Drop Commercial Antivirus?

[kawzman]

[FONT=&quot]I’m a Maximum PC subscriber and read an article that surprised me. I’ve been Googling and reading through my favorite forums looking for other’s thoughts on the matter.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In the March 2015 issue, Get More Speed for Free article, Page 41; Tweak 8 recommends dropping commercial antivirus in favor of Windows Defender. Since Norton got their act together several years back and Norton is not “as much” a resource hog, I have been using their security suite. I currently utilize Norton Security 2015 on my desktop (Windows 7 SP1) and three laptops (an old HP Pavilion dv7 with Windows 7 SP1 and two Toshiba Satellite C55-A5302 with Windows 8.1). [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]While on deployment, with limited internet connectivity, Norton Security 2015 significantly slowed my HP laptop to the point that had to uninstall it once I determined that it was the culprit. The performance delta once removed was substantial. I returned home a few days ago and find myself hesitant to reinstall Norton Security 2015 after experiencing the performance boost. A potential contributing factor may have been access to unstable low bandwidth internet while in port Dutch Harbor about every two weeks (think mid to late 1990s dialup slow). Norton was sometimes able to download and install updates but rarely. Could incomplete updates have been a factor? Possibly but for only my laptop.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Maximum PC and other’s reviews of antivirus software typical rank Norton’s suite among the best and fastest but the decreased performance is obvious on all my laptops. At the same time I’m hesitant to trust the security protection options integrated into the Windows OS because, well, it’s Microsoft. Seeing how they’ve dropped the ball in the past compounded by the general negative perception makes it difficult to trust them with the security of my network and platforms. However, perception is not fact and I prefer to make informed decisions, hence my current research and trek of the forums. To complicate matters I have a wife and kids that are users so I need to protect my network from them as well since security also hinges on the user’s actions. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I also utilize Norton Family to implement parental controls for the kids on their laptops (Toshiba Satellite C55-A5302) and their user accounts on the desktop PC). Windows offers parental controls but not nearly as robust as Norton Family with the only features being time limits, game ratings, and program access. Does not offer online activity monitoring, filtering, or blocking.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]So what are the thoughts here? I strive for realistic high performance on all my gear but not at the sacrifice of strict security measures needed to protect them. Admittedly, none of my laptops are top of the line but their purpose is really just for keeping the kids off my desktop and homework use while mine is something to use away from my desktop and while on deployment. It’s great that information on this topic is so readily available online but I have found, as with so many other topics, that there’s no shortage of conflicting opinions and facts in support of both sides.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Cheers,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Kawzman[/FONT]

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I'd test out others such as Kaspersky or NOD or another high rated program. Also, along with that I'd recommend also using Malwarebytes Antimalware.

 

[Elixer]

If you are a high risk person, that downloads everything under the sun, then, you still need a dedicated virus/malware scanner.

If you don't do that much, it is better to use virus total, or http://virusscan.jotti.org/en and upload the file in question, and see what it shows.

Then you run the occasional malware/virus scanner weekly or whatever, and you can also use the free versions as well.

 

[kawzman]

Thanks for the replies. Agreed that the best AV is the wet noodle and if it were me using my gear, my approach would be more simplified (not norton). But since I'm deployed months at a time I have to have something protecting the fam (mainly from themselves) with something that's fairly hands off. I use Malwarebytes when I suspect norton or spybot have missed something.

 

[MustISO]

I'd stick with one of the off the shelf products, doesn't need to be paid and get a subscription to sandboxie. Remove any applications you don't use and keep flash and java (if you need them) updated constantly.

That should greatly limit your surface of attack.

 

[MrColin]

You're already hacked six ways to Sunday before you update windows. Antivirus is an obsolete concept, just use defender and emet and a least privilege user account.

 

[bononos]

You're already hacked six ways to Sunday before you update windows. Antivirus is an obsolete concept, just use defender and emet and a least privilege user account.

No its not obsolete. Its one layer of security along with a firewall and HIPS. The majority of computer users aren't savvy enough to avoid common pitfalls like not opening every attachment if it comes from a friend or knowing what a strange url looks like.

 

[NortonSupport]

Hello kawzman,

Sorry for the inconvenience caused. Before uninstalling Norton, were you able to check the processes tab in Task manager to find out the program that uses high memory/CPU usage? Please visit https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v59066932_EndUserProfile_en_us , this article will certainly help you analyze and troubleshoot the issue. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Harini
Norton Support

 

[John Connor]

Bitdefender Free and Sandboxie. If you use a Mozilla variant browser like Firefox, Pale Moon or Cyberfox then I would add the addon NoScript. Once NoScript is installed you can deactivate it and it will allow you basic protection without the cumbersomeness of allowing and whitelisting scripts. I use NoScript with top level domains on by default to lessen cumbersomeness. There was a script some hacker installed on this forum last year I think it was and since I was using NoScript it more than likely blocked it from grabbing my password.

Downloaded files I scan with VirusTotal.

Above all else common sense goes a long way. And stay abreast of the exploits and malware that come out. E-mail attachments are a prime vector for infection.

 

[compcons]

As was mentioned, layered security. Unless you are a idiot that thinks 1-3% of their cpu and a 100MB is worth the risk, a product or two is advisable. If Norton slowed your pc, there is something wrong with it and probably needed an Uninstall/reinstall. That said, other options are available, don't go with nothing and MS has often said their products are not a replacement for a real security product.

The one thing that Norton/Symantec products do that hasn't been duplicated by their competition is that it will check hundreds of attributes of files on download and compare the file against a database of billions of known good and bad files. So as an example, a simple check of created date and how many people have that file would let you know that 5 people on the planet have the file and it was created 35 seconds ago. It would tag that file with a low "reputation score" and warn you that it's a low scoring file. It would prompt you and in from you that what you are about to download is probably not good. This provides protection from unknown files that do not have a known signature as AV signatures are not enough. Layer some malwarebytes (run on demand weekly) and you should be in a good spot.