First of all i am a noob when it comes to computers and i remember hearing around 2015 that Mcafee was a great antivirus and i just was using the free version of AVG at that time.
After growing into an adult I got work and got paid and invested in security so last year i bought a 1 year license of Mcafee total protection and a few months later installed reddit.
Here I hear people insulting Mcafee a lot because it seems to be really bad so i want to know what people consider to be a “good option” for an antivirus. I am able to pay an antivirus but free options would be great too. Also why do people seem to hate Mcafee so much?
People dislike Mcafee because it doesn’t do much and constantly gives popups and wastes pc resources. Almost all viruses and other issues will be caught with windows defender anyway. My recommendation is Malwarebytes + windows defender.
To me, the only good option is what comes by default with the OS and simple common sense in not downloading shit from sketchy sites and never clicking on ads. better yet, use an adblocker.
In all my years, I’ve never worried about viruses on my own machines. It baffles me how people find them. Yet, I’ve found myself helping someone else rid their machine of viruses only to have the AV program delete essential system files in the process and prompting a reinstall that would have been better off doing thing the first place.
Mcafee and Norton just have a reputation for behaving malware like in general. They hook so deep into the OS it’s like a parasite and a pain to remove while providing no benefit to the user.
AVGFree is fine. And Microsoft Defender Antivirus is ok too.
Just be careful with links.
Windows defender is literally all you need, I would stretch to getting MBAM for scanning periodically if you’re downloading sketch torrents (which I don’t even recommend)
Common sense will be your best AV.
Windows Defender has come leaps and bounds since Win 7 days. It’s actually really good now.
Windows defender all day. Just don’t be dum and download stuff from super sketchy sites.
All other antivirus have major performance hits
On Windows operating systems, Windows Defender is an integrated solution that comes pre-installed. It is free and included with Windows, so there are no further costs. Basic antivirus and malware protection is provided. Firewalls, real-time security, and routine system checks are some of its characteristics. Since it is a component of Windows, it typically has little impact on system performance. It provides an easy-to-use interface that blends well with the Windows Security Center. Thanks to updates from Windows Update, it is always up to date with the newest definitions.
Windows Defender is currently considered by many users as a reliable and competent antivirus tool for basic security.