Windows Defender/MSE vs paid Internet Security software

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OldGeek

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#148693 27-Jun-2014 19:40

I have been using various paid Internet Security software offerings for many years now but with my subscription about to run out and with my SOHO setup now boasting only Win 8.1 and Win 7 OSs I wonder what value I am getting for my subscription as opposed to using MSE (7) or Defender (8.1). The IS vendors appear to ignore MSE/Defender when offering feature comparison.

I have 3 PCs used mostly for email (Agent and Windows Mail) along with web browsing.

Can anyone elucidate on what extra protection that paid IS offerings give vs Defender/MSE?

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billgates

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#1075743 27-Jun-2014 19:56

MSE + Common sense 2014 will keep you safe.

If you are worried about 0day attacks then I will go with something like BitDefender, F-Secure or NOD32

Do whatever you want to do man.

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#1075745 27-Jun-2014 20:00

In my Media Centre I use MSE + Common Sense 2014. On my laptop I use ESET NOD32. On my Android devices I use Norton Mobile.

OldGeek

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#1076510 29-Jun-2014 13:23

Thanks for the responses - but I was looking for advice on what levels of protection against internet threats that are typically not covered by MSE/Defender but are covered by IS products.

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Hammerer

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#1076534 29-Jun-2014 14:12

OldGeek: I have been using various paid Internet Security software offerings for many years now but with my subscription about to run out and with my SOHO setup now boasting only Win 8.1 and Win 7 OSs I wonder what value I am getting for my subscription as opposed to using MSE (7) or Defender (8.1). The IS vendors appear to ignore MSE/Defender when offering feature comparison.

I have 3 PCs used mostly for email (Agent and Windows Mail) along with web browsing.

Can anyone elucidate on what extra protection that paid IS offerings give vs Defender/MSE?

OldGeek: Thanks for the responses - but I was looking for advice on what levels of protection against internet threats that are typically not covered by MSE/Defender but are covered by IS products.

IS vendors ignore free products in their product comparisons because they are competing for customers who are prepared to pay. Why would they want to draw attention to free options?

Your question about "features" and "levels of protection" is far to broad. There are thousands of IS products in several categories - anti-virus (which tends to be anti- spyware and other malware), filtering, safe search, etc - with hundreds, maybe thousands, of features that could be relevant. So to get a useful response you'd need to say which IS package you want to compare or which features you actually want to use.

Wikipedia's comparison of anti-virus software is a good place to start - anti-virus in this case is equivalent to IS as you call it. You'll see that MSE doesn't have some of the features in that table: no firewall (but Windows comes with one), no email protection (but MSE catches the problems if you run them) and antispam (but my ISP, email services and email client software handle that) features, no web protection, ie no safe search and link checks (I use Web of Trust and other link checkers), and no macro protection (but my Microsoft Office defaults to not running macros without permission).

The next step might be to look at test comparisons from AV Comparatives (http://www.av-comparatives.org)and AV Test (http://www.av-test.org/en/home).

I know that MSE is not rated highly in the more recent results but I use it because it is non-intrusive and a light load on my Windows systems. Day to day, I don't need to do anything with it. I also use Good Sense 2014 which is very similar to Common Sense 2014 - I don't go to websites I don't trust and I don't click on links without being sure they're OK.

OldGeek

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#1076542 29-Jun-2014 14:57

Hammerer:

IS vendors ignore free products in their product comparisons because they are competing for customers who are prepared to pay. Why would they want to draw attention to free options?

Your question about "features" and "levels of protection" is far to broad. There are thousands of IS products in several categories - anti-virus (which tends to be anti- spyware and other malware), filtering, safe search, etc - with hundreds, maybe thousands, of features that could be relevant. So to get a useful response you'd need to say which IS package you want to compare or which features you actually want to use.

Wikipedia's comparison of anti-virus software is a good place to start - anti-virus in this case is equivalent to IS as you call it. You'll see that MSE doesn't have some of the features in that table: no firewall (but Windows comes with one), no email protection (but MSE catches the problems if you run them) and antispam (but my ISP, email services and email client software handle that) features, no web protection, ie no safe search and link checks (I use Web of Trust and other link checkers), and no macro protection (but my Microsoft Office defaults to not running macros without permission).

The next step might be to look at test comparisons from AV Comparatives (http://www.av-comparatives.org)and AV Test (http://www.av-test.org/en/home).

I know that MSE is not rated highly in the more recent results but I use it because it is non-intrusive and a light load on my Windows systems. Day to day, I don't need to do anything with it. I also use Good Sense 2014 which is very similar to Common Sense 2014 - I don't go to websites I don't trust and I don't click on links without being sure they're OK.

Thanks Hammerer - I will research the suggested URLs.

For decades now I have used paid Internet Security products based on the premise that Windows users absolutely needed third-party protection from malicious software. The advent of MSE/Defender may have changed this equation. I am trying not to remain trapped by what may now be outdated thinking although from what you and others have said paid IS software may still offer value.

There are a range of users I have to accommodate, some of which are not savvy to virus/website threats.

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#1076680 29-Jun-2014 20:30

OldGeek:
There are a range of users I have to accommodate, some of which are not savvy to virus/website threats.

the best thing you can do for those users, is make sure they are running in a non-privileged mode. that way, any dodgy install behaviour will throw up password dialog boxes and (hopefully) either block or cause the user to think about it... Add a stock standard anti-virus malware product, like MSD/DEF, and generally you're covered.

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OldGeek

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#1076683 29-Jun-2014 20:43

the best thing you can do for those users, is make sure they are running in a non-privileged mode. that way, any dodgy install behaviour will throw up password dialog boxes and (hopefully) either block or cause the user to think about it... Add a stock standard anti-virus malware product, like MSD/DEF, and generally you're covered.

Good point. I am the only administrator-capable user.

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#1079138 3-Jul-2014 09:32

I have seen viruses & Malware get through EVERY popular AV product.
Pay AV is often considerably worse at Malware removal than freeware products such as Malwarebytes, often no better at detection/blocking than freeware, and I find it hard to justify Paid AV's cost over freeware .
However, freeware is often free for home use only , not free for commercial/company use.

There is no 100% protection , and in company networks(& home users) its usually the same people getting their PC infected & re-infected
The issue is usually with the user , thats why some can happy go years with NO AV & just use common sense (not recommended though)

MS MSE/AV is not as good as it once was. Historically, MS have released AV products then pretty much abandoned them , so no real surprises there
There are far better freeware products.

My opinion, Internet Security products can be more trouble than they are worth, bundled with useless features .
Just go with a plain old AV software .

A good spam filter service would be something to consider, stop most malicious emails before they find their way to the users.
Also , centralized email AV scanning on your exchange server (if you have one) . ISP's/email hosts email AV is often sub-par for some reason.

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#1079153 3-Jul-2014 09:50

I find Nod32 very good and use it on our clients computers no worries but nothing is perfect. I have bought Malwarebytes for my parents/sister and use that + Nod32 + Uncheeky (http://unchecky.com/) and can rest easy knowing the next time I log into their computer I won't find thousands of toolbars and some fake AV product.

I've seen Nod32 pick up things that MSE doesn't and it isn't naggy like some of the others out there.

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Symbolicdeathwish

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#1085798 9-Jul-2014 15:31

I'd never trust anything that comes stock standard with a Microsoft OS. As stated above no AV software is 100% but when you look at the logic behind attacks you find that all the hacker/viruses do is take advantage of exploits within the system. The reason why Microsoft OS's are commonly targeted is because they are the most popular, the more popular the OS the more chances you have of infecting those who use it, this is paired with IE as this is how people access the internet. So its this reason i stay away from Microsofts defenses because i know that they'll target their exploits just like they target the OS itself. So first thing i say to people is, change your browser, never use IE, Use Chrome or Firefox, the next step is if you want to pay for AV use NOD32 if not use Avast. I've used avast for years now and i've never had any trouble with it and so has the rest of my family. They haven't had any malware/viruses infect their computers and neither have I. Just my two cents worth.

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#1085801 9-Jul-2014 15:37

offtopic: I actually googled what "Common Sense 2014" was...

MadEngineer

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#1101088 3-Aug-2014 14:09

I tell people to use nothing other than ESET

It's great as it blocks the malware included with CNET and sourceforge downloads and when people don't turn off the ticks for what I class as malware in the java updates.

Tell me what other AV does this?

Downloaded something lately from any of the above and you don't have ESET? Sux 2 b u. Challenge if you've already got ESET installed: Try finding a PDF Printer through google that doesn't have malware (there's one I think that's OK on about the third page of results if you're lucky:)).

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