Son is defecting to Windows?Any recommendations for for Anti Virus, anti-Malware etc.

One of my sons is defecting to Windows after wrecking his second Macbook motherboard—Any recommendations for for Anti Virus, anti-Malware, anti-root, and any indispensable windows utilities.

I'm a 20-yr Mac user so not familiar with windows since the IBM XT and a brief stint with XP.

(I do supposedly have an Intego Dual Protection Bit Defender (Win / Mac) program — but have only used the Mac side since I got it in 2010, and never needed the Windows side until possibly now)

Any Win tips welcomed.

P.S. His budget is about $8 c-bills and hardware-wise he's going with the a 3rd Gen Intel? Core™ i7-3610QM - based machine.

HP Pavilion 17.3" Laptop - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive

9-cell lithium-ion battery

90W AC adapter

Software: Windows Media Player; CyberLink YouCam DE and more

Owner's manual

PRODUCT FEATURES

3rd Gen Intel? Core™ i7-3610QM processor

Features a 2.3GHz processor speed with Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz.

Intel? Core™ i7 processor

Features 8-way processing for ultimate smart performance. Intel? Turbo Boost Technology delivers extra performance when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you don't.

8GB DDR3 SDRAM

For multitasking power.

Multiformat DVD?RW/CD-RW drive

Create custom DVDs and CDs; supports DVD-RAM.

17.3" LED-backlit high-definition display

With BrightView technology and 1600 x 900 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity.

1TB hard drive (5400 rpm)

Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times. HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection guards against bumps and falls.

Windows Defender is actually very solid. I'm not a major proponent of loading up your computer with anti-virus software because it can bog down your computer and it can really get in the way sometimes (some programs perform poorly or not at all when there is anti-virus software running). And some of the anti-virus software such as Norton and Symantec have become almost like viruses/malware themselves when you look at how much shit they install on your machine and how much they sap performance.

If he's smart and relatively computer-savvy, then he shouldn't have a huge issue with staying out of virus trouble with just Windows Defender running.

If you don't feel safe with just Windows Defender, AVG and Avira are good, free anti-virus programs.

I'm using a macbook for myself but for my dad, I just installed Malwarebyes and Avast.

Avast or Eset for virus

Malwarebytes and Windows Defender for malware/spyware

Cost: $0

Eset hands down.

Tell me more...

http://www.eset.com/us/

It's not free, although there is a 30 day trial. Occassionally I set up a test computer to check out how different antivirus are working on both preventing new infections and cleaning already infected computers because I often make recommendations on this to my clients.

While I was testing AVG my test computer got infected with a root kit. A nasty one. After trying unsuccessfully with a bunch of the major players to clean it up (ie, Malwarebytes, McAfee, Norton, Avast) I went to look for manual ways to remove it using one off tools like ComboFix, TDSSKiller, ZbotKiller, RogueKiller, FRST64. Nothing worked, it kept coming back. Most would find it, claim to remove it, then rebooting would bring it right back. I was about ready to format when I stumbled on a site that recommended trying Eset's free online scanner. Ran it, it cleaned it. Stopped showing up in Malwarebytes. Stopped getting browser hijacked. I downloaded the free trial and ran it through it's paces and it caught everything I tried to infect it with. It updates definitions like 4 - 5 times a day. It made me switch for my own use.

personally I like Kaspersky but I havnt even installed that or any other anti-virus on my new laptop.

Really Ive never had any serious virus problems in the 18 years Ive owned a PC.

personally I like Kaspersky but I havnt even installed that or any other anti-virus on my new laptop.

 

 

Really Ive never had any serious virus problems in the 18 years Ive owned a PC.

:word:

Another Avast user here. I used AVG for years without a problem either but have come to like Avast even more. Lightweight program with plenty of features and great support. I combine that with CCleaner and it's done the job nicely. Not a single virus in years.

Microsoft Security Essentials is the best AV for PC. Everything else is bloatware shit and you're wasting your time.

This guy's got the right idea. It's so unnecessary to load up your PC with AV software.

I used to run Avast AV and Lavasoft's Ad Aware for anti malware. However, my computer took a shit on me when the Ad Aware was updated to a full antivirus so the conflicting AV programs wreaked havoc on my computer. I uninstalled Ad Aware and everything was fine for about 2 months or so. Then the damn machine went on the fritz again. I am not sure what caused it this last time but it basically slowed the machine down to a damn crawl. It wouldn't shut down nor restart without freezing on me. I scanned the computer and even the scans took foreeeeeeeeever. Nothing popped up though. I tried swapping my hard drive into my fiance's old laptop and it worked perfectly. I'm convinced my old machine just bit the dust, maybe a motherboard issue or something? I'm not much of a computer guy but I don't think anything on the hard drive was the problem.

I recently bought a new laptop and am running out the free 30 day Norton trial that it came with. Once that is up I will probably uninstall Norton and go back to Avast(free) as that is what I used with my old laptop and never had a virus problem. I also run CCleaner and Defraggler once a week just to tidy things up a bit.

I am curious about this Microsoft Security Essentials that you guys mentioned.

Stay away from ESET, ever since Vista / Windows 7 it has been a drain on system resources and just can't perform well (runs awesome on XP though). You can try it if you want, but you'd be wasting your money. Whatever you do, NEVER, EVER, EVER install Norton or McAfee anti-virus, it's like putting training wheels on a Ferrari those will completely kill your system. And Windows Defender is worthless junk IMO.

 

I use AVG free, no system performance issues, catches everything dangerous/suspicious, costs nothing. I hear Avast is good too, but I can't vouch for it since I haven't tried it

Not a true statement, we've been using ESET in our business models for the last 8 years, hands down the best AV to date. Corporate or Retail.

Maybe your still using the old outdated 2.7 version.