Need help figuring out which anti virus to get

Well, I'm SHOCKED. I know I've been online for ages (since '98), but I can't believe there's almost no great anti virus software around anymore. I'm not interested in McAffee or Norton.

Here's what I've already used:

1. Antivira (I think it's called). That was ages ago.
2. ESET - they used to be great & then their tech support started to dissipate & when I switched to Kaspersky it found a serious issue ESET NEVER found & neither did their online scanner. WOW. I spent a fortune on them too.
3. Avast - I tried them out only to find out it was blocking my MOUSE. I don't care if my mouse is old (it's an ergonomic one I will never give up), what kind of software STOPS your mouse from working??? Me & my website coder lost 2-3 hours trying to figure out why the mouse wasn't working when I finally questioned Avast.

And then their tech support guy on their forum guy was an idiot telling me I should have written to them FIRST before trying to change my e-mail address. Why in the WORLD would I think of writing to them first? You should always be able to change your e-mail addy on a forum.
4. Bitdefender - it racks up your CPU or memory & others complained about it also. I finally uninstalled it.
5. Kaspersky - I made a mistake by paying for 2 years in advance. I've only been with this since Oct. of last year.

In the last few months I have lost tons of my time & been severely stressed out by them. Their software STOPS me from downloading software. It NEVER asks me if I want to block or allow it, IT decides on its own. It also blocked me from registering on a site.

Their tech support doesn't understand English & it took a month to get a manager to call me when they were the ones who suggested I talk to them on the phone. I had to e-mail them over & over again asking why I've never gotten a call.

Their software was updating Opera on its own, & then setting it as my DEFAULT BROWSER. They blamed it on Opera in the end, but I don't think it was Opera.

Their software is NOT user friendly & even my website coder couldn't find the instructions to stop the software or sites from being blocked. Even one of their popups has NO way to X out of it. It just stays on the screen unless I tell it to delete the software that I DO want.

And now I couldn't write up a ticket because they have a bug on their site that doesn't have options in a drop down menu.

Any other ideas? I need a quality one.

Thanks
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Ever though of Malwarebytes paid version. However every antivirus program will come with a way to either block or allow the websites you want to use.
 
Ad blocker extension does as much as an actual AV anymore.

You mean a browser extension?

Ever though of Malwarebytes paid version. However every antivirus program will come with a way to either block or allow the websites you want to use.

I actually have that, but I only consider it a malware blocker.

I stopped using it (don't remember why) other than you can't use that & another antivirus at the same time.

It's not about the blocking. Of course I want it to block. It's about giving the customer the decision to say yes or no to whatever IT wants to block. I'm the one controlling my computer, not some piece of software.

And if I have to spend hours each time trying to figure out how to stop it, that's a huge problem.

Thanks
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I actually have that, but I only consider it a malware blocker.
Believe it or not, most of the stuff out today is actually malware not a virus. And a traditional antivirus program won't catch the malware that could be on your system. If you have the malwarebytes paid version then there is no reason to have an antivirus program installed. Malwarebyte also comes with a browser extension called browserguard which blocks you from visiting any bad websites that are in its database.
It's not about the blocking. Of course I want it to block. It's about giving the customer the decision to say yes or no to whatever IT wants to block. I'm the one controlling my computer, not some piece of software.
Unfortunately, if you want to block bad websites then you need to install software that help you do that but you can also customize it on what sites to allow. Browser extension ublock origin blocks website ads and popups. However there are times you want to see those ads or those pupups to continue doing what you need to do. All you need to do is disable ublock origin from activation on the website.

Just sounds like you are not familiar with the way programs work to block things. Like Malwarebytes has an allow list. If it blocks something that you know is safe then you need to add that website to the allow list.

You need to start getting yourself acquainted with the programs you install and how to use them properly. Unblocking or blocking a website should only take less than 10 seconds if you know how to use the program.
 
Believe it or not, most of the stuff out today is actually malware not a virus. And a traditional antivirus program won't catch the malware that could be on your system. If you have the malwarebytes paid version then there is no reason to have an antivirus program installed. Malwarebyte also comes with a browser extension called browserguard which blocks you from visiting any bad websites that are in its database.

Unfortunately, if you want to block bad websites then you need to install software that help you do that but you can also customize it on what sites to allow. Browser extension ublock origin blocks website ads and popups. However there are times you want to see those ads or those pupups to continue doing what you need to do. All you need to do is disable ublock origin from activation on the website.

Just sounds like you are not familiar with the way programs work to block things. Like Malwarebytes has an allow list. If it blocks something that you know is safe then you need to add that website to the allow list.

You need to start getting yourself acquainted with the programs you install and how to use them properly. Unblocking or blocking a website should only take less than 10 seconds if you know how to use the program.

Well if my own website coder can't figure it out, then that's a HUGE problem with the software and nothing to do with us being the problem.

Kaspersky is not user friendly at all & their knowledge base is all over the place.

I get that it's supposed to block things, but not to the point where I can't DL software 4 times or it removes the software, or their popup saying it wants to delete it doesn't allow me to say NO to something & from there it should give me a link to where I want to whitelist it.

And there's no cancel or X so I'm forced to have it open on my computer blocking my computer just so I can use the software.

Even exiting out of Kaspersky wouldn't remove the popup. I see today it's gone. Why, I have no idea b/cit was there all day yesterday.

For me that's a HUGE problem.

If you don't agree, then we'll just agree to disagree.

I've been online for over 20 years. I'm not new to software or the net. Software has to be user friendly. It shouldn't take hours to figure out how to use it (we still never figured it out) & shouldn't stress the user out. I don't care what kind of software it is.

I'm already using Brave so I'm sure it blocks things. Sometimes too much so the site doesn't work, but that's Brave & not how it should work.

I'll revisit MBAM.

Thanks
 
I would still recommend: Sophos Home, register for one FREE account and this will protect 3 different PC´s or MACs..
If you opt for PREMIUM you may protect up to 10 different PC´s or MACs.. And it´s simple to install, simple to use and does not slow your PC down..
 

peter912

Member
Believe it or not, most of the stuff out today is actually malware not a virus. And a traditional antivirus program won't catch the malware that could be on your system. If you have the malwarebytes paid version then there is no reason to have an antivirus program installed. Malwarebyte also comes with a browser extension called browserguard which blocks you from visiting any bad websites that are in its database.

Unfortunately, if you want to block bad websites then you need to install software that help you do that but you can also customize it on what sites to allow. Browser extension ublock origin blocks website ads and popups. However there are times you want to see those ads or those pupups to continue doing what you need to do. All you need to do is disable ublock origin from activation on the website.

Just sounds like you are not familiar with the way programs work to block things. Like Malwarebytes has an allow list. If it blocks something that you know is safe then you need to add that website to the allow list.

You need to start getting yourself acquainted with the programs you install and how to use them properly. Unblocking or blocking a website should only take less than 10 seconds if you know how to use the program.
"And a traditional antivirus program won't catch malware that could be on your system"
So why does PC Mag say that "McAfee gets good Malware Protection Test Scores" ?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
"And a traditional antivirus program won't catch malware that could be on your system"
So why does PC Mag say that "McAfee gets good Malware Protection Test Scores" ?
My advice would be to run an antivirus program and then run Malwarebytes and see how much malwarebytes catches and the traditional antivirus program doesn't catch.
 

peter912

Member
My advice would be to run an antivirus program and then run Malwarebytes and see how much malwarebytes catches and the traditional antivirus program doesn't catch.
I ran McAfee and then I scanned with Malwarebytes . Both found nothing .
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Ok. So you have a clean system. Best results come when scanning an infected pc which should be self explanatory.
 

peter912

Member
Ok. So you have a clean system. Best results come when scanning an infected pc which should be self explanatory.
What I did experience a little earlier today was a fake warning. It said that my computer is infected and I have to call this number right away. There a technician will assist me in removing this very dangerous trojan, which is stealing my banking information. Maybe years ago I may have fallen for this but today I am wiser and know about these scams.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Most of the time that would just be a fake website telling you that. That number would be the issue. People that aren't computer literate would call it, be charged x amount of money to supposedly fix this false infection and then they take over said computer and then install unknown software that could cause major issues.

Do you use browser extension that blocks bad websites?
 

peter912

Member
Most of the time that would just be a fake website telling you that. That number would be the issue. People that aren't computer literate would call it, be charged x amount of money to supposedly fix this false infection and then they take over said computer and then install unknown software that could cause major issues.

Do you use browser extension that blocks bad websites?
No, I just have AdGuard AdBlocker
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
If you have mcafee installed, it comes with webavisor. If its not enabled, it should be.
 
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