I have been computer free for probably 15ish years until I recently bought and set up a RPi4 with Linux. It’s been fun but I’m not really a super user so I’m looking to back to Windows as my main OS.

  1. is antivirus a necessity? I will be gaming and streaming on my new setup.

If yes then

  1. what are some ideal options? Paid or free.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

  • CountVon@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    I don’t think dedicated antivirus software is really required anymore. I haven’t run third-party AV software on any of my systems in the last decade.

    On Windows, the built-in Windows Defender is good enough for most use cases. When it first launched Defender had a pretty bad track record at stopping viruses, but now it routinely ranks at the top.

    On Linux, antivirus software has never really been required. One major exception I can think of would be if you’re running a file server or mail server that talks to OSX or Windows systems. Even then the AV software isn’t really there to protect the server, it’s there to make sure you don’t pass malware or viruses to those non-Linux clients.

    • illi@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      1 year ago

      Can you please help me understand why antivirus is not needed on linux? Are there no viruses for linuxor what?

      • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        Generally speaking, in reverse order of strength of argument:

        • Linux is built a little more securely. There’s a ton of caveats here but it is generally harder to privilege escalate. (inb4 someone sends me a list of escalation attacks)
        • The user base is generally more security conscious (i.e. doesn’t just run random executables)
        • Doesn’t have the same attack surface (like default exploitable services)
        • The ecosystem isn’t a monoculture so it’s harder to build one-size-fits-all malware
        • The market share is so low that it’s rarely ever a target of malware

        Mostly it just doesn’t make sense for attackers looking for low hanging fruit to attack Linux machines.

        • uranibaba@lemmy.world
          0·
          1 year ago

          The last point is probably biggest point today. A hacker wants your money, and you as an individual do not have that much money. A company on the other hand, they can pay up big.

          Since a lot of companies use Windows, they target that, because that is where the money is.