[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Antivirus software
Robert Primak
bobprimak at yahoo.com
Wed Mar 24 05:31:14 PST 2021
>> I did more digging, and found out "Window Defender" has 2 parts; Window Defender firewall (network security) and Window Defender.
It's all part of the Windows 10 Security Center. What was Windows Defender never included the Windows Firewall. There never was anything separate called the Windows Defender Firewall, as far as I know.
>> [quoted material] Windows Defender is very good and it's free, but to really protect your computer, especially if you store valuable data and information, you should have more protection!
That depends on what you have on your computer, whether you do risky things while surfing the Web, and which applications you have installed, among a host of other variables.
Malwarebytes premium works alongside of Windows Security to provide better protection.
If you need anything more, you probably are hiding State Secrets on your personal PC. In which case I cannot advise on the best strategy.
I am sure Bjorn Johansson is a well-qualified security professional with a lot of experience in enterprise security. I am equally sure his articles and advice do not apply to individuals running personal computers.
Corporate networks have very different security concerns from individual stand-alone PCs. They have Internet facing servers which handle a huge amount of traffic from outside sources every day. And from a lot of unknown IP Addresses. All of this incoming traffic has to be analyzed and filtered in real-time to avoid issues with page loading, access to resources, etc. As a result, the potential volume of malicious incoming packets is vastly more than any of us will ever experience at home or in small to medium sized businesses.
The result is that enterprise solutions for security need to be far more robust than home user antimalware software. In short, if we were to try to protect our PCs the way corporate network servers are protected, our Internet experiences would slow to a crawl, and our hardware would literally catch fire from the strain on resources.
The response to a threat needs to be measured against the size of the attack surface. For home users, this attack surface area is miniscule compared with Internet-facing enterprise servers.
So while security professionals are correct about their pronouncements for Enterprise users, they tend to vastly exaggerate the threats home users face, and end up obsessing on which security products and practices are better and which are best at any given moment.
You can pay for "better" protection. But you will never notice the difference in the results, in terms of how frequently you get successfully attacked, and how severe the results are for your personal data.
As long as you keep a couple of copies of current system and data backups reasonably up to date -- and NOT CONNECTED TO YOUR COMUTER! -- you should be able to get back up and running very swiftly if something ever goes wrong with your security setup. And even then, don't switch or add on just because of one failure. After all, we wouldn't drop Windows and go to Apple just because of one failed Windows Update! Most of us (if we had the option) would just roll back, block the offending update and move on.
At AskWoody.com and in their paid newsletter, their head expert, Susan Bradley makes a distinction between her recommendations for enterprise users vs. those for home users. So did Woody Leonhard. There's a reason Woody remained so popular -- he didn't fall for the antics of most "security experts". Or most "Office experts" Or most "Windows experts". Not for home users anyway.
-- Bob Primak
On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 04:21:46 PM EDT, Evie <et8686 at gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
Info to share.....I did more digging, and found out "Window Defender" has 2 parts; Window Defender firewall (network security) and Window Defender.
Someone described as "Windows Defender is essentially an anti-malware scanner. But in Windows 10, it has firewall capabilities through the Windows Defender Firewall, which is the updated version of the classic firewall built into the world’s most popular operating system." Anyone could explain this more clearly??
Bjorn Johansson, published below article on January 1, 2021Is Windows Defender Good Enough in 2021? (You Won't Like the Answer), https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/windows-defender-vs-antiviruses-is-defender-enough-for-you/.He actually has done detailed andrigorous tests on Window Defender and other antivirus software, then ranked them on malware detection rates, system performance, scan speeds, overall internet security protection, and customer support.
Apparently, he concluded that Window Defender is very good and it's free, but to really protect your computer, especially, if you store valuable data and information, you should have more protection!
Evie
On Sat, Mar 13, 2021 at 2:01 AM Robert Primak <bobprimak at yahoo.com> wrote:
Agreed that an update on the current state of antivirus programs is a good topic, possibly for a potpourri meeting.
As has been the case for many years, the Top Ten or so antivirus products shuffle around and have specific strengths and weaknesses, but generally remain in the Top Ten. The main change has been that Windows Security (Windows Defender) has been rated in the Top Ten or so for the past few years in most AV rankings.
Also, two of the testing labs have gone out of business in the past couple of years. There are now at least four testing labs which release comparative results periodically. And the PC Mag Roundups each year.
-- Bob Primak
On Friday, March 12, 2021, 03:59:10 PM EST, john rudy <jjrudy1 at comcast.net> wrote:
I am sometimes a simple person and like to take advantage of research done
by others..
The Computer Group depended on a presentation that Gary Patrick provided
about every 9 months. At the time the products were frequently changing and
one that was #4 one time might be #1 the next time. In general, if one
chose one of the top group they remained near the top for years.
At his last such presentation, maybe two years ago, he said that Defender,
which was free, was excellent, and so I started using it. In addition there
are some products which one should run periodically such as Malwarebytes.
It has been a while since this subject has been discussed at the group and
maybe we will add it in to an upcoming potpourri
John
John Rudy
781-861-0402
781-718-8334 (cell)
John.rudy at alum.mit.edu
13 Hawthorne Lane
Bedford, MA 01730-1047
-----Original Message-----
From: LCTG <lctg-bounces+jjrudy1=comcast.net at lists.toku.us> On Behalf Of
Evie
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2021 3:10 PM
To: Lex Computer Group <LCTG at lists.toku.us>
Subject: Re: [Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Antvirus software
Hi Bob,
You have done it again; always provide useful analysis!
By the way, how would you test antivirus software and determine which one is
good or bad?
Evie
On Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 3:03 PM Evie <et8686 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Good information in such a short time; thanks for sharing, appreciate
> ya all!
> Never too much good information though!.......Keeps them coming, please!
>
> I used Kaspersk for a while, a few years ago; stopped using it because
> it's developed by a Russian company based in Russia (too many scary
> stories about security hacking by Russians).
> I also could not tell how good/bad the performance of Kaspersk is
> while using the free version; never see any reports/notices posted,
> and wondered if it works at all.
>
> I agree with you, Denise; I used McAfee and Norton before/a while ago,
> and did not like them too much (don't remember exactly why, but I
> think it was useability issues).
> I will do more research and learn more on Avast, AVG, Window PC
> Defender, Malwarebytes (paid version, it's on sale now, 80% off or
$19/year).
>
> Evie
>
> On Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 2:04 PM David Lees <joeoptics at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I use the paid Malwarebytes on systems that I use frequently. And I
>> use AVG free version or paid McAfee on the others. I like
>> Malwarebytes best, but nothing is perfect in terms of protection.
>> It's still a case to be vigilant.
>>
>> David Lees
>> From Pixel 3 XL
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 12, 2021, 1:26 PM Evie <et8686 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I have been using free Malwarebytes for 3 months, and looking for a
>>> good antivirus/virus protection software (prefer free version, but
>>> understand that free version provides only the basics).
>>>
>>> I found a list of the *Top 10 Best Free Antivirus Software (2021)*,
>>> https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/best-free-antivirus;
>>>
>>> 1. Total AV
>>> <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/visit/totalav>
>>> (a
>>> 10-employee GB/England company)
>>> 2. PC Protect
>>> <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/visit/pcprotect
>>> >
>>> 3. McAfee <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/mcafee>
>>> 4. Bitdefender
>>> <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/bitdefender>
>>> 5. Norton <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/norton>
>>> 6. Avast <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/avast>
>>> 7. ScanGuard <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/visit/scanguard>
>>> 8. AVG <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/AVG>
>>> 9. Kaspersk
>>> <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/kaspersky
>>> >y
>>> (a Russian company)
>>> 10. Malwarebytes
>>>
>>> <https://www.antivirussoftwareguide.com/reviews/malwarebytes-review>
>>>
>>> Does anyone have any good/bad experience, 2-cent, analysis on these
>>> antivirus softwares, or other recommendations??
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>> Evie
>>> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was
>>> scrubbed...
>>> URL: <
>>> http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us/attachments/20210312/6
>>> 8204df2/attachment.html
>>> >
>>> ===============================================
>>> ::The Lexington Computer and Technology Group Mailing List::
>>> Reply goes to sender only; Reply All to send to list.
>>> Send to the list: LCTG at lists.toku.us Message archives:
>>> http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us
>>> To subscribe: email lctg-subscribe at toku.us To unsubscribe: email
>>> lctg-unsubscribe at toku.us Future and Past meeting information:
>>> http://LCTG.toku.us List information:
>>> http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.us
>>> This message was sent to joeoptics at gmail.com.
>>> Set your list options:
>>> http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/joeoptics@gmail.com
>>>
>>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
<http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us/attachments/20210312/ba86dc81
/attachment.html>
===============================================
::The Lexington Computer and Technology Group Mailing List::
Reply goes to sender only; Reply All to send to list.
Send to the list: LCTG at lists.toku.us Message archives:
http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us
To subscribe: email lctg-subscribe at toku.us To unsubscribe: email
lctg-unsubscribe at toku.us Future and Past meeting information:
http://LCTG.toku.us List information:
http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.us
This message was sent to jjrudy1 at comcast.net.
Set your list options:
http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/jjrudy1@comcast.net
===============================================
::The Lexington Computer and Technology Group Mailing List::
Reply goes to sender only; Reply All to send to list.
Send to the list: LCTG at lists.toku.us Message archives: http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us
To subscribe: email lctg-subscribe at toku.us To unsubscribe: email lctg-unsubscribe at toku.us
Future and Past meeting information: http://LCTG.toku.us
List information: http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.us
This message was sent to bobprimak at yahoo.com.
Set your list options: http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/bobprimak@yahoo.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us/attachments/20210313/78129bca/attachment.html>
===============================================
::The Lexington Computer and Technology Group Mailing List::
Reply goes to sender only; Reply All to send to list.
Send to the list: LCTG at lists.toku.us Message archives: http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us
To subscribe: email lctg-subscribe at toku.us To unsubscribe: email lctg-unsubscribe at toku.us
Future and Past meeting information: http://LCTG.toku.us
List information: http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.us
This message was sent to et8686 at gmail.com.
Set your list options: http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/et8686@gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.us/attachments/20210324/3f96e868/attachment.html>
More information about the LCTG
mailing list