Still need anti-virus software?

[kluurs]

[Article says no. (https://www.pcworld.com/article/3434097/why-you-can-stop-paying-for-antivirus-software.html) - at least for Windows 10 machines. Is Malwarebytes and Windows Defender sufficient? I've been using Norton and Malwarebytes - but thinking of dropping Norton.

[Mik]

I detest Norton. Does not work and play well with others. been using Windows Defender and it seems quite up to the task.

[Copper]

I used the free Windows Defender for a long time.

I bought Norton in May of 2014 because Windows Defender did not find a virus that Norton did find. The virus kept trying to connect to some Russian web site.

I have subscribed to Norton since then, I'm not sure if it is still worth it.

[Doctor Phibes]

I only use windows defender. Very, very occasionally I scan with Malwarebytes, but as it's never found anything since Win 10 was brought in there's probably no need for that, either.

[Jolly]

I run Defender and Malwarebytes, because MB found a virus that Defender did not.

[Klaus]

I've never used AV software in my life.

I've never been infected by a computer virus either.

I did program a virus once ages ago, in the mid 90s - as a programming exercise - but never released it into the wild.

[Mik]

Henceforth Klaus will be known as Klovid.

[Klaus]

I'm actually still proud of one design feature of my virus. A virus at that time (MS DOS) was usually detectable by observing that it allocates memory. I had found a block of 512 bytes of memory occupied by the operating system that were usually unused (a part of the "interrupt vector table") where I could put my virus without any memory influence - the first "stealth virus" I knew of. The main challenge was to squeeze the code into 512 bytes, which necessitated hardcore assembly programming. Unfortunately, I didn't have any space left to program any harmful behavior - all the virus did was to replicate.

[Copper]

@Klaus said in Still need anti-virus software?:

all the virus did was to replicate.

Sometimes that is enough