(Solved) No antivirus software necessary?

[Lady]

Hello again,

Hope you guys are fine.

I use MBAM Premium. With their latest version 3.0 they claim that you don't need an antivirus software program anymore. What do you think about that? My license with BullGuard is about to end, so I have to make this decision. Maybe a free (and much lighter) program like AVG or Avira is still a good idea to have alongside MBAM?

Grateful as always,

Lady

[Boggin]

Hi Lady,

Yes, I've seen others using an AV program alongside MBAM Premium.

I've dumped my paid for Norton Security in favour of Bitdefender Free which runs unobtrusively in the background and has blocked a few Phishing attempts and the odd Trojan so far.

AVG seems to have gone out of favour as it was reported that it was becoming bloated.

I haven't come across anyone complaining about Avira, but when the time comes, you could give Bitdefender Free a go or look for a review of it if undecided.

https://www.bitdefender.co.uk/solutions/free.html

[Lady]

Hi Boggin,

Thanks for responding. But I mean not in general using an AV next to MBAM but now that they claim it's not necessary anymore. It's right on their start page:

https://nl.malwarebytes.com/

And what do you mean by "becoming bloated"?

[Boggin]

It's just as I've heard it described in that they may be adding bits to it so that it isn't a pure AV any more.

I think it adds AVG Secure Search as a browser add-on which I've had to use an adware cleaner to remove as it was causing browsing problems.

I've never used it having been a previously committed Norton user.

[Still_Game]

I was very excited about Malwarebytes 3.0 and it's claims to be able to replace your conventional antivirus but I've been following the official Malwarebytes forums since its release and I think the consensus, even among their own staff, is that a multilayer defence is best. I use Malwarebytes Premium 3.0 alongside Avast Free edition and they run pretty well together. I also use CryptoPrevent. Malwarebytes 3.0 seems to work in a different way to conventional antivirus products in that it is not primarily signature based but provides an extra layer of protection that should complement that provided by the antivirus.

Malwarebytes have had a difficult time with this product most of the initial problems have been resolved and I've had no difficulties with the current version. A new beta has been released in the last 24 hours which implements many new features and looks to improve the product's usability and stability https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/200230-malwarebytes-version-310-beta-available-for-download/

For my money it's a great product,  but NO security product will give you 100% protection  - I recommend regular backups to separate media, a multilayered approach and, above all, being eternally vigilant for suspect content!

[Lady]

Thanks, Boggin, that rules out AVG, we don't want extra browser add-ons we don't ask for.

Bonsoir Monsieur Still_Game, thank you for your answer. I've been a huge fan of MBAM for years and haven't had problems with 3.0 other than that the pop-up window didn't want to change back to the smaller size once I made it full-screen (told them but it's still the case). Another IT person just told me of conflicting issues between Avast and MBAM but I'm sure you know the easy solution to this: putting both folders in each others' exclusion lists.

That's good to know, that a multilayer defence is still preferred, even by the MBAM people. I don't know why I'm always wary about beta versions. Should I be?

Right now I think I'll continue with BullGuard. It seems to be somewhat lighter now. In Process Explorer MBAM is now second behind Firefox and BG is 7th. It's a really good and reliable program and its customer service is the best.

I recommend regular backups to separate media, a multilayered approach and, above all, being eternally vigilant for suspect content!

Of course!

And what about herdprotect.com? Portable, so it's very light. Looks like a very handy extra tool! Maybe even better than ESET online scanner?

[Still_Game]

I've got a couple of problems with the beta version of Malwarebytes, do I'd stick with the latest release version if I were you - although the beta does look promising.

I haven't heard of herdprotect - I'll give it a look - thanks!

[Lady]

I haven't tried out herdprotect yet but I just heard there's a bit of a problem with quite a number of false positives.

I asked BullGuard about its impact on the system and they confirmed that it's lighter now due to the new firewall. Good news!