Ultimate Predator Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Hi all. With MSE no longer available for download for XP (and with limited updates in the future), what would be the best antivirus and antimalware set-up? I have a bunch of questions as ever; Currently have Avast, but was wondering if AVG would be better? Or anything else? As stand-alone additional scanners/blockers, I just have SpywareBlaster to help protect, and MalwareBytes available as a standalone scanner. Is it worth adding Superantispyware to the mix, or indeed anything else (I of course have CCleaner)? Is it worth keeping XP? My family is using it on there desktop, and really can't afford to upgrade to Vista or any of the above (and I don't think it would run particularly well). What would be best? Try Lubuntu/Xubuntu or the like? Or leave XP and just be careful? Thanks for the advice as always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I don't think AVG is better, and it's a resource hog. In AV Comparatives tests it comes off slightly worse than Avast. I use Avira, which does better in their tests, but says they'll continue to provide updates for XP machines only until April 2016. The other downside to it is you have to be very careful when installing or you'll get extra stuff you may not want. Panda rates very high, and says they will continue XP support. I also have SpywareBlaster and Malwarebytes, and Superantispyware as well - but all SAS ever finds is tracking cookies. For extra protection I recommend SpyShelter Personal Free. It's an anti-keylogger and intrusion prevention system. Works very well for me, and uses little resources. Similar to the UAC that's in Win Vista/7/8, it blocks any changes in your system unless you authorize them - a little extra trouble, but worth it for the improved protection. It will remember the programs you allow if you select that option, so it's not so much trouble after a couple days of use. Switching to Linux would be an even more secure option. If you have enough RAM you could run XP in a virtual machine for your Windows programs. This computer is maxed at 2 GB of Ram, and that's not really enough. This machine is pretty tired anyway, going to replace it soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 To be more precise, 2GB of RAM is about minimum to run XP in a VM, and at least a 1 GHz CPU. More would be better. I should point out that XP in a VM is still just as vulnerable, but you can easily roll back to an earlier image if it becomes infected - and the host system is not very vulnerable. Still, you should use it only for those specific programs that need it, use Linux for browsing and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted June 10, 2014 Administrator Share Posted June 10, 2014 I still recommend avast if you can't run/don't like MSE. However, seeing as how Windows XP is now an unsupported, out-of-support OS the best bet would really be updating to a modern, supported OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Yes, Avast is fine - I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with it. I switched from it only because it had a crash problem one time and I didn't want to wait for a fix to be released (which came within hours, iirc). I might even go back to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted June 16, 2014 Administrator Share Posted June 16, 2014 Forgot to mention, but I complete avoid Ubuntu or any other flavor of -Insert letter here-buntu. Considering it's a desktop the family uses, see if you can upgrade to a modern, supported OS like WIndows 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Predator Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 Forgot to mention, but I complete avoid Ubuntu or any other flavor of -Insert letter here-buntu. Considering it's a desktop the family uses, see if you can upgrade to a modern, supported OS like WIndows 7. How come you avoid any ubuntu flavour? Do you recommend any linux distribution? Windows 7 wouldn't run particularly well, and again there is the problem of cost. It won't happen to be honest. Thank you for all the info everyone on the antivirus software, I'll stick with what I have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted June 17, 2014 Administrator Share Posted June 17, 2014 I had more issues with Ubunutu and it's alternative flavors. Plus all the shady things that Canonical has been doing with it such as linking searches to Amazon, etc. I've got another post on here when I talk about the distros of Linux I've tried and which I've been using. What's the hardware specs for the family PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Predator Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 I had more issues with Ubunutu and it's alternative flavors. Plus all the shady things that Canonical has been doing with it such as linking searches to Amazon, etc. I've got another post on here when I talk about the distros of Linux I've tried and which I've been using. What's the hardware specs for the family PC? Interesting, would really like to hear your thoughts. Especially your suggestions for a linux distro for low-end PC's. I'm not at home at the moment, I think I checked and it actually would handle vista ok, but alas money is a problem as ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted June 26, 2014 Administrator Share Posted June 26, 2014 Here is the discussion topic where I've been trying Linux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 I've been trying out Mint MATE on my new computer, and it's pretty nice. It's said to be lighter than Ubuntu, and it's very user-friendly. It is built from Ubuntu, but it's considerably different. It has its own developer community, so you're not dealing with Canonical directly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willis100 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 (edited) I do NOT use any antivirus except windows live (it is not active 99% of the time) SAS and Malwarebytes will eliminate anything I might happen to pick up. ALL AV's slow down your system far too much for the false security they provide. 7 years without them and very few problems. Most over-rated thing EVER, Edited August 22, 2015 by willis100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredvries Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 @willis100: Yes, you're quite right. But only if you do not visit dodgy websites, pr0n sites and sites that offer 'free' hacks, cracks, games or whatever. And remember not to open mails from unknown senders.But the vast majority of people simply do not practice those simple rules. No wonder then that in the Middle East people have the highest rates of infection: illegal versions of Windows operating systems, no up-to-date antivirus programs and secretly downloading stuff that they shouldn't download. See here.So, yes, it works probably perfectly for you. But others need to be protected for their own sake and ours. Suppose you get infected by a botnet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenknight Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) I don't get a false sense of security from running AV - I'm still extremely paranoid about malware. I have multiple layers of security, but paranoia is the primary one.I also have other users on the computer. I'm not about to go without AV. Edited August 24, 2015 by greenknight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted August 24, 2015 Administrator Share Posted August 24, 2015 Windows Live (I'm assuming you're referring to Microsoft Security Essentials) is a good anti-virus. Defender is more of a basic anti-malware.However, Microsoft has been rumored a few years ago to have said that an additional anti-virus is recommended along with MSE. - Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted February 21, 2019 Administrator Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Ultimate Predator of course over the years things have changed. Now I've been swearing by Malwarebytes as the best solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Tarun Posted September 17, 2019 Administrator Share Posted September 17, 2019 Since support for XP has long since ended and Windows 7 support is about to end too, I'm closing this thread. Feel free to open a new one for the latest OS' being used! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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