Looking for suggestions for malware protection

General discussion about Slimjet, or other issues related to web browser in general.
danielson
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:27 pm
Location: AR

Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by danielson »

Malware bytes is huge plus against malware but it is all quite high on system resources.
Anyone here uses their Chrome extension or opt for other ones with satisfaction to fortify Slimjet?

Buzzed Lightyear
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:00 pm

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by Buzzed Lightyear »

Malwarebytes is typically only high on system resources when performing a scan. I haven't seen any huge slowdowns on my computer when using it in the background, but the absolute best form of malware protection is a full-blown security suite. Yes these cost money, but if you want the best then it's well worth the price.

As far as security suites that I've used goes, the absolute best is Bitdefender Internet Security. They constantly rank high on test websites, such as AV-Test and AV-Comparatives. As you can see, Bitdefender ranks very high on both tests. That would be my first recommendation.

My second recommendation would be Avira. I switched from Avira to Bitdefender after they eliminated their proprietary firewall, but as far as virus and malware protection goes, they're pretty darn solid. As one of the oldest antivirus companies out there, they've definitely built up a reputation for being reliable. Like Bitdefender, they score fairly high AV-Test.

Finally, a third piece of software that I haven't actually tried myself, but have heard very good things about, is Avast. Avast is very similar to Bitdefender, and also get very positive reviews on AV-Test.

Now, one thing I would like to point out with each of these three pieces of software: they are not located in the United States. Bitdefender is located in Romania, Avira is located in Germany, and Avast is located in the Czech Republic. Why is this important? Because anti-virus software companies located in the United States (but most famously Norton by Symantec) work with the FBI and CIA to secretly whitelist government spyware. These offshore companies don't do that. So keep this in mind: whatever anti-virus software that you end up choosing, even if you don't end up choosing one of the ones I listed, try to make sure they are not headquartered in the United States.

Anyways, hope I helped.

Tweakerz
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:24 pm

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by Tweakerz »

Good advice from Buzz.

(I'm mainly speaking on the free versions in case you have no intention to buy).

Avira does try to install additional (fairly worthless) software and have the upgrade/ad nag screen to deal with but they are very good in detection while remaining low on overall system resource usage.

Bitdefender lacks in options with the free version but is also robust in ability while being low impact.

Kaspersky Free some seem to like, pretty basic protection and it will also nag about upgrading but you can disable the task related to that and lessen how often it happens. (If disabled/deleted it should only nag when opened, not at every boot from what I have seen).

Malwarebytes I have used for what seems like forever and it never presented issues with system resource usage and it's been one of if not the go-to solution for many over many years. We used to use it in the shop many moons ago. (I used to build/repair computers for years, still do on a small scale now).

Another really good option to MBAM is called Hitman Pro, definitely a different style but very good at both detection and removal. Free is nice for removal, paid it can offer real-time protection.

Avast I used to like but it seems around the time Avast and AVG became one it became a bit bothersome. It does generally offer good protection and remains fairly light on resources usually but you MUST custom install it or you'll end up with a LOT of useless added "features" you really do NOT need. Plus some of them are just really poor in their functionality. Even the free version has a ton of options and protection, of the free offerings it is in terms of features probably about the best but Avira and it can go back and forth on that between individuals based on what they prefer. I've used both for years and generally turn towards Avira because it feels lighter and is geared a bit more toward the "techie type". Plus you can block the ads from Avira really easily if you wanted to make a few small changes and it'll never bother you again.

Anyway, just thought I'd add a little additional info since this has been an area of focus for me for so many years, plus it is nice to be able to at least try to help whenever possible.

dev
Posts: 761
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:30 pm

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by dev »

yeah i use free avast nowadays, it use to be a bloat on systems / ram but its far probably the lightest on resources now than other free AV's ..The main defence to have is just good old commonsense , don't click on the obvious crapware etc ..Hijack this will give you a good rundown if anything is dodgy running in a browser , its a bit long in the tooth nowadays but still handy to run https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/detail ... kthis.html ...You can actually use Eset free online if you want to do a check without downloading it because malware is different to a virus and not all Anti-virus programs check for malware https://www.eset.com/int/home/online-scanner/

danielson
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:27 pm
Location: AR

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by danielson »

Have been dabbing around with Voodooshield for a few days now, and it seems to be pretty effective (even at free level).
https://voodooshield.com/

There's also Virustotal extension but it does automatically scan download files like it does on Firefox.

Two inexpensive ways to increase security along with default Windows Defender sound like a good deal to me.

dev
Posts: 761
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:30 pm

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by dev »

tried voodooshield before i found it a bit of a pain with far too many false positives but they might have fixed their algorithms since i tried it , there is a chrome extension for windows defender how good it is i wouldn't know , reviews are mixed https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... cdieedcoml

User avatar
oftentired
Posts: 1691
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:14 am

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by oftentired »

This
dev wrote:
Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:08 pm
The main defence to have is just good old common sense, don't click on the obvious crapware etc
and

Doesn't cover malware directly but, I've been running Panda (now called Panda Dome), I had run it a few years back and it was OK but at that time I liked AVG better. Since then, I've not been happy with some of the changes AVG made (mostly putting stuff in front of my face I didn't want to see). So I tried Panda again. Works in the background and doesn't bother me at all.

For Malware... I've never been happy with free active malware protection, and I won't pay for it cause I'm cheap. If I suspect my PC has picked up something nasty I go find a couple of the free anti-malware programs and start scanning. I've also made use of a couple web-based scanners which worked just fine. I don't remember which it has been too long since I caught a nasty.
For those of you who wear aluminum foil hats, the voices lie, don't believe them!

32 Bit SJ on Win 11

danielson
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:27 pm
Location: AR

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by danielson »

Common sense is a definite "extension" to use.

It's been such a long time since i last tried VoodooShield.
Probably stopped using it for the false positive reason mentioned in this thread.
But it has been vastly improved and i'm really liking it so far.

Pretty content with Windows Defender but i'm glad to hear that Panda is still around and doing well.

Find it odd that VirusTotal extension doesn't automatically check downloads with link to scan result on Slimjet as it does with Firefox.

Buzzed Lightyear
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:00 pm

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by Buzzed Lightyear »

Just note that VoodooShield does NOT scan for malware that might infect your computer, nor does it remove malware that is on your computer. With that being said, I suggest that you still have some sort of scanner that's running scans on your computer at least once a week. Malwarebytes Free edition would be a great option for this task.

danielson
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:27 pm
Location: AR

Re: Looking for suggestions for malware protection

Post by danielson »

@Buzzed Lightyear - Good suggestion !

Better safer than sorry.

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