Do you still use Antivirus software on your latest hardware?

[Bill_Bright]

If you mean performance, how is 5800X3D, 64GB RAM and Seagate Firecuda 530 4TB "a problem"?

Huh? First, I mean exactly what I said. Second, just listing your hardware means nothing and definitely does not suggest there could not be a problem with your "system" - which is what I said. A computer "system" is NOT just the hardware.

You said,

Windows Defender and it suuuuucks. It's just so damn slow and has so many stupid false positives these days.

And yet 100s of millions of users worldwide, many with MUCH LESS CAPABLE hardware, are NOT seeing where Defender is "so damn slow", nor are they reporting "so many stupid false positives".

Therefore, I say again,

The problem is clearly your system, not Defender.

Sorry, but you having issues when 100s of millions of users are not, does NOT mean Defender suuuuucks.

Is Defender the best solution for developers? IDK. I'm not a developer. But I do know developers are but a tiny, niche market when it comes to all Windows users.

I did see suggestions for developers to put all your on-going developing projects in a folder, then use Defender Exclusions. This apparently can be accomplished fairly easily using Powershell as noted here.

 

[RejZoR]

Millions of users also think 30fps in games is really smooth and millions of people run their expensive 4000 MHz RAM at 2166MHz and not know a difference. So, spare me those "facts". Not to mention, ALL other antiviruses are dramatically faster on my same "problematic" system, my system somehow only has these dramatic issues only with Windows Defender being as fast as molasses. Sorry, but I call massive bullshit on that. It's engine just plain sucks ass. It has sucked ass years ago and still does today. Across all systems I've ever had.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Okay. 100s of millions of happy Defender users, including countless regulars here on TPU, are simply clueless idiots and all wrong.

But RejZor is right.

Got it.

 

[dirtyferret]

I think it madness not to have some anti-virus running on a PC, in my case Defender.

I stopped with the aftermarket AV after XP and have used Defender (or MSE) on all my PCs & laptops since win 7 days

Firewall yes. I do not use an antivirus at the moment though, including defender. Haven't had an infection in decades either. Of course I stay updated with patches too.

would you stop with the common sense stuff already and go directly into the hyperbole like our sheep friend below

Millions of users also think 30fps in games is really smooth and millions of people run their expensive 4000 MHz RAM at 2166MHz and not know a difference.

Millions of people think man never walked on the moon, the earth is flat, and vaccines cause autism. What does any of that including PC gaming & hardware have to do with AV? Defender is the most popular AV in the world and there is no great PC virus pandemic so MS must be doing a few things right (a rarity for them)

 

[katzi]

Millions of users also think 30fps in games is really smooth and millions of people run their expensive 4000 MHz RAM at 2166MHz and not know a difference. So, spare me those "facts". Not to mention, ALL other antiviruses are dramatically faster on my same "problematic" system, my system somehow only has these dramatic issues only with Windows Defender being as fast as molasses. Sorry, but I call massive bullshit on that. It's engine just plain sucks ass. It has sucked ass years ago and still does today. Across all systems I've ever had.

Sounds like a You problem tbf - I've Never had issues with Defender, nor have I ever gotten internet diseases since the XP days. From Vista onwards, I've basically left Defender to do it's own thing, and it's been great.

 

[Sithaer]

I've had zero issues with Defender even on my previous i 3 12100F/16GB system.

 

[jaggerwild]

On win11, no software. If it gets infected I’ll reformat. I can also scan with malbytesware as someone stated.

I’d like to know how many had had a virus, I had one long ago my girl friend was using shareware with my music( got someone else’s virus right away). Even then I just reformatted and boom done(saved photos first).

 

[mclaren85]

I stopped with the aftermarket AV after XP and have used Defender (or MSE) on all my PCs & laptops since win 7 days


would you stop with the common sense stuff already and go directly into the hyperbole like our sheep friend below

Millions of people think man never walked on the moon, the earth is flat, and vaccines cause autism. What does any of that including PC gaming & hardware have to do with AV? Defender is the most popular AV in the world and there is no great PC virus pandemic so MS must be doing a few things right (a rarity for them)

I'm eager to know which category I fall into because I even disable Windows Defender.
Nothing can get between me and viruses

 

[windwhirl]

It seems to me the old hot debates about which antivirus is good are long gone. Smartphones, IOTs and other network capable devices are all swirling in. Although the raw computing power greatly surpasses any technological devices we have today, the PCs are being dragged away being part of our lives.
So my question is do you still use Antivirus or firewall or etc on your PCs as of 2025? and more importantly do you think it is a relevant question?

I still use one of ESET's products, but I am unsure on whether to renew the license for it or not. There are some nice things I like about it, mainly the much easier firewall setup (I have a lot of custom rules and I like to manually allow or block any program's connections, which last time I tried with Windows Firewall I just got a headache from it) but eh, the price is always worth thinking over when it's an expense I cover out of mainly being comfy with the current state of things and not an actual need.

As for whether it's a relevant question or not... I'd say it kinda is in the sense of what good reason could you have to switch off the security software (Windows Defender or any other) while connected to the Internet.

For all its issues, Windows having a built-in firewall and anti-malware that's turned on by default has probably reduced malware issues significantly for everyone, and at basically zero added cost for the user.

 

[Toss]

last 15 years I don't use ANY antivirus and defender permanently removed from my custom OS build. LUL

 

[windwhirl]

I’d like to know how many had had a virus

Haven't had one myself in at least over a decade, but I did deal with USB drives from friends and such having a number of live malware being detected at plug-in after coming back from school.

Back when I was still in school I sent some samples and got an email from ESET about it

 

[Sithaer]

On win11, no software. If it gets infected I’ll reformat. I can also scan with malbytesware as someone stated.

I’d like to know how many had had a virus, I had one long ago my girl friend was using shareware with my music( got someone else’s virus right away). Even then I just reformatted and boom done(saved photos first).

Actual virus I think I've had one when I was still in high school and shared the same PC with my brother so that doesn't really count imo.
On my own PC the worst thing I've had was one of those pesky background miner things that did its thing while my PC was idle but that I've got rid of once I've noticed it.

 

[R-T-B]

I THINK what people mistake for false-positives is when the Defender blocks a program from running when, for example, it’s unsigned.

I mean that's still a false positive, and quite frankly, basically an extortion scheme to poor devs. Not all of them can afford a code signing cert (I couldn't for years, and I still don't have a kernel grade one).

This is actually one of my few major beefs with Defender. It's really a bad practice to just assume "you are unsigned, therefore you are bad." I'm sorry, but at some point the user does have to do a modicum of research into how to use their PC and not expect to be protected from every conceivable hazard, both real and pretend.

 

[Makalite]

No, no need, just enjoy the smut more openly.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I mean that's still a false positive

No its not. Again, a false positive is when a site or file is tagged as being malicious when it is not. If a file or site fails to conform to industry security standards, and the security software tags it as not conforming to security standards, that is a true valid positive, hands down.

If a security program blocks a file because it is unsigned, that is simply blocking the file as potentially suspicious. It is not saying it is malicious.

As a beta tester for a popular anti-spam program, we see this all the time. It make no sense for the developers to go through the process of having a "beta" version of the program go through the signature signing process every time a new beta is pushed out to a very limited number of testers.

It is the responsibility of the developer to ensure programs they put out are signed. If they fail to do that, those files/programs should be tagged by the security programs. If security programs are letting them through, unchallenged, that security program is flawed!

If your kid does not allow your cousin into your home because your kid does not recognize your cousin and because YOU failed to tell your kid your cousin was coming and this is what he looks likes, did your kid do wrong? Absolutely not! Your kid needs to be praised, even rewarded for doing the right thing.

This is actually one of my few major beefs with Defender. It's really a bad practice to just assume "you are unsigned, therefore you are bad."

That is not what is happening. Plus, I am amazed you imply you encounter this so often, it has become an annoyance. I'm on line surfing 4 - 5+ hours every day, researching this and that and I rarely encounter Defender blocking anything. Malwarebytes blocking stuff, on the other hand. happens often but that's a different issue.

And your categorization that unsigned equal bad is simply wrong, and misleading. Defender does NOT say it is bad. It explains that it could be bad AND it explains how to continue. So frankly, YOU are the one misrepresenting the facts, not Defender.

 

[theFOoL]

On both my ACEMAGIC S1 and 775 Build no. I know what I'm doing. Screw All the Extra crap Avast or AVG

AV tend to slow down pcs due to scanning almost All the time

 

[R-T-B]

Again, a false positive is when a site or file is tagged as being malicious when it is not.

And that is precisely what it does. I can give you a million examples from small devs projects, some of them even my own.

Check here for a recent case:

AV detected Sunshine as threat · Issue #3962 · LizardByte/Sunshine

Is there an existing issue for this? I have searched the existing issues Is your issue described in the documentation? I have read the documentation Is your issue present in the latest beta/pre-rel...

github.com

Plus, I am amazed you imply you encounter this so often, it has become an annoyance. I'm on line surfing 4 - 5+ hours every day, researching this and that and I rarely encounter Defender blocking anything.

How much software do you dev Bill? I can tell you, its irritating yeah when you just got done with a 6 week long (in the real world) climate sim on your server and Defender flags the output and quarantines it (thus breaking the whole job) simply because it is an unsigned executable. That was my final straw.

It's not the end user that its annoying. But he's also not the only computer user that matters.

Note that its not just defender, they just have the widest install base (and with good reason). Its an industry wide issue in my view.

 

[Bill_Bright]

a million examples from small devs projects
How much software do you dev Bill?

You continue to miss, or choose to ignore the point.

Of all the categories of Windows users out there, what percentage of them are developers? Not much. And how many of them are working on "small" dev projects? Even less. (Note by small, I mean by individuals or small development companies who don't have the resources to go through the signing process with every revision/update of their program under development).

As I said above,

Is Defender the best solution for developers? IDK. I'm not a developer. But I do know developers are but a tiny, niche market when it comes to all Windows users.

Speaking to the crowd - and yet there is condemnation from those in this tiny minority of users for Defender because it does not comply with their expectations as one of those developers. And you know what? That's fine!!!! They have that right and I will defend that right to express that opinion. So clearly, if you develop, don't use Defender!

But if one of those developers complaining how Defender is not perfect for developers, STOP spewing nonsense suggesting Defender is a lousy security solution in general or for all! Because, it is a fact, it is an excellent solution for the vast majority of Windows users.

It is simply wrong, and misrepresentative after admitting one has not used it for years to claim it sucks, is yuck, or that it does this or it does that you don't like - especially when there are 100s of millions of users using it with no problems - users who, ARE NOT btw, clueless idiots.

Contrary to what some folks seem to think, and apparently want everyone else to believe, Microsoft is NOT sitting on their thumbs, spending years doing nothing to improve their programs. Contrary to what those folks want everyone to believe, Defender today is a better Defender than it was years ago. Is it perfect? No. Surprise surprise surprise!

So boo-hoo! Defender is not 100% perfect for 100% of the people out there. So I guess it does suck!

Oh, and nevermind the fact it scored a 6 out of 6 for "Protection" from malware from AVTest. I mean who cares about "Protection", right? And for sure, scoring 6/6 for Performance and Usability - well, clearly AVTest must be the clueless idiots, right?

Now I need to sell my Toyota Corolla. Why? It won't tow my 8,000lb travel trailer through the Rocky Mountains. Toyota Corollas suck.

Note that its not just defender...Its an industry wide issue in my view.

Then why not make that clear from the start? Instead, in your first post here, you specifically stated you have "major beefs with Defender" and accused them of bad practices. Then continued to trash it specifically above. Yet this thread is not about Defender, it is about if you still use AV software.

I sure wish Defender was not a Microsoft product. If it had any other brand name on it, I am 100% certain it would not get such a bad rap all the time.

 

[RejZoR]

The amount of bs false positives on dev files is indication how unoptimized and inacurate detection really is. It's easy to make a brute force engine that just detects whatever and then counter that with whitelists using digital signatures or whatever. Not making false positives on files that are not malicious and not whitelisted because they are isolated binaries, that shows the real quality of the scan engine and how accurate it is at detecting things.

The ones I despise the most and companies thankfully chilled a bit are antiviruses that were triggering just because of packers even though something like UPX are neither indication of malicious intent and neither are they anything special to decompress/extract. Yet bunch of antiviruses were triggering solely on presence of UPX PE packer.

 

[Makalite]

Never had real viruses ever since Win 7 when the "You are a pedo and should pay us now to unlock your PC virus" was about.
Or other ransomware.

WannaCry ransomware attack - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Emails with singles in your areas, yeah get ransomwared.

Your computer has been locked! Virus

www.pcrisk.com

 

[ShiBDiB]

Basic Windows Defender is plenty for 99% of users.

To not run anything is for lack of a better word, dumb. The ONLY reason to not have defender running is if it's an airgapped computer that never touches the internet. The users saying "I don't run anything because I'm so smart and only go to trusted sites and xyz" are in fact not as smart as they think and should not be taken seriously. On any kind of remotely modern system there's 0 downside to having defender running.

 

[Makalite]

If you have never learned the traps from experience then this channel is good.

PC Security Channel

Your go to place for cybersecurity. We test security products and create some of the best educational content about malware and threat analysis and other infosec topics. Sponsors, please see: https://thepcsecuritychannel.com/sponsors We can do a pen-test/cybersecurity evaluation of your...

www.youtube.com

I don't need an A/V as I never go to places to get bad crap.

Forgot to say, Linux User.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I don't need an A/V as I never go to places to get bad crap.

LOL

And of course, it would be totally impossible for you to EVER accidently click the wrong link or download an infected email from an infected friend, or go to a "trusted" place that has been hacked and compromised. Because you are so much smarter and experienced than all the bad guys out there, right? Yeah right.

 

[Makalite]

LOL

And of course, it would be totally impossible for you to EVER accidently click the wrong link or download an infected email from an infected friend, or go to a "trusted" place that has been hacked and compromised. Because you are so much smarter and experienced than all the bad guys out there, right? Yeah right.

Everyone thinks they are smarter, until their mind is put to work and is in pursuit of something other than information sharing.
Money on the line, the outcome is greater than their need to be right, etc.

Why be smart if all you do is play games on the PC?

It was why back then I would just wipe and reinstall Win 7 with the installation disc every time as I preferred looking at hot milfs.

Nowadays you just install Linux.

 

[Bill_Bright]

LOL

Oh that's right. Its impossible for Linux systems to get infected, right? Yeah right.

Because there is no such thing as Linux Malware.

Can Linux Get Viruses? Exploring the Vulnerability of Linux Systems