution is a 0% overhead solution and removed 100% of the viruses. I did fix my mothers PC like that.

If you plan to browser weird website , use a PC emulator in your pc like Oracle VirtualBox, to sandbox your PC.

 

 

[Chicog]

Because malware is being written faster than ever, signature-based anti-virus is becoming more and more ineffective.

I'd still use something (and keep it up to date), but it's important to practise safe behaviour: Don't click links in emails unless you are expecting them and know what they are.

Add things like WOT (Web of Trust) to your Browser; it's crowdsourced site evaluations and will warn you if you're going somewhere risky. And perhaps UMatrix. 

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

Using my home Windows computers without 3rd party anti-virus/security SW for more than 15 years or so. Significant loss/problems just by my own stupidity (deleting non-backuped stuff, fiddling around).

 

BUT: invest some brain and learn how to use your computer with a standard/non-administrative account on the daily routine. Still seems to be a widely unheard "secret".

 

With W10 I let Defender run as it does not bother me/not noticeably slows down the computer.

 

And some brain is always useful. Lookout for suspicious mails, nothing is free in life (or you can give it to the birds and bees),  don't click on any "install now", "yes please" button without asking yourself "what for? what is the source?".

"You need this decoder to view the hot movie": forget it!

The list is long and no tool will protect you from yourself.

 

Most illiterates drag down their computer on their own.

Installing tons of helpers, gadgets, eating up memory, densely packed list of symbols in the tasklist.

 

The no. 1 security measure: organize your data, back it up to external media. Windows is not great in supporting this.

Know how to reinstall your system just in case.

I voluntary reinstall about every two years to get rid of the bulk.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[chrisinth]

IMO...................

 

It constantly amazes me how many people, when talking about virus threats automatically assume that all threats come from the internet. In my experience, this is simply not the case and have found that most infestations have been introduced through peripherals, such as thumb drives, external drives, flash cards, etc. To suggest that a person's computer should not have additional protection, to me anyway, is absurd. There also seems to be a problem with people defining between virus/trojans/worms and malware/ransonware, etc. Two different groups of animals.

 

With the above said, the internet poses a big risk, which your firewall alone (router/OS) will not protect you from. 'Surfing the net' practices should have a large helping of common sense; if you do hit a dodgy site, believe the warnings you are being given unless you know 100% different. Don't click on links that you have no idea where they will lead; don't believe what the wording on the link says unless you are sure. Regarding emails; don't click on links on emails and don't open attachments from unknown sources. Even if an attachment is from a recognized source and it is in a compressed package (Zip/RAR/etc) investigate before decompressing onto your computer.

 

Everyone is obviously different, and have different practices when it comes to using their computers. While endorsing the use of protective 3rd party security software, it is true that no one software package can be 100% all the time due to the number of nasties 'in the wild' at any given time, but I would feel better being 100% safe for most of the time, both against virus and malware threats.

Edited October 28, 2016 by chrisinth

[Chicog]

2 hours ago, chrisinth said:

IMO...................

 

It constantly amazes me how many people, when talking about virus threats automatically assume that all threats come from the internet. In my experience, this is simply not the case and have found that most infestations have been introduced through peripherals, such as thumb drives, external drives, flash cards, etc.

 

You raise a good point, but a lot of that type of malware has been mitigated by Microsoft changing the default Autorun behaviour to off (why it on for so long I have no idea!).

 

This is a bit legacy, but if you are still running a legacy OS WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU it's worth installing.

 

http://www.pandasecurity.com/uk/homeusers/downloads/usbvaccine/

Edited October 28, 2016 by Chicog