SE Labs Home Anti-Malware Protection Oct. - Dec. 2018

https://selabs.uk/en/reports/consumers

Windows defender scored 100% across the board. This is an example that AV lab test results are very much dependent upon malware/legit samples used.

 

And yooo went from Eset to Avast

 

Avast always had the better score than ESET in terms of malware protection...the moment I switch...it all changes! what kind of Voodoo magic is this?

 

I'm thinking of switching to Windows Defender from Avast Free. Avast seems heavy, e.g. when torrenting & copying to NAS simultaneously I get audio clipping despite pretty low CPU usage, and believe Avast is the culprit. Is switching from Avast Free to Windows Defender a stupid idea? \= @Ultra Male @Papusan @Vasudev

p.s. HTTPS scanning is disabled in Avast interface, of course.

 

Test it. Then go for the AV software you feel works best for your type workflow.

 

Avast is the lightest AV out there. Period. Provided you install it properly. As in,, when installing it, first, uncheck the include Avast Safe Browser from the bottom left if it was offered, then don't hit NEXT. Choose custom, uncheck EVERYTHING except File Shield, Behavior Shield, and Sandbox (if you need to run suspicious file in a Sandbox), the rest is all garbage. Your torrenting/networking slowdown is because you probably have selected the Avast Web Shield, Avast Real Site (DNS for Avast), etc.

You don't need anything but a good file scanner and an ad blocker in your browser.

Oh and I only install Avast Antivirus Pro, stay away from Avast Internet Security or Premiere.

Next, go to settings > Personal Privacy and uncheck everything there but the first box which says "Share threat information with Avast to improve your protection" and even that is optional

I test different AVs on a constant basis. All of them either come in the way of me using my system (ie. some programs don't work, or it makes my VPN not work, etc) or have too many false positives or worst of all, slow down my system. Avast if installed properly is the best. Second best is ESET NOD32 Antivirus but it has an HTTP scanner built in which slows my internet a bit and makes my VPN rarely work and if you disable it (since ESET has no custom install option like AVAST), then the ESET Icon turns amber and that doesn't feel right, as if something's missing you know.

 

@Ultra Male I have custom Avast install with File, Behavior and Web shields only, with Personal Privacy settings unchecked. I sometimes have to visit shady websites without any ad-blocker or other plugins (for work), so I feel web shield is needed as well.

Avast Web Shield used to have an option to disable "intelligent stream scanning" or something like that, which resolved issues for me in the past - but it is gone for some time. /=

 

There's your issue.

I visit more shady sites than you. Again, if that shady site let's say auto downloads some malicious file or whatnot, the file scanner will catch it so I'm not bothered.

Additionally, I have a built in Antivirus in my TP-Link Archer C5400X router.



PS: You don't need to reinstall Avast to get rid of the web shield for testing. Simply go to Control Panel > Programs & Features > Avast Antivirus then hit CHANGE and remove the web shield

 

If you don't work with Government secrets. Try out Kaspersky free antivirus. As I said test and see what fits best your workflow.

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/kaspersky_free.html
https://usa.kaspersky.com/free-antivirus

 

Avast Free is junk these days. You can try Kaspersky Free AV/KSN Free (Both are similar but has not Support at all). I use Win defender w/ Configure Defender customisation from Andy Ful for all round protection.
Avast is bloated these days and I can see it affecting the performance of 10 yr old PC with W7 and HDD to crap level. Threw Avast out and installed Kaspersky Free and it was fast and detected and removed malware version of Chrome which bypassed Avast protection.
Make sure you uninstall using standard installer and then use AV remover tool from 3rd party in safe mode and in normal mode to remove all remnants.

 

Hahaaa.... Don't believe those scores too much! Only ESET,BD,EAM,Kaspersky,MSFT and few others have quick response to new threats and clean up those malwares before the machine is infected! Their Cloud based threat classification are very quick to respond and remediate most threats in the wild. As always the first line of defense is the user itself and if they blindly run anything nothing can protect them. Even installing all AVs in the world for 100% protection you might get malware updates from MSFT to nuke all your system.

 

Not surprising seeing Windows Defender being on top. They used to be a total garbage years ago but in a last couple of years MS has significantly improved it so their detection rates became as good as many other antimalware products in many tests. I used to use various products from Kaspersky to ESET but seeing how improved MS antimalware is - I stopped wasting money and just started to use it on all PCs including my personal ones.

I also used to put free Avast on other people's PCs but stopped doing that (way too many Ads and begging for money no matter which options you disable) and just let the Windows antimalware do its thing. Haven't noticed any increase in malware complaints after doing that.

 

For Win7/8.1 I install Kaspersky Free AV or Kaspersky Secure Cloud Free because WD engine is too old and on Win 10 they upgrade their engines via WU and I use Configure defender from Andy Ful

 

I hate Kaspersky because of the slow loading GUI. +3 years later and nothing have changed!! It seems Kaspersky still live in their past.

 

I actually put KFA/KSC as low priority startup item and it loads the tray icon with green/protected enabled mode as soon as you log in.

 

It doesn't help much that the Green icon loads up damn fast. Click Pause Protection directly after log in and it will still struggle open up immediately. Kaspersky have had +3 years to fix this. Nope, it's by design

For the records... None should need to tweak any software like this to make it work as expected.

 

Ok, I never tested that. Even after Kaspersky has been installed, it caught 20-40 threats on my sister's laptop. It is good that I can take total control of it via KSN account. I removed those files and asked it to scan once its logged in. Defender was configured with Child protection mode using Andy Ful's tool.
You can google Harlan's Kaspersky tweaks for better performance in paranoid security mode.

 

I have tried all free editions of Avast, Bitdefender and Kaspersky on my Windows 7 thinkpad T450s and Kaspersky is the lightest for my system.

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