Even NEW computers can be infected with malware!

NiobiumTragedy said:

Worth mentioning that you don't need to install virus protection on Windows 8 as it already has one as part of Defender now. They merged Security Essentials into it which so far is working good.

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That is true. And yes, it is working quite good.
In fact if you are upgrading to Windows 8 and have Microsoft Security Essentials you will have to uninstall it before starting the upgrade.

NiobiumTragedy said:

Worth mentioning that you don't need to install virus protection on Windows 8 as it already has one as part of Defender now. They merged Security Essentials into it which so far is working good.

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Also worth mentioning that if you just rely on Windows Defender you will be taking a big risk with your system and it's data. Remember, Defender is classed as "basic protection" for Windows - you have been warned!

The first thing I did when I installed Windows8 was to add Avast (free version) anti-virus, as I do with any Windows OS.

EphesiaNZ said:

Also worth mentioning that if you just rely on Windows Defender you will be taking a big risk with your system and it's data. Remember, Defender is classed as "basic protection" for Windows - you have been warned!

The first thing I did when I installed Windows8 was to add Avast (free version) anti-virus, as I do with any Windows OS.

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I tend to bounce between AVG and Avast.

I get Norton 360, with 3 licenses, for free from my ISP.

EphesiaNZ said:

Also worth mentioning that if you just rely on Windows Defender you will be taking a big risk with your system and it's data. Remember, Defender is classed as "basic protection" for Windows - you have been warned!

The first thing I did when I installed Windows8 was to add Avast (free version) anti-virus, as I do with any Windows OS.

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Funny, I've been using Defender + MSE for years minus a few weeks when I tried out Avira and ended up switching back to MSE because it was less intrusive and used less resources.

Not a single virus
Not a single bit of Malware (I test with Spybot & Anti-Malware once every few months in addition)
No trojans
No backdoors of any kind.

But I'm taking a big risk, right? But it's okay, I'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

There is one thing that is better than any of these programs: common sense. Add a script blocker to your browser. Don't open strange executable files in emails. For gods sakes, when you get a popup saying "your computer has a virus" in a browser, don't click on it.

But please, continue on with the scare tactics.

NiobiumTragedy said:

But please, continue on with the scare tactics.

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Not really scare tactics, as stated Defender is classed as basic protection. You are probably fine as you know what sites to stay away from, many others are not so savvy and do click on socially engineered things such as "You have a virus, click here to clean it!".

It says Defender stops 85% of nasties thrown at it, good. Another way to read that though is that roughly 1 out of every 6 transactions your computer does with the internet (or even local files) could result in potential harm to your PC. Defender is not a catch all for network/file nasties hence the need for secondary defence in the form of an anti-virus product which pushes over and above what Defender does and hopefully make the 85% as near to 100%.

I've seen too many Win7 and Vista machines with anti-virus products that have expired and not been updating thus relying on Defender/Security Essentials to protect it and when I get to see their machines they are basically riddled with viruses/malware.

I have dealt with single users and also been a system/network admin overseeing 20,000 users worldwide. I could tell you lots of horror stories about viruses and anti-virus products too but I've never seen any company I've worked for rely on just Windows Defender for protection.

Is Defender bad? No, it appears to be getting better but, as stated - it's not a catch all.

That just tells me a lot of people should switch to Mac and stop surfing so much porn.

None the less, if you work for a large company, you will certainly see it a lot more. Angry people are always louder. However, these people would likely end up getting viruses even with better software installed which happens more than you'd think.

EphesiaNZ said:

Not really scare tactics, as stated Defender is classed as basic protection. You are probably fine as you know what sites to stay away from, many others are not so savvy and do click on socially engineered things such as "You have a virus, click here to clean it!".

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Classed by whom?

It says Defender stops 85% of nasties thrown at it, good. Another way to read that though is that roughly 1 out of every 6 transactions your computer does with the internet (or even local files) could result in potential harm to your PC. Defender is not a catch all for network/file nasties hence the need for secondary defence in the form of an anti-virus product which pushes over and above what Defender does and hopefully make the 85% as near to 100%.

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Where did the 85% come from?
It is not good to have more than 1 anti virus program running all the time. If you have 2 anti virus programs running simultaneously they will conflict with each other, and maybe even call each other a virus.

I've seen too many Win7 and Vista machines with anti-virus products that have expired and not been updating thus relying on Defender/Security Essentials to protect it and when I get to see their machines they are basically riddled with viruses/malware.

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I have seen those machines as well, but that does not mean the computers were riddled with malware because of MSE. I have used MSE myself and my computer is not riddled with malware.

Is Defender bad? No, it appears to be getting better but, as stated - it's not a catch all.

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There is no such thing as a catch all anti virus program. No anti virus is 100% effective.
I have seen viruses that are not even detected by any anti virus program. They load faster than you can blink, and just as fast one particular virus can hide all your desktop icons, move everything from the start menu and hide it. Removing that virus requires manual removal and restoring the start menu and desktop. I've done it countless time.

I'd make a lousy IT guy. They'd fire me after I put knots on everybody's head for not taking care of their stuff.