Is Antivirus Necessary? (For Me?)

[UnholyFear]

Ever since I have started working on computers, I have used Avast! Free Antivirus, and while my loadout of programs has changed over the years, my choice in antivirus has not.

On my older systems, I've been searching for lighter versions of programs to run, as newer ones continue to bloat and use more memory and ram. Avast!, which used to use about 70-100mb of ram IIRC (back in 2011), but now pushes resource usage in Windows 7 up by about 300mb.

Bloat isn't the only nitpick I've got with Avast! and other antivirus programs. I use my antivirus as antivirus, and just that. I use Ccleaner Lite to clean my files, and openvpn as a vpn, why should I have to uncheck boxes to not install Avast!'s paid versions of these whenever I set up a system? Not only that, but Avast! won't scan for PuP's unless you set it up to do so. It also won't update itself unless you set it up to do so(program version only, definitions DO update themselves). Avast! Free edition also comes with its own ads now too, including periodical bragging about all the good its doing your system.

In recent years, my loadout of programs has expanded to include Malwarebytes Free edition and Spybot Search & Destroy because I have found that Avast! doesn't quite catch anything. In fact, according to the last two years of Avast! logs on my older systems (except for one without Spybot S&D, which Avast! did stop a virus on), Avast! has stopped nothing. I have never been in a situation in which Avast! has proven useful in preventing or removing viruses.

To test this, I reloaded my main laptop, which I use every day for class work and web browsing at school, coffee shops, and at home, with just Spybot S&D and Malwarebytes. I am five months in, every weekend I update and scan with both programs, and the whole experiment has gone off without a hitch.

I'm not saying that antivirus is unnecessary for everyone, I pray to the gods of security and privacy eight times a day to keep my computer as clean as possible, but if Avast! isn't really necessary and removing it gives my old systems usable life back, then whats the point in having it?

Windows Defender gets 40% of the stuff that goes through my system. Comodo Antivirus catches the rest before Defender kicks in. The rest is done by a daily scan with MalwareBytes and the system is cleaned with CCleaner.

I think this goes back to a simple question. Do you watch a lot of porn? That's the fastest way to a virus. Just saying.

Is this from experience? Quite honestly, the moment you open your browser and navigate to any non-major website (Google, Facebook, Youtube, ect are major websites), you run the risk of going to a website that does not do daily virus and bg server maintenance. You have a great risk by using the internet at all. Don't want a computer to get a virus? Don't have one. Even the best of the best in the IT field get viruses. It's sometimes unavoidable because of it being a new virus that is undetectable by virus definition databases.

 

[NikonGuy]

And again you just try to argue against me. Can't we for once keep the hostility down setishock? All I said was surfing porn is just known to get viruses very easily. That is just common knowledge. I didn't say anything else. I would assume everyone knows you can get viruses from all over the place, but it is simply common knowledge that surfing porn sites is a very quick way to get a virus. It is one of the highest chance ways to get a virus. I don't even know how you can try to make an argument out of this...

@unholyfear

I will disagree with that statement " great risk " I know many people who never get viruses, and browse many websites. There is a risk yes, but you make it seems like it's very very high, which it is not. Imo.

 

[BikerEcho]

Is there a risk of getting viruses, yes. But the way Unholy puts it is a little exaggerated.
I haven't gotten a virus locally on my PC for years now.
Just be careful on the internet and have updated security. You will be fine. However you are never 100% secure. Just like you are never 100% secure when you cross the street.

I believe phishing ware and phishing mail are a bigger problem for the everyday guy than virus.

 

[Trotter]

I look at antivirus software the same as car insurance: you can operate without it but if you get hit you had better hope you are covered.

With that said I have AV installed on all my computers as well as all used/owned by my family. I may know how to keep my nose clean but most others don't.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is also a must have.

 

[solojedi]

I started using STOPzilla antivirus a few years ago and my computer hasn't had any issues since using it.. Of course I tried using a free antivirus program before I decided on using STOPzilla but the free programs were not doing the job completely. I ONLY started using STOPzilla because a friend of mine recommended it (I had never heard of them before my friend told me about them) and it works great for me. I had to call support once because of an issue I was having and the tech was awesome! I highly recommend them. stopzilla.com

 

[rjsabbir]

Do you know about cryptlocker virus? for safety you have to know about this. just follow the link Decrypt and remove CryptoLocker 2015 ransomware virus – Nabz Software

 

[crazyman143]

One of the methods listed on that link (using volume shadow copies to restore files) is pretty much no longer a defense against cryptolocker because the newer variations of it remove them all. You must must must have current backups to be protected from cryptolocker/cryptowall and some anti-viruses are still not catching it. It will attack any attached drives too, including network shares and fortunately it isn't able to wipe the shadow copies over the network so we've been able to recover files via shadow copies on some remote machines this way.

 

[aHumanError]

I feel very similar to you; I consider most AV software these days bloated, full of things nobody really uses, or, they have other, better, software that already covers it. Another thing I hate is the highly graphical (and slow) UI that they have, AVG was the last AV I used and it took what seemed like forever (Especially if it was actually DOING something) to just load the damn thing up because of all the custom graphics.

It seems that AV software like to completely integrate itself into your OS these days; don't get me wrong I can understand this to a certain extent, but the sheer amount of services some put in are just unnecessary and either memory, CPU or HDD activity is often a consequence. Again, going back to AVG sometimes a random service would consume large amounts of memory and push the CPU to 100% for no apparent reason. Symantec seems to be one of the worst for this (although I haven't used it in a long time). But reading through your description of Avast! I can see it's pretty common across AV software.

I actually find AV software in general unnecessary (At least in my instance). It was once the error of the user that would be the fault of installing viruses. For example it could have been running random exe's you'd download or people who would send you, a simple task of inserting a CD/USB drive whereby the Autorun was hijacked to run a dodgy file, or files imitating others that you'd unwittingly run, and having a good AV was an advantage here. These days the OS protects you against any of the old script kiddy ways of getting you to run a malicious file, and now it's mostly the advancements in web programming and common browser exploits how people get infected with all kinds of malicious things.

So for me protecting your browser is pretty essential more than a standard anti-virus; of course some have a kind of plug-in or bloatware you can use for this feature. But for me Windows defender and Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit works fine for a standard internet browser.

 

[berry120]

I'm also someone that's just stuck with Avast (for no other reason than habit really.) It's not too intrusive, though I have thought about moving over to ClamAV (never used it, but heard good things.)

Approaching the question from a different angle, I see AV more as an insurance policy - sure, you hope you'll never need it and if you rarely browse questionable sites then you likely won't, but I'd sooner have it just in case. Especially with the rise of cryptolocker et. al (that sort of thing scares the crap out of me.)

 

[Technician1]

Windows Defender gets 40% of the stuff that goes through my system. Comodo Antivirus catches the rest before Defender kicks in. The rest is done by a daily scan with MalwareBytes and the system is cleaned with CCleaner.



Is this from experience? Quite honestly, the moment you open your browser and navigate to any non-major website (Google, Facebook, Youtube, ect are major websites), you run the risk of going to a website that does not do daily virus and bg server maintenance. You have a great risk by using the internet at all. Don't want a computer to get a virus? Don't have one. Even the best of the best in the IT field get viruses. It's sometimes unavoidable because of it being a new virus that is undetectable by virus definition databases.

When you build a new computer use the old one for your internet browsing and keep your new system offline.
Keep it secret, keep it safe.