Anti Malware Software?

[Tharmas]

When I was on Windows 7 I used a malware software called Bitdefender in addition to my Norton anti-virus suite. I plan on dumping Norton now that I am on Windows 10, and using the built-in anti-virus program, but I’ve read that one still needs an anti-malware package in addition.

Now about a month ago, when I was still using 7, Bitdefender updated itself and suddenly started blocking the cloud back-up service I have been using for years and which saved my ass about five years ago when I lost my hard drive. I tried using the “exceptions” feature on Bitdefender but I couldn’t get it to work. When I say “blocked” I mean BD just deleted the whole software package and I had to re download and install the software after disabling BD. So Bitdefender’s out.

Any recommendations for another anti-malware package? It doesn’t have to be free.

 

[rousseau]

If you and your wife are smart browsers you'd likely do fine going without. For most typical browsing - Google searching, social media, forums, news media, you're very rarely going to come across something that's going to infect your system.

And even if you do, if you're using a robust browser like Chrome it's pretty good at catching these things before they become a problem.

Emphasis on smart browsing.

 

[James Brown]

A daily backup of your data to an external drive should forestall the need for anti-malware software (which if too aggressive can get in the way of your own legitimate usage.)

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If you and your wife are smart browsers you'd likely do fine going without. For most typical browsing - Google searching, social media, forums, news media, you're very rarely going to come across something that's going to infect your system.

And even if you do, if you're using a robust browser like Chrome it's pretty good at catching these things before they become a problem.

Emphasis on smart browsing.

I disagree--these days the biggest threat is malicious ads being served up by mainstream sites.

That's also why your best defense is an ad blocker.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Sandboxing helps. Sandboxing isolates a browser so that malware cannot infect the underlying OS.

https://www.pcmag.com/feature/369427/how-to-safely-run-software-with-windows-10-sandbox

The other big malware problem is e-mail. Be careful what you open.

Sandboxing however is not a cure all.

https://www.magnitude8.com.au/m8-blog/2019/5/27/beware-the-perils-of-windows-sandbox.

Another thing is e-mail proxies. For us Linux users, things like Squid have plug-ins to scan for e-mail malware. I know such things exist for Windows but don't know much about these, your are on your own.

Among savvy Linux users, there are virtual machines. Running a Linux system in a VM that handles internet duties to isolate the VM from the system. One can burn a VM if something bad happens without taking the entire system out.

There are also Intrusion alert systems, such as Tripwire. These alert one to changes in underlying OS files that indicate malware.

https://www.upguard.com/articles/tripwire-enterprise-vs.-tripwire-open-source

Real security today can be a real bitch thanks to malware creator assholes. Good luck.

 

[fromderinside]

In pretty good stead with both Norton and Mcafee suites in reserve on continuous update. Only actively use each about once or twice a year though. So at $250 for that support annually, It's just a habit. Probably not necessary. Another reason to keep using continuously updated windows 10 though DBT. I have Google, Microsoft and Adobe cloud services to which all products I use keep updating their support. I wonder if 300 terabytes is enough cloud support? Yeah .... getting up to grains of sand levels of storage space.

 

[rousseau]

If you and your wife are smart browsers you'd likely do fine going without. For most typical browsing - Google searching, social media, forums, news media, you're very rarely going to come across something that's going to infect your system.

And even if you do, if you're using a robust browser like Chrome it's pretty good at catching these things before they become a problem.

Emphasis on smart browsing.

I disagree--these days the biggest threat is malicious ads being served up by mainstream sites.

That's also why your best defense is an ad blocker.

I've been without any type of anti-virus software for years with no issues.

But then my wife doesn't do much online outside of social media, and I generally know what to avoid clicking with very few exceptions.

The only problems I ever ran into in the past happened when you were looking for free content on seedier sites.

So yea, if you're a smart browser it's doable.

 

[Gun Nut]

Terribly user unfriendly but works perfectly for me... NoScript addon for Firefox. No website will work at all by default. everything is blocked. everything. You go to your favorite websites and whitelist bit by bit until the site looks right and works. You can click on any search hit you want... you might get just a white page or maybe some text.. a pic or two... but nothing can run on your system until you start allowing individual components of the website you are attempting to visit. as for host-based firewall and antivirus.. Windows defender (built in, enabled by default) is fine.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Privacy Badger. This is an addition for Firefox or Chrome. It allows one to block a lot of crap with one extension. Block Javascript, third.
party tracking et al. Free and pretty good. Stop pop ups, and blocks ads. And more. HTTPS Everywhere. Makes sure if a site has HTTPS your browser uses that. Can stop a site that does not us HTTPS from loading unless you expressly allow it.