# The Anti-Virus debate



## KwiceroLTD (Apr 2, 2015)

As many of you are aware, viruses are becoming more and more sophisticated, and ranging from variants, like Remote Access Trojans, to "Stealers" to full-out ransomware.

What anti-virus do you run and why?

I personally run Kaspersky, because in my opinion it's the best.


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## That IT guy (Apr 2, 2015)

I run Linux devices at home and update the packages frequently. No (known) viruses have impacted me (yet). I also block a lot of web elements as well and don't download suspicious files.


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## telephone (Apr 2, 2015)

_He says this is the year of Linux on the desktop! The world of Windows will fade any moment now!_


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## KuJoe (Apr 2, 2015)

ClamWin + Webroot SecureAnywhere + AVG... I have a 4 year old so I can never be too careful.


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## Munzy (Apr 2, 2015)

Windows:

Malware Bytes Premium

+

AVG -or- Microsoft Security Essential -or- Avast Free.

Linux: Clamav with scheduled scans.

+clamav super fast download server:  http://clamav.content-network.net/


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## Leyton (Apr 2, 2015)

On Windows, I prefer MBAM with either Sophos Endpoint AV _or_ ESET Endpoint AV.

Of the freebies, I'd go MSE.


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## k0nsl (Apr 3, 2015)

I run nothing on my personal devices / workstations. Ten years ago I gobbled together a service similar to VirusTotal, but it was a real pain to keep that working. I used to to test suspicious files.
As for not running anything it leaves me only insecure to actual worms who replicate through 0days where somebody performs scans and may hit me, if there's a vulnerability in any of my system's software, or in the OS itself. But so far, nothing.

A bit of common sense and being "paranoid" works good enough for me. If I must run something and I cannot analyse via hex editing (to see if there is anything suspicious), then it goes into a sandbox and I observe how it behaves. Most AVs are a joke and are incredibly easy to circumvent, particularly Norton Anti-Virus (or whatever they call it today).

...but I must admit, I did install Comodo on the laptop as my niece uses it frequently so it is prone to getting odd files and malware onto it. So at least that hinders some of it. But on my other devices, such as my workstations, they're only a resource hog and I just don't need it. You, that is, yourself, is probably the best AV — if you know the ins-and-outs of your system.  -_-

Just my nine shekels.


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## joepie91 (Apr 3, 2015)

k0nsl said:


> I run nothing on my personal devices / workstations. Ten years ago I gobbled together a service similar to VirusTotal, but it was a real pain to keep that working. I used to to test suspicious files.
> 
> 
> As for not running anything it leaves me only insecure to actual worms who replicate through 0days where somebody performs scans and may hit me, if there's a vulnerability in any of my system's software, or in the OS itself. But so far, nothing.
> ...


Nonsense. The idea that you can even _know_ whether you've been hit by anything is ludicrous - the most profitable malware is that which you don't notice. The idea that "I don't open dodgy things, so I won't get infected" is laughably misguided - you're far more likely to get hit by a drive-by exploit kit.

It's entirely up to you whether to run AV, of course, but don't go claim or imply that you haven't caught anything. Realistically, there is no way to know.


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## tmzVPS-Daniel (Apr 3, 2015)

Malwarebytes + Avast = Best combination possible.


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## k0nsl (Apr 3, 2015)

I think you missed a crucial part in my post @joepie91.
 
This bit, to be precise. I will make it [very] easy for you:



> _*As for not running anything it leaves me only insecure to actual worms who replicate through 0days where somebody performs scans and may hit me, if there's a vulnerability in any of my system's software, or in the OS itself. But so far, nothing.*_


 Perhaps that clears it up for you. I'm unsure how you could've missed that bit. It was right in the initial paragraph. Good grief.  

It is not my intention to come off as being harsh, or an asshole. I am sleep deprived: which makes me a little stingy...I apologise for that, @joepie91. But you know, reading and divulging content is a prerequisite for understanding another man's perspective, or point of view. I made it very clear that I could be vulnerable.

/sleep



joepie91 said:


> Nonsense. The idea that you can even _know_ whether you've been hit by anything is ludicrous - the most profitable malware is that which you don't notice. The idea that "I don't open dodgy things, so I won't get infected" is laughably misguided - you're far more likely to get hit by a drive-by exploit kit.
> 
> It's entirely up to you whether to run AV, of course, but don't go claim or imply that you haven't caught anything. Realistically, there is no way to know.


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## tk-hassan (Apr 8, 2015)

I am using Kaspersky and I think it is the best antivirus available at the moment. Never had any problems.


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## Criot (Apr 8, 2015)

Kaspersky, used it for several years, never had any problems and therefore I've had no reason to change, it does everything I need it to.

I also tend to get a discount every renewal as well, woo!


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## Mayday (Apr 11, 2015)

Mine is called common sense since 1998  If I suspect something is up I'll grab malware-bytes and run a scan. I have not had any issue for as long as I can remember.


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## MightWeb (Apr 11, 2015)

Been using Kaspersky for the last couple of years. I was just about to renew that license actually, but decided to switch over to BitDefender. Appears to work fine so far - and according to the latest tests, they've been better than Kaspersky (although marginally) as of late - so hopefully it was a good switch.


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## icy (Apr 18, 2015)

I agree with the OP. Kaspersky is my first choice, due to its advance engine and detection rates. I used to use Spyware Doctor / Norton but the detection rates were rather poor and consumed a lot of system resources for real-time protection.

Kaspersky can be light and heavy at times but overall performance seems optimised to my likings. Malwarebytes is a good on-demand scanner if Kaspersky Cloud fails to detect something.

I have stayed away from BitDefender..


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