# Best virus protection **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593 "2018-10-07T01:22:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/1 "2018-10-07T01:22:59Z")
So I just bought my first new laptop in many years. Just like the title says what is the best virus protection software out now? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/2 "2018-10-07T01:24:38Z")
used to be Kaspersky but I think they were banned in the us …… Avast is known as good … and it still has a free version I think ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/3 "2018-10-07T01:57:47Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > used to be Kaspersky but I think they were banned in the us …… Avast is known as good … and it still has a free version I think I never heard of that one. Why would it be banned? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/4 "2018-10-07T02:48:18Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I never heard of that one. Why would it be banned? It’s a Russian company and [shady ties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspersky_Lab#Bans_and_allegations_of_Russian_government_ties) have been alleged. I think the ban only extends to the federal government. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/5 "2018-10-07T03:39:18Z")
Kaspersky has ties to Russian government and is definitely shady. They’ve involved in some hacking, spyware on computers they were protecting, and other shenanigans. No one should use them. Are you looking just for anti-virus software or are you looking for an internet security suite? If you want just anti-virus, McAfee, Norton, Bitdefender, and Webroot all tested well this year. For internet security suites, Bitdefender and Norton are the top-rated this year. I’ve recommended name brands with actual tests behind them, as opposed to a lot of the build your own suites that people like to throw together with free apps. Sometimes the free apps grow into robust software with actual tech support, and sometimes they don’t. I like to pay $20 and get top rated protection. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/6 "2018-10-07T03:44:39Z")
The best virus protection is your own mind. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/9 "2018-10-07T12:43:09Z")
[Malwarebytes](https://www.malwarebytes.com/). I did a test of several of the top recommended AV suites a bit ago. For each one, after a short period testing I soon uninstalled it and tried the next one. Ugh. At the end it was back to old Malwarebytes again. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/10 "2018-10-07T13:30:33Z")
Last week I grew tired of AVGs incessant pop-ups begging me to upgrade to premium. I did a little research, removed AVG, and installed Avast (free). So far I’ve only encountered a couple of requests to upgrade. I assume the protection is at least as good as AVG, based on the reviews and comparisons I’ve read. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/11 "2018-10-07T17:08:33Z")
I use Bitdefender Free on all of our computers. You install it, and it sits there quietly doing its thing, and never bothers you about upgrading. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/12 "2018-10-07T17:38:18Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > [Malwarebytes](https://www.malwarebytes.com/). I scan with Malwarebytes, but even after spending money on a license it proved unworkable on my computer. Maybe it is because I have an old I7-860, maybe because it is still running Win7. But for whatever reason one day not long after I installed it( maybe after a bad update )it started slowing my computer to an absolute crawl, like there was a memory leak or something. So that was the end of that. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/13 "2018-10-07T19:00:10Z")
I’m surprised you’re having trouble with Malwarebytes, Tamerlane. I have it installed on all of our computers, including my desktop that I built over 10 years ago, running Win 7, with no problems. I get a couple of nag screens every session, but just close them. I also run AVG free on those same computers with no problems, and AVG doesn’t nag me at all. 😕. Those two were top rated when I installed them and I just stayed with them. Norton and Mcafee used to be very good before Symantic bought them. Then they went downhill. I don’t know how they are now. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/14 "2018-10-07T19:26:44Z")
I’ve been using Avast (free version) for years on multiple machines. Never a problem. It does periodically nudge you to upgrade, but not intrusively. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/15 "2018-10-08T05:43:51Z")
Best? Ditching Windows. Distant second, third, fourth, etc? What’s already been mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/16 "2018-10-08T13:42:55Z")
It is a very unfortunate “feature” of every real-time AV system out there that on certain computers the performance just goes down the tube. AV makers don’t really seem to have any sense that they should build in fail-safe systems where the software notes it’s lugging the system down and dials it back a couple notches. Yeah, I turn off real-time protection in Malwarebytes and just run periodic scans. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/17 "2018-10-08T18:18:20Z")
I like Avira. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/18 "2018-10-08T18:38:41Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > It’s a Russian company and [shady ties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspersky_Lab#Bans_and_allegations_of_Russian_government_ties) have been alleged. I think the ban only extends to the federal government. State agencies in Arkansas were told to quit using it. I don’t know if that is federal or state law, or a state policy. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/19 "2018-10-08T19:13:29Z")
Just using Windows Defender is about as good as the others. What you need to also do is use other techniques such as uBlock Origin ad blocker for your browser and systematic backup methods. A duplicate computer not only helps when your virus protection fails but also hard disk crashes or other hardware problems. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/20 "2018-10-08T19:32:16Z")
I’ve used Kaspersky for years and still do. Of course, I’ve developed a taste for vodka and borscht. ---
**Author:** ![confusedguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@confusedguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/confusedguy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/21 "2018-10-09T18:17:47Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So I just bought my first new laptop in many years. Just like the title says what is the best virus protection software out now? AVG free version - [AVG 2024 | FREE Antivirus, VPN & TuneUp for All Your Devices](https://www.avg.com/en-us/homepage#pc) ZoneAlarm free version for firewall - [https://www.zonealarm.com/](https://www.zonealarm.com/) I have been using these two for 8+years. No issues so far. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593/22 "2018-10-09T19:19:57Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Best? Ditching Windows. Distant second, third, fourth, etc? What’s already been mentioned. Security through obscurity works significantly less well than it used to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-virus-protection/822593.md?page=2)