"argues that only Microsoft’s antivirus solution can be safely used and that the others ‘poison the software ecosystem’" He lost me here. I don't believe mentally challenged people.

"argues that only Microsoft’s antivirus solution can be safely used and that the others ‘poison the software ecosystem’" He lost me here. I don't believe mentally challenged people.

Hah, you're so cool and edgy! I mean, why would you trust multiple people who are very knowledgable about this when they speak up and give very reasonable arguments, right?

If I would use any 3rd party AV software I would install/activate only protection module which guards file system.

Octopuss Good, bye, dont come back.

This is very true. I stopped using AV software approx. 4 years ago and just made sure my system is updated. Built-in MS anti-virus is ok for periodic scans. AV typically just caused issues and made the system slower. Not to mention various notifications and popups and whatnot. Finally, you have to be really careful about what you install and use. If you are downloading and installing crap, nothing will save you.

Been using ESET NOD32 for many years, not a single issue

Been using ESET NOD32 for many years, not a single issue

Question is - whether it injects its modules into browser, mail app, etc.

Been using ESET NOD32 for many years, not a single issue

I use ESET smart if the build i use allows its use, Winods 10 TP builds only let MS stuff running. Yes, vendors are terrible but MS itself recommended them!:

Microsoft Security Essentials (Windows Defender on Windows 8) was once on top. Over the years, it’s slid in the test results, but Microsoft argued the tests weren’t meaningful. Now, Microsoft is advising Windows users to use a third-party antivirus instead. This revelation comes to us from an interview Microsoft gave. Microsoft’s official website still bills MSE as offering “comprehensive malware protection” without any hint that they no longer recommend using it. Microsoft is not communicating well with its users. Update: Microsoft has now released a statement, saying “We believe in Microsoft antimalware products and strongly recommend them to our customers, to our friends, and to our families.” Their statement unfortunately doesn’t directly address Holly Stewart’s comments or MSE’s history of worsening test scores. Given MSE’s poor scores, all the stories we’ve heard about it failing people in the real world, and Microsoft’s inconsistent communication, we still don’t feel we can recommend MSE anymore. Update 2: In the year and a half since we published this article in 2013, Windows Defender’s test scores have improved. It still scores lower than almost every other antivirus app, but at least its performance isn’t nearly as low as it once was. For a more up-to-date view of our current antivirus recommendations

Goodbye Microsoft Security Essentials: Microsoft Now Recommends You Use a Third-Party Antivirus

PC Pro is reporting that Microsoft has "admitted Windows users should install antivirus above and beyond its own Security Essentials." In a recent interview, Holly Stewart of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center said that Microsoft has changed its approach to antivirus and aim to share their antivirus research with other companies and establish MSE as a "baseline" for other programs to build off of: "We’re providing all of that data and information to our partners so they can do at least as well as we are," she said. "The natural progression is that we will always be on the bottom of these tests. And honestly, if we are doing our job correctly, that’s what will happen." She added that Microsoft wants "everyone to do better than us because we know that makes it harder for the bad guys". Microsoft made these changes while claiming that other antivirus programs are "gaming the tests" and not focusing on real world threats. But, true or not, Microsoft's new approach means you're best off using a third-party tool in your arsenal, like our current favorite, Avast. Update: Microsoft made a statement in response to the PC Pro article, saying: "We are committed to protecting our customers, and our Microsoft antimalware solutions provide strong, comprehensive defence against malicious code and attacks. We believe in these products and are proud of the protection capabilities we provide to well over 150 million computers worldwide." Microsoft: Security Essentials is designed to be bottom of the antivirus rankings

Microsoft Admits That Third-Party Antivirus Is More Effective Than MSE

Question is - whether it injects its modules into browser, mail app, etc.

It disables access to webpages that are flagged as malicious, stops downloads of malicious software, and think it scans mail too - never had any problems due to those things though

I use ESET smart if the build i use allows its use, Winods 10 TP builds only let MS stuff running.

I don't run the preview Win 10 builds on my main machine, and don't bother with an AV on anything I run preview builds on, usually VMs

I stopped using anti-virus software when i first start using W10. Didnt had problems with MSE and its doing its job.

I will continue using NOD32 like i have for the past 9 years, thank you!

Haven't had an anti-virus since windows 7. Chances of getting a virus are practically 0 when you use ublock and use proper thinking when downloading from shady websites. I do recommend using malwarebytes, combofix or seek and destroy for a scan once a month.

I think that this ex Mozilla guy has no idea what he is talking about. For the average user this would be a bad idea because having no AV no matter the version of Windows installed because the average user might need that piece of mind that his or her computer is protected and those users are more likely to get infected with viruses. Also with power users like me and others it is beneficial to be protected to be on the safe side. I think that this ex Mozilla guy fails to realize this. Granted there are users who have no AV installed and not have gotten a virus in a long time. Even though I have AV on my laptop and desktop PCs I have not had a major Virus in years. I had a minor virus on my laptop that effected the Edge browser which was easily fixed.

I think that this ex Mozilla guy has no idea what he is talking about. For the average user this would be a bad idea because having no AV no matter the version of Windows installed because the average user might need that piece of mind that his or her computer is protected and those users are more likely to get infected with viruses. Also with power users like me and others it is beneficial to be protected to be on the safe side. I think that this ex Mozilla guy fails to realize this. Granted there are users who have no AV installed and not have gotten a virus in a long time. Even though I have AV on my laptop and desktop PCs I have not had a major Virus in years. I had a minor virus on my laptop that effected the Edge browser which was easily fixed.

Obviously he was talking from programmer point of view. And he was talking in general - when AV breaks browser`s own defenses while user is not aware it leads to potentially bigger risks.

I didn't use any antivirus for over ten years and generally had almost no problems at all, but then some weird ass malware/virus/something somehow got to our home network about 3 years ago and despite numerous attempts I couldn't get rid of it. Actually, I couldn't even detect it with anything. I was still getting periodic warnings from my ISP that our IP was sending data clearly associated with it. In the end I wiped all our computers clean and bought family pack of ESET Smart Security just to be safe. I guess it paid off, it already caught some **** recently when I visited Station-drivers. Performance is not a problem these days with the CPUs we have.

Meh, for years I've just used the Microsoft AV protection for low level threats, and then a boss ass firewall machine directly to my router. Never had any issues with that, but before I used to use AVG.

"argues that only Microsoft’s antivirus solution can be safely used and that the others ‘poison the software ecosystem’" He lost me here. I don't believe mentally challenged people.

Me neither.

Meh, for years I've just used the Microsoft AV protection for low level threats, and then a boss ass firewall machine directly to my router. Never had any issues with that, but before I used to use AVG.

Same here. Sammarbella posted some nice articles about what Microsoft says, which are very interesting. Integrating an AV into Windows was always a threat to the whole security ecosystem around Windows, so Microsoft is usually trying to tone it down. Also all of these articles he linked refer to MSE, which isn't exactly the same as Defender. The point of what the developer said is: No AV will ever catch everything, yet their low-level access drivers are another attack surface, and with the exception of Windows Defender, that attack surface is very vulnerable. He literally says that only Microsoft makes a proper AV interface with the system. You also have to notice, from the articles that sammarbella linked, that Microsoft is focusing more on not providing false positives and having a high-performance solution, rather than having an aggressive AV. What vbetts says is the best solution. Use a router with an open source software that you can upgrade (OpenWRT being by far the best), and make sure you have a strong anti-malware list on the router itself. That, along with Defender in the background and something like Malwarebytes for on-demand scans should keep you ok unless the NSA wants you or something :infinity: EDIT: For the die-hards, I don't know how you can defend not upgrading your Windows after reading this.

Calling BS on This I'm calling BS on this one. I've been using the free version of Avira for years without issue, on many operating systems. It has caught malware when downloading "questionable" content countless times. Spend some time on the AV Comparatives website, and you'll find that Avira is among the best AV products out there, free or not, and that it catches far more malware than Microsoft's weak, built in solution. Not running a decent AV program - and the free ones work just fine - is just plain foolish.

I'd rather trust indian call centre than "antivirus" from Microsoft. Like seriously, has it ever gotten any results? Being programmed "correctly" doesn't mean jack **** if it can't detect at least as much as the competition products.

Been using ESET NOD32 for many years, not a single issue

Same here, been using NOD32 since 2008. Want to lose the Antivirus then go Linux!