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.
- is antivirus a necessity? I will be gaming and streaming on my new setup.
If yes then
- what are some ideal options? Paid or free.
Thanks for your responses in advance.
If you stay away from sketchy sites and don’t click every link that says “DOWNLOAD NOW”, Windows Defender and a web browser with ad-blockers should do their job well enough.
And if you buy a pc with windows preinstalled, remove any anti virus software free trial bullshit that cones with it. Just use Windows defender as it is already enough for most use cases
Better yet, format Windows when you buy a new pc.
You can download a clean iso directly from Microsoft.
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.
Can you please help me understand why antivirus is not needed on linux? Are there no viruses for linuxor what?
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.
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.
Nonsense. Hackers get money these days by holding data to ransom.
Not much data on personal computers.
Depending on your Linux OS there are a few good free options but look up firewalld. I think it’s the best free Linux firewall, pretty much the Linux Windows defender but obviously better. Sorry no one actually read your post and just recommended Windows defender lol
I love the irony of you calling out other people for not reading the post.
Haha honestly I reread it after and was like oh fuck me but leaving it cause shit happens sorry other people
Sooo many people… not reading.
In any case, the risk of you catching a virus using Linux is somewhat unlikely, they exist, but they’re usually more targeted… like going after servers.
Just practice good digital hygiene, keep safe backups and don’t worry about it,
For years I always defaulted to Avast until it literally blocked Halo Infinite from running without any warnings or explanation so I finally looked into it—windows defender is fine. Basically all antivirus programs have become what they claim to defend against—malware. Likely the only actual defense you need these days is a VPN but that’s really only if you’re up to some shady shit to begins with, such as wanting to protect your privacy.
Actually no, a VPN does not protect your computer at all.
Edit: Neither your privacy. You’re mostly tracked though cookies and other identifiers on the application level. A VPN only helps to hide your IP address on the network layer, but you don’t really need that.
Um acktually
do you need an immune-system?
or is AIDS fine with you?
the answer to that question is the answer to whether your computer needs an immune-system.
get ESET.
Unless things have changed significantly, VirusBulletin, iirc always had them catching more of the in-the-wild viruses than any of the other ones.
Kaspersky is Russian, so you don’t want to be trusting it.
There are more computer-pathogens now than there were a few years ago, not less.
Pathogens multiply, just like humans do.
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