Favorite Anti-virus Software?

[SideSBob]

Hi, guys.  We took the plunge and bought our oldest a gaming laptop
for fun, and in the near future, college.  As a Mac family for the past
20+ years, our knowledge of PC anti-virus software is behind the times
undoubtedly.  What do you use and recommend using?  Some feedback
will be appreciated.

[Timinator]

Panda Antivirus is free and good, doesn't spam you like the crap Avast turned into.

[Pixie]

I've been an advocate of Panda for a couple years now. It's free, fast, effective, and never bugs you... Well, at first it will try to convince you to upgrade to the paid version but after it gives up, you'll never hear from it again unless it actually finds a problem.

Bonus - it's good at not false-positive-blocking games and stuff. (fuck you, BitDefender and Avast)

[maxbeedo]

As far as paid Anti-viruses go, I recommend Kaspersky.  I've had it installed on my parents' computer for the last 8 years and never had to deal with any issues (for the last 8 years I fixed computers all day every day so not having to deal with it from my family is nice), and they have NO CLUE how to protect themselves.  I would always just buy it when it went on sale at work for free after rebate instead of renewing it online (since that's usually full price), so basically I've only paid like $50 for 8 years of coverage for them.

[Cluck Kent]

It feels like I've spent a lot of money on anti-virus over the years.

I'm currently using Norton 360 Premier and as far as I know it's kept me safe. Last week I got a notification indicating that they would automatically renew for another year at $125 cdn which is bloody crazy so I'm looking to switch as well.

In regards to Panda, I find it difficult to accept that a free product is going to keep me safe online. Do you guys feel safe banking on line or making purchases on line having it as your only line of defence against troublemakers? Any caveats?

[Pixie]

It feels like I've spent a lot of money on anti-virus over the years.

I'm currently using Norton 360 Premier and as far as I know it's kept me safe. Last week I got a notification indicating that they would automatically renew for another year at $125 cdn which is bloody crazy so I'm looking to switch as well.

In regards to Panda, I find it difficult to accept that a free product is going to keep me safe online. Do you guys feel safe banking on line or making purchases on line having it as your only line of defence against troublemakers? Any caveats?

Free AV is fine. I've never found AV to be something worth spending money on. And no, it's not your only line of defense. It's the last line of defense. The first is being a smart user. No AV is good enough to make up for irresponsible use.

I've never had a malware infection. I use my PC for everything, including personal banking, loan/credit management, and handling sensitive work data.

Note that I also run MalwareBytes, too, just for an added layer of security (this one I paid for - I bought a lifetime license for like $50 years ago).

AV Comparatives does monthly testing of bunches of AV suites and you can see how they all stack up.

Also, Norton is widely regarded as its own special kind of evil because once you have it, getting rid of it is almost as hard as getting rid of malware. Plus, it's not very good.

[Sssith]

At times I have gone long stretches with just Windows Defender.  So yes I think you can manage with free.

Honestly I all comes down to peace of mind.  If you don't have it then spending money on it is worth it. 

I am currently running with Panda and they have a pay version if that makes you feel better.

[SideSBob]

Thanks to all for the thoughtful responses.  He's up and running!

[Reigns]

What did you settle on?

BTW I have used Kaspersky for years but am now going to switch, since my auto-renew has been invalidated due to US companies no longer supporting it due to concern that the company is using it to steal data for the Russian government.  Maybe, maybe not.  But it's still a hassle I don't need. 

[Allen Stenhaus]

I just use Windows Defender, Malwarebytes, and Common Sense 2018. That seems to work well enough for me.