Do you use any sort of antivirus software?

Lmg80 · 28 Nov 2021 at 15:59

Moley said:
Windows Defender is all you need nowadays for a home computer. I say this as someone who regularly plays with malware as a part of my job and Defender catches stuff well in advance of other AV tools.

Issue here is Av web extensions are designed to scan ahead of sites you access. Defender cannot do this.

Duke · 28 Nov 2021 at 19:47

Cheetah Designs said:
How? What's the delivery mechanism and how does the malicious code get executed?

Some info about it here - https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/malvertising

Cheetah Designs · 29 Nov 2021 at 11:22

A “drive-by download” — installation of malware or adware on the computer of a user viewing the ad. This type of attack is usually made possible due to browser vulnerabilities.

...so this is saying, If I go to a website with one of these things on it, my browser will download an exe and run it to infect my PC. I mean surely the browser would prompt before it attempts to open a download?

robfosters · 29 Nov 2021 at 11:27

So is there a good adblocker for Chrome please?

mrk · 29 Nov 2021 at 12:58

uBlock Origin

Cheetah Designs said:
...so this is saying, If I go to a website with one of these things on it, my browser will download an exe and run it to infect my PC. I mean surely the browser would prompt before it attempts to open a download?

That is correct!

Blackjack Davy · 29 Nov 2021 at 13:45

Cheetah Designs said:
How? What's the delivery mechanism and how does the malicious code get executed?

Usually click on a link from a compromised ad server? Sites use embedded 3rd party ads and they don't have direct control of the ad server which can and do get compromised by hackers. I've seen them occasionally which is why I tend to use ad blockers.

V F · 29 Nov 2021 at 23:56

Blackjack Davy said:
Usually click on a link from a compromised ad server? Sites use embedded 3rd party ads and they don't have direct control of the ad server which can and do get compromised by hackers. I've seen them occasionally which is why I tend to use ad blockers.

That happened to dslzone dot net back in 2010. The site got infected through ads as the site was no longer getting maintained. It gave me a black screen on reboot with no explorer destroying the Windows Network stack. It was then on I looked into NoScript.

Deleted member 77746 · 30 Nov 2021 at 18:00

Just use the built in stuff there isn't a reason now to use anything else but the built in with either windows 10 or windows 11.

Scort · 1 Dec 2021 at 10:33

Last AV I used was Sophos home, after Avast became a nagging nuisance – trying to get me to upgrade to a paid service every 5 minutes, shame, as that had been my staple for much of the Windows 7 era. But for the last 2 years or so, I’ve just used Windows Defender – and the occasional MWB scan; though that never finds anything even with my frequent trips on the high seas yarrrr!!!!

So yeah, AV is pretty much useless these days, unless you’re a PC World customer or an old person getting scammed easily

Dwarfy · 1 Dec 2021 at 12:03

Most infections stem from email attachments and public torrent trackers.

So as long as you don't open attachments from unknown senders and are cautious when using public torrents (no judgement from me) Windows Defender if perfectly good.

I used to always install AVG free, never in my life have I paid for antivirus, never will.

Now I only use defender, as they all seem pretty much the same, some will catch what others miss and vice-versa

Since win10 even I've had trouble accessing files (contact administrator!!!) and I'm the sole user and have admin rights LOL (looking at you "Owner - TrustedInstaller) so what chance does a virus or malware have LOL

Though a scan from malwarebytes isn't a bad thing now and then

alphaomega16 · 6 Dec 2021 at 03:40

See a lot of folks saying windows defender but I keep hearing so many horror stories about it deleting things without any feedback or notification until you start looking for it and it ignoring whitelists.

mrk · 6 Dec 2021 at 07:32

'So many"?!

Gonna have to post some links to these so many instances because I've only ever read one Reddit post which then got reshsred multiple times and it was only related to dvdcss ripping software.

Personally I've never seen anything like that nor do I know anyone who has had any such experience.

goldy6660 · 6 Dec 2021 at 07:41

Just windows defender here.

Baldbloke · 6 Dec 2021 at 08:27

My Kaspersky licence ran out two days ago.
From what I'm reading on this thread I may not renew it.
Maybe I'll just stick with defender then. Dunno though.
It was handy being able to right click on a downloaded file and do a virus scan straight from the menu. It gave me peace of mind.

Does Defender do web browser malware detection too?

Dwarfy · 6 Dec 2021 at 15:23

Just checked on an .exe file, and scan with windows defender was an option

mrk · 6 Dec 2021 at 16:53

Yeah you can right click any file and scan with Defender :cool:

kindai · 6 Dec 2021 at 17:07

ESET nod32 or Bitdefender, depending who has an offer on

Baldbloke · 6 Dec 2021 at 20:40

Dwarfy said:
Just checked on an .exe file, and scan with windows defender was an option

mrk said:
Yeah you can right click any file and scan with Defender

Oh yeah. So it does. Just had a look. I didn't realise. Kaspersky must have blagged that option when I had it active. Thank you.

smogsy · 6 Dec 2021 at 22:17

Baldbloke said:
Oh yeah. So it does. Just had a look. I didn't realise. Kaspersky must have blagged that option when I had it active. Thank you.

Chrome Firefox all do malware/virus prevention 9nce flagged by 2 or more users

They prevent you from liadibg the site anyway

theforce · 10 Dec 2021 at 00:32

Have been using Bitdefender Free edition for a couple of years and l am happy with it. Minimalistic and doesn't nag you to upgrade to the paid version. Unfortunately, they will end their support for the free edition on Dec 31st. Kaspersky has also a free edition which is considered a good solution.

Do you use any sort of antivirus software?

Sgarrista