Hi all, I have 2 high school kiddos who need antivirus/internet security put on their laptops.
Any recommendations please? They previously had Norton which seemed to be, ok? (complete tech novice here) but the renewal costs keep increasing and before I pay it again I wanted to make sure it's worth it or check if there is something better.
Thanks
Windows defender is fine.
Also Avast Free
Paying for anti-Virus like Norton is a SCAM
Ive been using AVAST for over 12 years and never had an issue.
Its the most comprehensive FREE VIRUS proptection available and the best.
Besides Norton always comes up way down the list on all the tests in both of the below test labs
See here for anti-Virus independent test results:
https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/
Both Avast and Defender get top scores
ALTERNATIVELY:
https://www.av-comparatives.org/consumer/test-results/
Avast on top again, but Defender scores very poorly on these tests
Norton is one of the best antiviruses and the latest version is actually based on Avast. But both it and Avast use some technology from Norton.
Microsoft Defender is fine, but some people find it causes slowdowns. In which case, it make sense to replace it with something lighter.
one that comes with windows is fine, as long as updating it regularly
Don't take my word for it, but here https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/
Depends which test lab you care to check.
This one is more comprehensive and Defender (1 star) falls way short of Avast Free (3 star)
Norton and anything of that ilk is close to subscription malware these days. And has been for the past decade. DO NOT USE IT.
The OS-included AV, plus various browser plugins to do adblocking (uBlock Origin, Adblock, Privacy Badger) is about as far as I'd go. Careful about Adblock, there are several versions and some are dubious.
And set up their machines to not use admin accounts as default- have the admin account separate, even if you give them the admin password for installing stuff then at least they have to make a conscious decision to do so.
I don't recommend any version of the "Adblock" extension. Even the "official" one a long time ago allowed companies to pay them to allow their ads through. uBlock Origin & Privacy Badger are great though.
Fair point… I wrote that post off the top of my head and realised I don't use Adblock anymore- too hard to keep track of forks and similarly named products. I'm using uBlock, Privacy Badger, Adguard DNS blocking at the router (but suspect OP isn't going to do router based blocking). Most of this is more convenience than security though, so pages are not 30% animated ads.
You can turn off "allow non invasive ads" in the Adblock Plus settings.
Or just use uBlock Origin. The creator doesn't even accept donations, dude just hates ads.
Or just run all three. :)
I used to have Privacy badger and I think I replaced it with Decentraleyes ages ago and I don't remember why.
Just use the free built in Windows Defender. Also, make sure that all software, but especially Windows itself, is set to install patches automatically.
Nowadays antivirus programs are essentially just pressure marketing scareware, if not bordering on malware given how hard it is to extract them from your system once they're installed. The primary purpose of these products is to freak you out, not to protect you.
Norton is akin to a virus IMHO
It is not a virus, but it is expensive and unnecessary.
Oh!
it's an AUKUS
It's very cheap if you buy if from Save On IT, or eBay. For some people, Microsoft Defender causes noticeable slowdowns. A number of third party antiviruses are lighter. If Defender's causing slowdowns it makes a lot of sense to replace it with something lighter.
Really it isn't. Many years ago it could cause very noticeable slowdowns and was hard to uninstall. Those days are long gong and these days it is one of the lightest antiviruses and provides excellent protection.
it is one of the lightest antiviruses and provides excellent protection
It could well be, but I'll bet 80%+ ppl will never find out because Nortons historical past has put potential customers right off.
A bit like The Gerry Harvey factor.
You typically don't need anything more than Windows Defender that comes built into Windows.
If you really want one, anything is probably fine. Go for the free version of any reputable antivirus software because the paid versions offer the same protection with a few extra bells and whistles. I've personally liked Kaspersky in the past but there have been some allegations of ties to the Russian government, I hated Trend Micro, McAfee, and Norton. I've heard BitDefender is good but it's a bit heavy in terms of resource usage.
3rd Party Antivirus solutions exist only these days to take advantage of boomers & people who don't even bother looking into them. Windows Security (built into Windows 10 & 11) is more than enough for the significant majority of people these days.
Eset if you 100% want to go paid route
Don't bother with paid ones nowaday. Windows defender is more than enough for your everyday user.
We're not in the days of Limewire and infecting the family PC weekly.
You may want to look into browser extensions (all free) like ublock origin, HTTPS everywhere, but you shouldn't have to spend anything at all :)
Bitdefender free antivirus. Is pretty easy to use if you want one.
Thank you all :) Very helpful!
If you want to use Windows built in AV, have a look at https://www.defenderui.com/
It allows for much more configuration and blocking.
Video on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snImtCq-WBw
It is pretty trash and a big step down from defender.
It does very badly at detecting malware and has issues with false positives. Kaspersky and Bitdefender both have excellent free versions.
+1 for Windows defender.
I also use "Malwarebytes Windows Firewall control"
Kaspersky is excellent and even the free version provides great protection.
I have Malwarebytes as well as Defender. Is that ok?
condolences