Best Antivirus for Desktop

[vic120]

I am not a tech guy but I felt the kaspersky I had worked well, When I bought my last computer Best buy told me the webroot was better, but I felt it did not protect as well, Maybe because it scans so fast IDK much about these things

anyway I am up for renewal and I thought I would ask those who know better, What is a good protection to get?

 

[somarco]

I assume you are running Windows 10. If so, Windows Defender (free) is built in and is as good as any paid anti-virus. If running older versions, Microsoft Security Essentials (free) is what you want.

Couple either with Malwarebytes Pro and you should be good as long as you don't click on any link in phishing email or visit sites your mom would disapprove of.

 

[LostDollar]

I have used a paid version of Avast for 4-5 years. I don't have any basis for comparison with other products.

I also use malware bytes-have not used the pro version-just manually update once a month or so.

With xp I also used ccleaner but have not used it with windows 7 because I don't know how it will affect that program.

 

[lrixford]

What is a good protection to get?

The one you update.

Here's a list as tested in October. This is the best place.

https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/business-windows-client/windows-8/october-2016/

 

[somarco]

Windows 10 automatically updates the system files including Defender . . . as long as you don't turn automatic updates off.

Same is true for Malwarebytes.

 

[vic120]

Windows 10 automatically updates the system files including Defender . . . as long as you don't turn automatic updates off.

Same is true for Malwarebytes.

I have window 10 on my laptop but not my Desktop that I work daily from.

I find the way the I have my desktop set up I can work with a dozen windows at a time I have section show on the bottom each section I can click and on top I have also several windows open, With windows 10, Everything is stacked not as easy to work so many things at once

 

[somarco]

I don't know if MSE automatically updates or not. But as Laird pointed out, if you don't update your software (system, a-v, flash, etc) it really doesn't matter what you run.

 

[Cameron Lane]

Kaspersky is a good one. But like somarco I think same you should use windows 10 if you are already not. Windows 10 defender alone can defend most of the unwanted programs.

 

[djackson]

As a security guy, this type of question tends to scare me. Today's online threats have evolved beyond simple AV software. Therefore we have to think differently about our security.

Allow me to answer the question this way if we are talking about the best AV software then you must be thinking about maintaining security. Malwarebytes or Webroot are two anti-malware software that will run side by side with any AV I would invest in one of them if I were you.

Secondly, make sure you have some form of backup, a good backup can save the day it has for our clients many times. Also, patch management is absolutely essential for security. There is a free software called Secunia that will keep all of your software up to date, USE IT most cyber breaches come from unpatched software or weak passwords.

Last but not least use a password manager most of our clients had very weak passwords and used the same password for 10-20 different sites. Consequently, if your password is compromised a threat actor will have access to most of your sites, password managers prevent this. Password managers give you the ability to use a different long string, strong password for each and every site.

I hope this answers your question about what is the best AV!