I just set up a new computer with windows 8.
I am hoping some of you can suggest virus and malware protection. I have used McAfee in the past and was hoping for something better. Maybe a combination of programs?
Try Microsoft Security Essentials. It’s not bloated, it’s designed to run with Windows, since it’s a MS product, it’s free, and so far it’s worked well for me for almost three years. I’ll have to leave it to someone else to recommend anything that should be running concurrently, I just use that and AdBlocker.
As far as I know, Microsoft Security Essentials has worked for me. If you want something more robust, Kaspersky is probably the best. NOD32 and ESET are also excellent.
[ul]
[li]Malwarebytes.[/li][li]Spybot Search and Destroy.[/li][li]SpywareBlaster.[/li][/ul]
And practice what many people do not do; observe your own behavior online, religiously. That includes email you receive, with and without attachments, files shared among friends and others, etc. I’ve run several experiments with Windows XP and Windows 7 machines at home lasting months at a time with no anti-virus and/or anti-malware protection installed. Never a problem detected or found after installing protection and running diagnostics. And in some of my experiments I’ve surfed some pretty grimy back alleys of the web, too.
I use and recommend the built-in Windows Defender and the pay version of Malwarebytes.
This is a really tough question because it depends on so many different things including on what you think you most need protection against. But besides that, things can change a lot from one year to the next. Just a couple of years ago, Kaspersky was hands down probably the best. But I just looked at the round ups done by PC World and PC Magazine, and while it’s still highly rated, it’s no longer at the top of the pack.
The only one that is the top 3 for both, and if anyone is sipping their coffee, pls put it down for a moment - the only one in common is Norton.
I should note that the PC Mag review is only for anti-virus while PC World is covering full malware suites which include a firewall and things like that so that could be contributing to some of the differences in their lists. But still, a lot of people will be surprised to see Norton there.
Since you probably want the best all-round protection, focus on the PC World article.
Just FYI. I’ve used Avira for years and it is quite good but only got 3.5 stars. However they are quite correct to say that it’s not easy to use, so this is a factor to keep in mind. Avira is a suite that needs a fair amount of tweaking in order to get the strongest performance and once you do that, it can be a little annoying and sometimes alarming but AFAIK, it’s never missed anything and I do a lot of stuff I really, really shouldn’t.
I’ve also tried out Kaspersky recently and I think you might like that. It has a very nice, friendly interface and if you need to contact tech support, they actually get back to you - while you still remember why you wanted them.
Another vore for Microsoft Security Essentials and** Malwarebytes Anti-Malware**. I’m a very experienced PC user and until recently I used AVG & ZoneAlarm but after upgrading to Windows 7 I found it had some issues with them. Microsoft’s antivirus stuff, while originally being kind of a joke, has come a long way in the last 5-10 years and is now a respectable (and free!) product. And the fact that it’s made by the same company that wrote the OS is not insignificant.
And I use the free version of Malwarebytes. Near as I can tell the main thing the paid version gets you is scheduled, automatically-run scans (you have to run the free one manually).
It should be noted Windows 8 includes a new version of Windows Defender, which is expanded from the earlier versions that came with Vista and 7, and is equivalent to Microsoft Security Essentials on the earlier platforms. You already have protection.
That said, MSE/Defender have higher false negative rates than other products, so the product reviews in deltasigma’s post are worth considering.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I was not aware Windows 8 came with its own protection. The new pc came with a trail version of Norton. So I removed that as Windows Defender can not run with another program.
I was able to read a little last night about Windows 8. So far, I have read good things about Defender.
I am still interested in what others use for protection in Windows 8
Many of the PC protection programs turned into awful, invasive bloatware - Norton years ago, McAfee somewhat after. I’ve had very good luck with AVG - excellent protection, very unobtrusive - and Kaspersky has been in use at almost every company I’ve worked with for much the same reason.
The paid version runs resident and provides real-time protection.
FWIW, I use MSE, SuperAntispyware, Malwarebytes, and Spyware Blaster. All free. I have Windows 7.
With that (all free) combo, unless you’re also using Windows Defender, you still don’t have any active/real-time spyware protection. Spyware Blaster is great for what it is, and the fact that it has no resource footprint, but is still no substitute for something active.
My recommendation, toss out either SuperAntiSpyware or Malware Bytes (pretty redundant in their “free” forms) and get Spybot S&D which provides active, realtime protection (TeaTimer and SDHelper) for free. It also integrates and plays nicely with Microsoft Security Center.
Windows Defender is included in MSE. I had Spybot S & D, but was disabled by one of my antimalware downloads. I don’t need it with my other stuff.
This is so true. I used McAfee for years, until one day I realized that it was so bloated that it was literally causing my mouse to stutter! Then I switched to paid Norton for a few years, because I grew up thinking they were the gold standard for that sort of thing (they once were). When they more than doubled their yearly renewal fee I checked other apps and found that Norton had long ago become lackluster, expensive bloatware. Switched to AVG (free) and never had a problem with that for years (until Win 7).
That’s right, I forgot about that (and that’s pretty important!) MSE has (I hope) a decent resident scanner…