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Recently i reinstalled Windows 7 on my gaming PC. It was only a week or 2 into my usage when i realised i forgot to install antivirus software. I don't even thi
by coolnow 13y ago
Recently i reinstalled Windows 7 on my gaming PC. It was only a week or 2 into my usage when i realised i forgot to install antivirus software. I don't even think i need it anymore.
I use Sandboxie for any potentially dodgy programs. I use Adblock (Chrome) so the chances of being infected by a rogue ad provider is reduced. I keep tabs on my incoming and outgoing network traffic using SMSniff (for curiosity) and i use Malwarebytes for the occasional scan to see if anything slipped by. I used to hear people facetiously saying "Common Sense" was the best antivirus, but i think they were right. As long as you stay away from dodgy files and sites (such as cracks and keygens from P2P groups) and sandbox any programs you don't trust much, you should be fine.
- georgemcbay 13y agoI highly recommend installing Microsoft Security Essentials (which was rolled into Windows Defender as a built-in component in Windows 8, but IIRC for Windows 7 is something you have to download). It gives you basically the same amount of protection as commercial AV tools but is drastically smarter about resource usage and not getting in your way all the time. Unlike other AV tools that are constantly trying to upsell you (and thus have to appear to be 'doing something'), the only point of MSE/Windows Defender is to make Windows suck less.
- ubercow13 13y agoWhat makes you think it is drastically smarter about resource usage? I've noticed it slows down a lot of things considerably. It also has a history of causing DCP latency problems on some hardware/drivers. I wouldn't say it is miles worse than anything else but not noticeably better than the other good ones.
- coolnow 13y agoI used to run MSE ever since it was released. It really was lightweight and had great detection rates and was generally well liked by me and people at AV Comparatives. However, i saw a new report a few months back which basically showed MSE with the most False Positives and worst detection (or thereabouts). I switched back to Avira (i swap between MSE, Avira, Avast and Kaspersky, when i have a license) and that was that. I have a pretty crappy laptop that's showing its age (lagging on most new websites, reaching 90C on Youtube etc) and even MSE runs at inexplicable times even though i changed the scan time from the options.
- Kiro 13y agoSo you're saying I will be infected with a virus through an ad? How is that possible?
- Piskvorrr 13y agoPrivilege escalation through bugs in Flash and/or browser and/or Java and/or other plugins (approximately in that descending order).