Go lie on the floor.

[hannah]

I like to say that when it comes to computers, I know enough to get the jokes but not enough to make the jokes. I also know enough to know when I need to solve a problem, but not always enough to fix it myself.

Case in point: my McAfee antivirus is expiring in a few weeks. I've got Windows Security that seems to be doing okay, and I don't know if I need both. I figured I'd ask people who aren't in the business of selling anything and lob it out to my Dreamwidth reading circle.

Comments

[senmut]

I'm told Windows Defender is far more robust than it has been in the past.

I personally use Sophos, in addition to it, but I am not finding they have a free plan any longer (I pay subscription yearly).

[bluedreaming]

Yeah I’ve heard that windows defender is fine unless maybe you’re doing stuff online that would require a vpn etc.

Reading reviews it sounds like all the antivirus ever are hit or miss so 🤷 (Family computers have variously used webroot, bit[something] and ESET node).

[kingstoken]

I use windows defender (which is far better than it used to be) and I also use the free version of Malwarebytes to periodically scan my files and computer to make sure no malware slipped has through.

[sixbeforelunch]

(NB: I am by no means an expert on computer security.)

I only use Windows Defender and I'm comfortable with that level of protection. My computer activity is pretty low-risk. I use NoScript so that javascript is blocked by default on any new website that I visit, and I tend to visit the same limited, well-known sites. I rarely tread into the wilds of the internet or download even vaguely questionable files. If your computer use is more adventurous, extra protection might be worthwhile.

[yourlibrarian]

Same here.

[angrboda]

Husband, who is IT deparment in this house, tells me to just use the built into Windows stuff. It's good enough and you can run into problems if you layer different antiviruses and such on top of each other (I'm not sure what these problems are, exactly, that's what he says. I think it's to do with how well/fast the machine runs in general).

On the computers at work, I can't recall ever having seen signs of any other kind of antivirus software or anything for years and years, and given that I work at a hospital with some 12 thousand employees and god knows how many computers, I have to assume that what ever IT does is Smart.