Windows 10 Pro — Is AV Necessary?

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TLD

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#230417 22-Feb-2018 23:27

I am setting up my long awaited new computer, and the motherboard driver disk has kindly installed Norton Security. I managed with Windows Defender on my old Windows 10 system, and I wondering if there is a consensus here as to whether AV and Internet Security is a good thing with Windows 10. I actually have Norton on my seldom used laptop, but that still runs Windows 8.1, so I could move the account to this system, or just uninstall it. I have 156 processes running so far, but I still have a lot of stuff to install.

It's a 7900X with GTX970 (from the old system) and 64Gb RAM and a couple of Samsung 960 PRO 512Gb NVMe drives (plus a bunch of other drives not yet connected) It's only been running for a couple of hours, so I have no idea how well it is running

Trevor Dennis
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#1962590 22-Feb-2018 23:37

Built in Defender is fine for most people.

TLD

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#1962593 22-Feb-2018 23:46

That's what I hoped to hear. It's yet another overhead, so I'll be pleased to get rid. (in the morning)

Trevor Dennis
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Lias

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#1962750 23-Feb-2018 10:27

If it came to a choice between no protection and Norton/Symantec, I think I'd have to chose no protection. That aside, Windows Defender is fine, but if you ever do want to pay for AV software, avoid Norton like the plague.

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nunz

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#1978543 16-Mar-2018 11:31

Lias:

If it came to a choice between no protection and Norton/Symantec, I think I'd have to chose no protection. That aside, Windows Defender is fine, but if you ever do want to pay for AV software, avoid Norton like the plague.

Windows 10 defender is a PITN. It keeps changing settings after upgrades so if you are doing rmeote work or need apps accessible via firewalls be warned that they will get cut off nad go flakey. I've had to kill windows 10 firewall 5 times in last 8 hours as after updates (7.3GB of the sods in the last 24 hours) it kills my settings so icmp ping is useless and remote desktop keeps clapping out.

Bitdefender is a great AV anf light and free.

Avast is oaky.

Nod32 - my pick of choice is $70 for one year or $102 for two years. light on resources, tight on security and very effective. Their smart security is also very very good.

Lias

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#1978553 16-Mar-2018 11:51

nunz:

Windows 10 defender is a PITN. It keeps changing settings after upgrades so if you are doing rmeote work or need apps accessible via firewalls be warned that they will get cut off nad go flakey. I've had to kill windows 10 firewall 5 times in last 8 hours as after updates (7.3GB of the sods in the last 24 hours) it kills my settings so icmp ping is useless and remote desktop keeps clapping out.

I've deployed and supported W10 Defender on hundreds of PC's without the issues you're describing.

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#1978814 16-Mar-2018 17:44

@Lias yep same here, sounds like @nunz definitely has issues but I don't think that should turn anyone else off Defender.

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#1978817 16-Mar-2018 18:11

On the other hand I like Norton - and have been using it since my old MS DOS 2.0 days on 286 processors.

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quickymart

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#1978920 16-Mar-2018 23:24

I would like to know too - upgrading from XP (where I had AVG free) to 10 (where I have nothing so far, as far as I know)...do I need to put AVG on the 10 machine as well?

timmmay

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#1978931 17-Mar-2018 06:20

TLD:

I have 156 processes running so far, but I still have a lot of stuff to install.

My W10 PC has 63 background processes, everything I regularly run is running. I have actively turned off services I don't need, and turned off autostart for apps I don't need in the background. One Drive, etc. I do run plenty of stuff, dropbox, Resilio Sync, etc.

lNomNoml

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#1978933 17-Mar-2018 07:40

I always recommend it but if you can't afford it or don't see a reason to get a dedicated AV then Defender is fine.

http://www.nsaneforums.com/topic/308953-kaspersky-trend-micro-and-microsoft-defender-on-top-in-av-comparatives-real-world-chart-022018/

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#1978971 17-Mar-2018 10:53

quickymart:

I would like to know too - upgrading from XP (where I had AVG free) to 10 (where I have nothing so far, as far as I know)...do I need to put AVG on the 10 machine as well?

No.. Windows 10 comes with Defender built in, and it's fine for 99% of people

networkn

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#1979027 17-Mar-2018 14:27

I'd suggest a look at Sophos home. Also we have customers running Norton fine, eset ok, webroot.

Disagree with defender, it's a PITA. It's always running rogue. We see lots of issues with it.

Defender doesn't protect or remediate cryptolocker type attacks.

michaelmurfy

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#1979041 17-Mar-2018 15:43

On the other hand running Defender + EMET is totally fine for most people. Also, making sure your machine is fully patched.

Most of these Cryptolocker-type malware exploit unpatched systems so don't go ignoring Windows when it needs to reboot your system.

Edit: Does it show I have not run Windows in a while? Didn't realise EMET is end of life.

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Lias

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#1979118 17-Mar-2018 18:18

michaelmurfy:

On the other hand running Defender + EMET is totally fine for most people. Also, making sure your machine is fully patched.

Most of these Cryptolocker-type malware exploit unpatched systems so don't go ignoring Windows when it needs to reboot your system.

Edit: Does it show I have not run Windows in a while? Didn't realise EMET is end of life.

Windows 10 and Windows as a Service is part of the move to integrate EMET and other things into the core OS.

Lias

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#1979120 17-Mar-2018 18:23

networkn:

I'd suggest a look at Sophos home. Also we have customers running Norton fine, eset ok, webroot.

Disagree with defender, it's a PITA. It's always running rogue. We see lots of issues with it.

Defender doesn't protect or remediate cryptolocker type attacks.

I'm the opposite, I loathe Sophos, and I've just gone through removing it from every PC at work and replacing it with System Center Endpoint Protection (aka Managed version of Defender). Sophos drives me up the wall with constant false positives on non viruses.. Every single damned "Potentially unwanted application" it's removed has been wanted thank you very much.

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