Is Paying For Antivirus A Waste Of Money?

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Considering the fact that almost all of the good antivirus software out there is free, I'm going to go ahead and say yes. Are any of you paying for antivirus software?

I always run an anti-malware security suite on my PC. Over the years I've made a point of running a variety of products. At least for many years, perhaps more than ten, they've found no malware on my computers. None. Perhaps I'm a more sophisticated user and I'm less likely to be taken off guard, but that can't be the whole answer. By the same token of expertise I take certain risks with dangerous files and sites that I would urge others to avoid like the plague.
 
I used Kaspersky for years...then went with no anti-virus as I used Sandboxie...then I stopped Sandboxie and am currently not using anything...I enable Active X Filtering on my browser and don't visit any shady or questionable sites...I also reformat my system every few months
 
polonyc2 said:
I used Kaspersky for years...then went with no anti-virus as I used Sandboxie...then I stopped Sandboxie and am currently not using anything...I enable Active X Filtering on my browser and don't visit any shady or questionable sites...I also reformat my system every few months
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A format every few months is nuts. I want to use my machine. And if you are following your own guidelines, then I believe you do not need to keep reformatting...Relax and use your PC. Not fuck around with it.
 
jordan12 said:
A format every few months is nuts. I want to use my machine. And if you are following your own guidelines, then I believe you do not need to keep reformatting...Relax and use your PC. Not fuck around with it.
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a reformat usually takes around 12 hours so it's not too big of a deal not having a machine for that long...I reformat not just to keep my machine clean of virus/spyware etc but also to just clear of it any junk from programs installed or games I don't play anymore etc
 
Windows Defender plus adblock is plenty. I keep my browsing to major websites the majority of the time.

Really, the only thing likely to take over my machine is a zero-day, and none of the virus scanners will catch that anyway.
 
I use Avira free edition and haven't had any problems but than again I consider myself a fairly savvy user. I get the odd popup ad asking me to upgrade to the pro version for further protection but I don't see the benefit of that if you know what you're doing. Some of the stories I hear though about how clueless people can be though...
 
I've used one copy of NOD for the last ten or so years. I just keep it on an older laptop that I use for that one purpose, cleaning viruses off hard drives.

I usually don't need it for myself but once every few years I might get caught by one. More often it's my wife's friends, they bring in their laptops or a friend picks up a virus.

I dust off that old laptop, update the OS, the AV, and yank the infected drive and clean it from the laptop.

If I have to manually remove the virus then it's a different story.

It's been awhile though, I don't even know if NOD is supported any more.
 
Just firewalls on router and os, windows defender, emet and common sense. So many infected computers come form people running questionable software and clicking yes to shit they shouldn't
 
I'm using Norton 360 for my computers. I have a wife and 2 kids who are not always safe users. I try to educate them, slowly have them using password managers, etc.
My next step is to get a firewall/packet sniffer running - maybe something like pfSense. I'd like to hear what other "home admins" are doing to secure their networks.

If it were just me, I would not need AV software.
 
I've used Norton Internet Security since the 2009 version. It works as well as anything, without tossing a gazillion messages at me (which is what the 2007 version of Kaspersky did) and although some will say it uses too much resources, I don't find that to be the case. Besides, I love that its scans are done when i'm not using the machine. I've seen others that just chew up resources scanning while I'm using the machine (and that includes Symantec endpoint a couple of years ago...not sure about it now). I think I got a copy for 10 PCs for 35 bucks. It's not free (which is what it was up until 2 years ago), but it's damn close to it.
 
I have been a trial or freeware kind of person. However then the world of rebates came and made popular paid software essentially free to use. So every BF I just purchase the FAR AVs and move on. I actually like it since, I can basically try out which ones are best for me. And boy have I been thankful I didnt shell sticker for some Avs cause they plug up some my computers with updates or background processes etc etc
 
Haven't used AV in over 10 years. I disabled the built in Microsoft AV on my gaming rig, total waste of resources. Unless you're susceptible to phishing Adblock is all you need. I also use d7 Free on a monthly basis to make sure my system is kosher as well as an occasional wireshark run to check traffic.
 
I have been using a paid antivirus for about 3 years now. I stopped using Windows Defender after it started being crap in the major tests and the increase in bad advertisements on sites acting as vectors. Since, I used a few freebies; Avira and Panda. I still use Panda on my Surface 3. The rest of my computers, however have been shifted to paid apps. First, I hate the pop-ups to get you to upgrade, as many of them will sometimes pop into games, and some games do NOT like that (MWO). Second, the freebies are usually free for a reason, and if you wait until Black Friday, a good paid sub is usually around $5 for a handful of machines.
As a result, I've since run Norton for 2 years (was actually pretty great), and now I am on Webroot IS. Before that, it'd been over 10 years since I paid for an AV app, and I'm kind of glad I have gone back. I'm not spending much, but the experience has been much better. I just don't have time to mess with it anymore (a career, two kids and a wife, plus 5 computers), so I'm willing to pay a little to get it taken care of.

Of course, i've not gotten any infections, but i brought my umbrella.
 
polonyc2 said:
a reformat usually takes around 12 hours so it's not too big of a deal not having a machine for that long...I reformat not just to keep my machine clean of virus/spyware etc but also to just clear of it any junk from programs installed or games I don't play anymore etc
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12 hours every few months? Don't you want to spend that time doing something else?
 
Semantics said:
I think it's more of just that it's taking 12 hours?
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12 hours meaning the base OS + Windows Updates + tweaks + programs + important games...could take longer depending on how many games I want to download from Steam/Origin/Uplay etc
 
mcravenufo said:
12 hours every few months? Don't you want to spend that time doing something else?
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it's not 12 hours that I'm sitting in front of the computer...haven't you ever reformatted a system?...Windows Updates take a few hours total so I begin the download/install and go do something else until it's finished...same with game downloads...you don't need to sit there while it downloads...the amount of time I'm physically in front of the screen maybe around 5 hours
 
polonyc2 said:
it's not 12 hours that I'm sitting in front of the computer...haven't you ever reformatted a system?...Windows Updates take a few hours total so I begin the download/install and go do something else until it's finished...same with game downloads...you don't need to sit there while it downloads...the amount of time I'm physically in front of the screen maybe around 5 hours
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Why in the WORLD would you go through all that effort when it's a lot easier just to maintain your system over time?
What you have described sounds like an absolute nightmare. I mean, I have a BUNCh of computers: 2 laptops, wife's laptop, a desktop, a HTPC and a home server for backups and media streaming. Reformatting those that often and setting everything back up? HELL NO.
 
steakman1971 said:
I'm using Norton 360 for my computers. I have a wife and 2 kids who are not always safe users. I try to educate them, slowly have them using password managers, etc.
My next step is to get a firewall/packet sniffer running - maybe something like pfSense. I'd like to hear what other "home admins" are doing to secure their networks.

If it were just me, I would not need AV software.
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This is my story too. My wife and 2 kids have questionable habits with their computer. Norton's product suite has been successfully protecting them from themselves for years, and its monthly reports never fail to show multiple threats being handled by the software. That's worth the money to me.

(Disclosure: I work for a software company that makes the #1 software in our target industry... so I am sort of biased toward paying for software. My livelihood depends on it!)
 
Modred189 said:
Why in the WORLD would you go through all that effort when it's a lot easier just to maintain your system over time?
What you have described sounds like an absolute nightmare. I mean, I have a BUNCh of computers: 2 laptops, wife's laptop, a desktop, a HTPC and a home server for backups and media streaming. Reformatting those that often and setting everything back up? HELL NO.
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there's no such thing as 100% maintaining your system...the longer you use it the more junk accumulates...old driver remnants, deleted files, junk, malware, spyware etc...doing it once or twice a year is not bad at all...but if you have a lot of hardware/software then it might not be worth the trouble...I have different hard drives that I use but I don't reformat them all at the same time...
 
polonyc2 said:
there's no such thing as 100% maintaining your system..
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Of course not, but if you put in a minimal amount of effort, the decrease in performance is not going to be noticed until WELL after the system is obsolete.
 
I get far more useful blocking of potentially bad things with adblock and ghostery than with a primary AV program. I can't say over the many years I've repaired systems that any of my customers get infected any LESS by using a paid program vs. a free one. People with bad internet habits get hit no matter what program they use.
 
mcravenufo said:
12 hours every few months? Don't you want to spend that time doing something else?
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Like having a life? 12 hrs from the computer is vacation ;)

I haven't use antivirus except Essentials since Windows 7 came out. Not a single virus. I do the same with my family's computers and they don't either. I do run Malwarebytes on a rare occasion. Does that count?
The only virus' I come across nowadays are the software crap that gets loaded "by default" with free software. I'm looking at YOU, Adobe. Keep your mcafee crap OFF of our computers!
 
Modred189 said:
Why in the WORLD would you go through all that effort when it's a lot easier just to maintain your system over time?
What you have described sounds like an absolute nightmare. I mean, I have a BUNCh of computers: 2 laptops, wife's laptop, a desktop, a HTPC and a home server for backups and media streaming. Reformatting those that often and setting everything back up? HELL NO.
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Does sound like too much effort, only way i'd do that is if i backed up anything I would carry over to my NAS then pre-wrote a macro to do the format for me. Things like Games and Windows install can be cut down alot by backing up full games to be copied over and downloading newer versions of windows that have updates preinstalled saves a bunch of time. I'd hate to have to check up on the computer all the time to just hit "next"
 
Stay away from Pr0n sites. Use a VM. Use only commonly well known software or open source software. Don't open email from unknown sources.

Problem 99% solved.

oh and I am using paid for anti virus....mainly for my android as the mfg's are slow as @$@#$%@# patching flaws in the OS.
 
I have three (3) systems running with BitDefender. I like the idea of reformatting every few months, like one poster on the forum does, but that is not an option for me.
 
I don't use anything personally, but I've made my more frustrating family members use the paid Malwarebytes with great success.
 
defaultluser said:
Windows Defender plus adblock is plenty. I keep my browsing to major websites the majority of the time.

Really, the only thing likely to take over my machine is a zero-day, and none of the virus scanners will catch that anyway.
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This plus common sense is all you need. Seriously there is no reason why anyone should get a virus unless there was some zero-day vulnerability that nothing could stop. And reformatting every few months like that first guy is plain retarded, wtf do you look at on you computer? I haven't reformatted in like almost 2 years and still virus/malware free.
 
I do a full image back-up of my machine once every week or so. I also keep MSE/Defender installed and every now and then will toss on Spybot for 10 minutes to make sure nothing funny is going on.
Never had any issues. Even if something weird were to happen, it's only about an hour to revert back to my previous image. I have to do that (for one reason or another - not malware) once every year or two.
 
polonyc2 said:
there's no such thing as 100% maintaining your system...the longer you use it the more junk accumulates...old driver remnants, deleted files, junk, malware, spyware etc...doing it once or twice a year is not bad at all...but if you have a lot of hardware/software then it might not be worth the trouble...I have different hard drives that I use but I don't reformat them all at the same time...
Click to expand...
Once a month i will go through my machine and run full TDSSkiller, MSE, Malwarebytes scans and also clean the system up with CCleaner and manually going to directories. Yeah you may have old reminisces of games and programs left over after time but usually its a folder and maybe one file in there with a total size of under 1mb. If you know where malware likes to hide out then you can manually go there and check that directory. No way in hell would i reformat after a few months, thats like being a hypochondriac for your pc, you are basically diagnosing and fixing nothing.
 
Haven't run AV products on my PC for awhile other than Microsoft's builtin malware defender. I've never had a virus problem either. But I don't do much of the random stupid shit the average user does with his PC. And I don't mind nuking everything and rebuilding. I do it at least once (and sometimes up to three times) a year.

But the average person should probably have it. I put it on all the PCs I build for other people. I only pay for it if they're looking for something specific with no free options though.
 
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