Is paying for antivirus a waste of money?

Commentary: It's been a long time since anti-malware suites have found anything on my computers. Maybe the Windows Defender that comes with Windows 10 is good enough?

I always run an anti-malware security suite on my PC. Over the years I've made a point of running a variety of products.

At least for many years, perhaps more than ten, they've found no malware on my computers. None.

Perhaps I'm a more sophisticated user and I'm less likely to be taken off guard, but that can't be the whole answer. By the same token of expertise I take certain risks with dangerous files and sites that I would urge others to avoid like the plague.
But now comes news that could change the calculus: Independent test lab AV-Test's December tests of Business security suites on Windows 10 showed marked improvement for Microsoft's anti-malware engine, the one that comes free for Windows 10 users as Windows Defender. This program used to be limited to "antispyware," a strange and purposeless distinction from malware generally.

Microsoft has long had a free anti-malware product, Microsoft Security Essentials, for users to run on earlier versions of Windows, and it has always been used as a baseline in AV-Test rankings because it was so reliably at the bottom of the pack. Microsoft is also working to improve its protection by adding a cloud-based retrospective analysis service to detect breaches that have slipped through.

The results are for System Center Endpoint Protection which is its managed solution. The user experience is different, but the engine is the same and the AV-Test results should be closely comparable to tests on Microsoft's consumer product at the same time (November and December).

It's definitely not at the top and it's definitely not "industry-leading," but is it good enough? What do you really get from paying for the full AV subscription? The answer is complicated...

Read more: Is paying for antivirus a waste of money? | ZDNet

 

[quinncy]

What OS are you running 10 years old sound like Vista .. I also have vista .. I would always have a antivirus software ,depending on the software it does more than you just stopping malware and virus.. The Microsoft defender or essentials may not pick up all of them especially PUPS . If you do not want to buy a antivirus software Than use Malware Bytes ..

 

[abbya]

I usually use bitdefender. If I try choose something else, I like to try the trial version first. Currently, I am using trail version of SafeBytes and I am happy with its performance.

 

[Cammygirl192]

I have a free anti-virus, it's called my brain. I've come enough of fake crap to sort out properly, find trusted, etc.
Anti-virus also usually causes problems with video game emulator software since it does weird conflicts due to false positives.

 

[sctvguy1]

I have Microsoft Essentials and also use my brain not to click on funky links. Also, my Windows 7 and XP have Essential and Defender. That seems enough for me. My CentOS does not need any antivirus, nor does my iMac. Also, my OS/2 has NEVER needed any antivirus.

 

[Vistaar]

Welcome sctvguy1. I also use Microsoft Security Essentials because its effectiveness improved remarkably about a year ago. I wonder if you are using the latest MSE 4.9 client version on Vista? Many MSE users running Vista reported a "black screen after login" issue after updating their MSE client, notably in http://www.vistax64.com/windows-upd...-security-essentials-4-9-218-0-kb3140527.html. Others apparently had no problem with it; and after keeping the update hidden for a month out of fear, I am now using MSE 4.9 myself without any problems to speak of. Please feel free to post about MSE 4.9 in the linked thread. BTW it is probably not a good idea to turn on Defender once Essentials has been installed.