My antivirus license is running out in a few days and, since Avast keeps cranking up the price on me, I've decided to shop around for something new.

Does anyone have any recommendations under $50 (since that's what Avast is trying to squeeze out of me)? FYI: I'm running Win7 64.


I'd show Avast a bit more loyalty but, frankly, I don't like some of their shady business practices.

 

I run malwarebytes, and it's been pretty solid for me so far. The free version is pretty good, but it's reactionary rather than preventative, and if you want more preventative stuff, you can buy it for $40 USD per machine, or $60 for 3 machines, if memory serves.

 

If you end up upgrading to windows 10, you can actually just use the free Windows Defender, which works pretty decently unless you're in the habit of going to really shady websites/etc.

Otherwise I've no help to offer.

 

Available for Windows 7 as Windows Security Essentials which is slightly worse. Tbh it's enough until you do really stupid stuff.

 

I think not using any antivirus at all is fine if you don't do anything stupid. I.e. don't visit shady websites, use appropriate blockers in your browser etc.

 

That's... risky.

 

Perhaps. But I've been fine like that for years. I only run a scan with the free version of MBAM like once per week.

 

Depending what version you get, Norton Standard is 30-40 bucks a year, Norton Deluxe is 40-50 a year. Doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles in terms of extra security features, but their antivirus scan and the preemptive malware protection are both pretty stellar.

 

I haven't used an antivirus in like 10 years, only ever got one virus, and that was about 5 years ago when I stupidly downloaded a torrent and opened the file despite the random warning that came up. Instantly just restarted my computer, wiped the boot drive, and reinstalled haha.

 

Avast is borderline malware itself, Kapersky is Russian spy campaign, Norton is a joke, McAfee is an unfunny bad joke.

Were I a paying man, Bitdefender would be what I'd pay for; they've got a solid reputation and decent options under $50. I manually run CCleaner and Malwarebytes on a semi-regular basis but honestly, savvy browsing and downloading habits have done more for me than any commercial product.

That said, Microsoft's security department doesn't slouch when it comes to Defender. They've a vested interest in keeping the Windows ecosystem secure, and a little UAC, annoying as it can be, goes a long way.

 

To be honest, I've been leaning toward Bitdefender, but I was wondering if anyone would have any opinions on it.

Amusingly enough, it's cheaper right now to buy their Antivirus Plus for "up to three" devices than it is to get it for just one.

I've been dead set on avoiding installing Windows 10 as long as I can. Back when they were offering it for free, I downloaded and installed it, figuring that would at least secure the option of switching to it later if I had to. I found it thoroughly irritating, and reverted to 7.

 

AV programs are often themself security holes. If any, take the native windows solution and leave it as that. For everything else using brain.exe is generally recommended.

 

The free malwarebyte bytes is pretty boss. I only use that and as everyone else is saying, don't do anything stupid/open weird shit up and you will be fine. Unless you have kids on your comp than you might want to upgrade it to the paid version.