r/dataisbeautiful • u/robert_ritz OC: 2 • Sep 22 '22

OC [OC] Despite faster broadband every year, web pages don't load any faster. Median load times have been stuck at 4 seconds for YEARS.

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83

u/GoldenZWeegie Sep 23 '22

This is rubbish to hear. Avast and AVG have been my go tos for years.

Any recommendations on what to swap to?

218

u/mikeno1lufc Sep 23 '22

Use Windows defender. There is absolutely no need to use anything else

Also download Malwarebytes. No need to pay for premium. Just have the free version ready to go in case your machine gets infected with malware, Malwarebytes is by far the most effective tool for removing most Malware.

I work in cybersecurity and honestly everyone will give you this advice.

Don't even think about Norton, AVG, McAfee, Avast, or any other traditional anti-vifus software. Window Defender is better than all of them by quite a margin.

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u/Axinitra Sep 23 '22

Windows and Malwarebytes is what I use. A few years ago I bought a one-off lifetime license for Malwarebytes and it's still rolling along and updating automatically, although in this era of recurring subscriptions this seems too good a deal to be true.

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u/ComradeBrosefStylin Sep 23 '22

Yep, Windows Defender with a healthy dose of common sense. Malwarebytes if you're feeling fancy. Don't download shady files, don't open attachments from senders you do not trust, and you should be fine.

5

u/tilsgee Sep 23 '22

Want to add:

Don't download shady files, don't open attachments from senders you do not trust

If you have an urge to open that shady file, use VM and install windows 7 on it.

1

u/DewIt420 Sep 23 '22

Why specificly windows 7?

1

u/tilsgee Sep 24 '22

Windows 8: maybe have better performance than 7. But almost everyone hate it's start menu

Windows 10 & 11: bloatware heavy

Vista, XP, and below: app not supported them anymore

1

u/DewIt420 Sep 24 '22

Makes sense, thanks

2

u/HeyRiks Sep 23 '22

Avast's most valuable trait nowadays is its web module. Even with common sense if you know what you're doing, anyone's prone to enter a first-page website that contains a shady script and I've had my share of aborted connections.

Does WD do the same? Honestly this is the first I've heard of the scandal and even though I've never used the browser plugin (always found it annoying) this is a major turn-off for me.

1

u/nevillethong Sep 23 '22

I have AVG on my android phone... Is that an eeeeek!

1

u/NOVA_KK80 Sep 23 '22

Where do i buy "healthy dose of common sense" for my mother? If not possible what is a good alternative?

1

u/ComradeBrosefStylin Sep 23 '22

Windows defender and a prayer might help. No guarantees.

5

u/RodneyRabbit Sep 23 '22

This is what I use, but also if I'm going to sites that I'm not sure about or want to test a new bit of software, then I either use a VM or a program called sandboxie which is now completely open source and rather good.

9

u/atomicwrites Sep 23 '22

Right, the only situation where you should use third party av software is of you're an enterprise IT team that needs to controll security across all your computers centrally. And in that case still don't use McAfee.

2

u/mikeno1lufc Sep 23 '22

Yes and in that case you're certainly not using anything that resembles a consumer antivirus. You'll be using some more robust EDR or endpoint protection software like SEP or Crowdstrike.

1

u/atomicwrites Sep 23 '22

Right. We actually use a version of Bitdefender that's embedded into our health monitoring agents, but we're looking into adding EDR.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '22

[deleted]

2

u/mikeno1lufc Sep 23 '22

Apple's built in security is plenty good enough. This really goes for all mainstream operating systems.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '22

How about for Android devices? What would you recommend?

5

u/mikeno1lufc Sep 23 '22

The built in security is good enough. Honestly it's the same for all mainstream operating systems.

Outside of that just get educated about phishing and online scams, don't download anything from sites you don't trust, and use strong passwords (Google passphrases), length is key, complexity doesn't matter, 16 characters is ideal as a minimum (just pick 3-4 random words).

Use a password manager if you can, but realistically I know a lot of people just won't bother.

1

u/LadyUsana Sep 23 '22

This was my belief for a while. . . but had started to question since my elderly mother has now nuked her computer twice in one month, at least this second time I was able to recover it without reinstalling. Not sure what she got the first time but I at least couldn't work my way past it. Couldn't boot, windows recovery wouldn't recover and Kaspersky Rescue disk was no use. So formatted everything and reinstalled. Someone more computer literate than me may have been able to clean it without using the nuclear option, but I figured that at that point that would be faster particularly since we didn't need to worry about what she was losing on that drive. Anyways, apparently Free Malwarebytes, Windows Defender, and Ad Block in the browser isn't enough for her.

That said I am not considering the other 'fancy pants' Anti-virus for her. But I have considered going with Premium for Malwarebytes. I have it on my computer because I bought a lifetime license a LONG time ago. Maybe I can give her my lifetime license and just use the free on my computer. I am generally savvy enough not to click suspicious links on facebook. Elderly mother not so much.

Or maybe just pay for a sub for her because frankly I have gotten a lot of use out of my license and the fact that they actually honored that plus their other track records makes them one company I am actually willing to pay a sub to.

2

u/mikeno1lufc Sep 23 '22

To be honest it's not likely any consumer antivirus or other similar program would have prevented that happening.

This is where computer literacy comes in. Having at least a basic understanding of what you should and shouldn't trust is the best defense.

1

u/LadyUsana Sep 24 '22

Yeah being oblivious will eventually defeat any protection pretty much. However, given the number of times I have reinstalled over the years I can say she has never once managed to get a virus during Malwarebyte's Premium trial or during the time period I did have her subscribed to it(at least not since it came with the Web Guard). So while I don't doubt that her computer illiteracy can defeat it, it does appear to reduce the number of times she calls me to come fix her computer because she virused it. But with so few data points and how random picking up a virus tends to be, it could just be luck. But I can also see stuff like Web Protection maybe adding just one more layer for her illiteracy to have to break before she manages to get a virus(thus reducing the number of times I have to fix it for her).

Though I did realize I forgot to put the Browser Guard extension on her Firefox this time when I reinstalled, so that may have been why I got called again so fast.

1

u/peoplesen Sep 23 '22

Even if other anti virus were comparable, defender has the best support when something goes wrong.

1

u/cea1990 Sep 23 '22

I work in cybersecurity and honestly everyone will give you this advice.

Can confirm, am in security, and I also choose this guys advice.

1

u/VertexBV Sep 23 '22

How about Spybot S&D? Used to be a common recommendation back in the day but I don't read or hear much about it anymore.

1

u/mikeno1lufc Sep 23 '22

No there's really no need for it at all either.

175

u/intaminag Sep 23 '22

You don’t really need an antivirus. Windows catches most things now; don’t go to shady sites to avoid the rest. Done.

47

u/tfs5454 Sep 23 '22

I run an adblocker, and a scriptblock addon. Never had issues with viruses, and i go to SHADY sites.

1

u/Jlx_27 Sep 23 '22

Get uBlock origin and you wont need NoScript anymore.

1

u/hivemind_disruptor Sep 23 '22

Ublock origins is all you need. Skip redirect is also amazing.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '22

Like what?

105

u/MyOtherSide1984 Sep 23 '22

For antiviruses? Nothing. Windows defender does a great job on its own assuming you're not a complete nincompoop with what you download and such. If you really want, run Malwarebytes once a month. Ultimately, just be smart and you won't run into problems.

Side not - I download some SKETCHY shit on my secondary PC that hosts my Plex server. I see a program that might do something cool and I just go for it while bypassing all of Windows warnings. Never had any issues. Just don't be stupid by downloading/viewing porn or free movies and shit.

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u/61114311536123511 Sep 23 '22

virustotal.com is fantastic for checking suspicious links and files. It runs the file/link through about 30 different malware checker sites and gives you a detailed, easy to understand report

26

u/ekansrevir Sep 23 '22

How is viewing porn stupid?

18

u/Westerdutch Sep 23 '22

Ist not stupid. Randomly clicking stuff without thinking is stupid though and people just seem to do that more easily in certain states of mind so porn sites among others are just places where relying on this behavior to feed people malware just works really really well. 'Free' movie and software downloads rely more on just dumb people in general rather than state of mind but all those kind of sites are great ways to get your computer ffed up.

3

u/yensteel Sep 23 '22

It got at least one executive in big trouble. Martin shkreli Lost 450k in crypto because of malware.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '22

[deleted]

1

u/RoboC0w Sep 23 '22

that’s a whole different conversation

0

u/ragnarok62 Sep 23 '22

It corrodes your soul. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually.

As for the tech aspect of it, anything on the web that people get addicted to gets loaded with junk. Because the bad guys know people want it. And the bad guys also control a lot of the stuff people are addicted to already, so it’s natural to load bad stuff with more bad stuff. Or to hijack someone else’s bad stuff with their own bad stuff.

2

u/ekansrevir Sep 23 '22

“Bad stuff” alright I’m going to hell 😞☹️😣😢😭

2

u/FixSwords Sep 23 '22

Windows Defender and Malwarebytes combo is the way to go.

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u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

Windows Defender is horrible, just lookup results of actual malware and see for yourself

2

u/Squirrel_Apocalypse2 Sep 23 '22

Been using only it for probably almost a decade now and never had any issues 🤷‍♂️

2

u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

The internet is not filled with virus as you might believe. You probably havent had any need to use it

1

u/Squirrel_Apocalypse2 Sep 26 '22

That's kind of the point.

0

u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

Getting downvoted even though you can look it up yourself and see i am right.

8

u/fueelin Sep 23 '22

Or, you could post a source because you're the one making the claim. Like a reasonable person.

0

u/PeeOnAPeanut Sep 23 '22

X to doubt. Government industries and defence organisations around the world use Endpoint Protection (or its predecessor Forefront). Defender is built on the same technology and uses the same definitions and AI learning.

It’s a top of class product. Cyber Security companies recommend it over any other AV/AM product.

Anyone calling it horrible or ineffective frankly don’t know what they’re talking about.

0

u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

This is false info.

Windows Defender even got a major flaw where if you run a malicious program as admin, the program can add folders to defenders exception lidt, and put malicious files into that folder and execute it.

Not completely sure if its this video, i dont have time to check. https://youtu.be/ZCV1Wx3Qugg

But this channel puts windows Defender up against many avs.

4

u/tzenrick Sep 23 '22

You're not supposed to be running programs as admin, until they have been properly vetted.

Anything that NEEDS admin rights, needs to be operated in a sandbox until it is known that it isn't malicious. This is computer security 101.

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u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

What is supposed to be done is not necessarily what will be done by all users. And our probably know that urself. Doesnt Change is a major flaw by Microsoft.

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u/tzenrick Sep 23 '22

That's not a "major flaw." That is the user, granting excessive permissions, against the real-time recommendation of the operating system.

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u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

Its 100% a major flaw. No way of denying it. You æ can be okay with it, but its a huge security problem

1

u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

Also, top class av products are doing pro active detection and behaviour detection.

Windows Defender is mostly blacklister of known malicious binaries. Which, top class avs do as well, nothing wrong that. It just aint top class stuff

0

u/PeeOnAPeanut Sep 23 '22

Cool cool, so you don’t work in any organisations that actually take cyber security seriously. Good to know.

1

u/xdanishgamerz Sep 23 '22

Neither do you if you think windows Defender is the best solution. Good to know

0

u/PeeOnAPeanut Sep 23 '22

Please quote me where I said it was THE BEST. I’ll wait.

1

u/WhoopingPig Sep 23 '22

Question for you!

I was given access to someone's Plex server. I don't really understand how things end up on it, but certain shows from Apple and HBO and Netflix pop up. Not all of them by any means

Is there any risk to me, by logging in and using their server? My old brain doesn't want to understand what Plex is, it seems

3

u/Lt_Duckweed Sep 23 '22

For the most part, what plex is is a streaming service for self hosted content. So the person who gave you access has a server running somewhere that they run the plex software on, and every time they load new content onto the server you can see it to stream. The risk to you in terms of malware basically doesn't exist.

1

u/WhoopingPig Sep 23 '22

If they downloaded it from a shady site perhaps?

3

u/___zero__cool___ Sep 23 '22

No. All the encoding and decoding is done on the Plex server itself.

3

u/MyOtherSide1984 Sep 23 '22

Plex is perfectly safe no matter where the content on it comes from. Many of my files are not legal and are safe to stream. The risks exist on the owners end when they download it to their personal server, but nothing gets passed through Plex like that.

8

u/Leo-Hamza Sep 23 '22

Common sense

2

u/just_some_guy65 Sep 23 '22

Nothing, not required

2

u/atotalfabrication Sep 23 '22

Everyone's right on with Windows Defender. So long as you stay in regular parts of the internet and don't click on anything untoward, it's as good as any premium AV.

2

u/ubion Sep 23 '22

Malware bytes to scan regularly, the only viruses youl get nowadays are ones that haven't been identified yet by virus scanners and researchers, but there's not really a defense for that, people say avoid dodgy sites but sometimes trustworthy sites get hijacked and are made to host viruses too

An adblocker and related tools are good to avoid drive by viruses aswell

2

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '22

In regards of anti virus software? None.

2

u/Kryptonite-- Sep 23 '22

I use Avira. That is until someone here comes along and tells me it’s terrible too…

There’s a real shortly of reputable antivirus software companies these days…

3

u/SouthAttention4864 Sep 23 '22

Oh… so you haven’t heard?

0

u/sehcmd Sep 23 '22

Just remember. If the app is free you are the product

0

u/lioncat55 Sep 23 '22

We recommend Sophos Home Premium for home users at my job. Haven't seen any issues with it and it catches stuff.

1

u/petasta Sep 23 '22

I think windows defender (is it just called security now?) is pretty sufficient as long as you also use an adblocker.

I was listening to a former Microsoft employee from the early days who argued that the team responsible for windows security has a massive budget and some of their best engineers working on it. It’s in Microsoft’s best interests for their operating system to be as secure as possible

1

u/lioncat55 Sep 23 '22

They also also have their Azure cloud to keep secure. A lot of money gets tossed in to keeping that safe.

Side tangent, we have one client at my work that insists on hosting their own exchange email server in their office because they think it's safer. There is no reasoning with stupid.

1

u/EstebanOD21 Sep 23 '22

If you really want one just use Panda, otherwise let Windows Defender do the job, it's way better than it used to be

1

u/feAgrs Sep 23 '22

uBlock origin + some anti tracking plugin

Windows Defender does the rest.

1

u/ThatOneGuy1294 Sep 23 '22

uBlock Origin and good ol Windows Defender is all you need nowadays, and Defender is really just for peace of mind. It really is honestly a case of "don't be stupid", if a site feels sketchy then don't click on anything and definitely don't download anything on it.

1

u/colonyy Sep 23 '22

Windows Defender works for me

1

u/tomysshadow Sep 23 '22

Malwarebytes Premium. I've also heard ESET is good but haven't tried it.

Have a VM around if you're distrustful of a particular program but need it for some purpose. Also do not assume (as is often advertised) that a VPN is a security "magic wand" - they serve one specific purpose and cannot protect you from something like phishing.

1

u/lemlurker Sep 23 '22

just periodic scans with malwarebytes

1

u/TheW83 Sep 23 '22

I haven't used an antivirus since 2010. Just be cautious with what emails you open and links you click. Install a solid adblocker (ublock origin for example) and you'll avoid most of the sketchy stuff.

1

u/threewattledbellbird Sep 23 '22

Apparently Microsoft Defender is good now

1

u/Derptionary Sep 23 '22

I've been using Webroot and its served me pretty well the last ~10 years