According to this item, Kaspersky software will be banned for sale/update in the United States as of September 29, 2024.
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I agree with the removal, its really bad stuff, no protection and data tracking. First thing I remove from windows user machines before I agree to do anything.
Same goes for avg, avira and avast. Chocolate fireguards
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So what antimalware do you recommend?
I am particularly interested in something for Android
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My Samsung A21s came with the Knox security suite, so I don’t know where to get it, but I’ve had the phone for several years, and never suffered a malware attack. I attribute much of my good fortune to the fact that I exercise skepticism on the Internet, no matter which device I’m using, and I never blindly click links/open QR codes, without first confirming where they’ll take me.
Ernie
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Yes, our Android tablets have that, and our phone.
Do you think that is enough?
I have used avg and avira but Paul says no to them.
I agree, be careful what you do.
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On windows I recommend windows defender , built in to the system, updated, free and for most home users it is correct. I only see people who have virus issues and all of them are with the before mentioned products. All of these products sell a higher version which makes me wonder if you install the free version you get a issue so they sell you the next level protection !
In this case microsoft dont sell anything which is unique
On android, i dont know, i actually dont have one !
I only install from the store, never click links and only download from sites i know or trust such as banks, tax, government… if someone sends me a photo or document I look at it on line never download.
Have not found one I trust to install
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Back when I ran Windows XP, I used Avira, and it was O.K. for me then. I’ve never liked AVG, because I didn’t like how they did business. Since Windows 10, I’ve used Defender. On Windows, an antivirus/antimalware solution is a necessity, but I don’t think there’s anything more important than to exercise skepticism about everything that comes from the Internet.
When I was little, my Mother told me not to trust strangers, because I can’t know what they’re going to do, or why. When I was a young parent, raising two sons, I taught them about “Stranger Danger”, a concept similar to what my Mother taught me when I was little.
Today, I caution everyone who’ll listen: “Everyone you encounter on the Internet is a stranger, so they shouldn’t be trusted, at least until you can confirm who they are, and by the same token, anything you find on the Internet is produced by strangers, so you shouldn’t blindly trust anything there until you can confirm the intentions of the developers”. I never click any Internet hyperlink until I’ve checked the URL it’ll take me to. That includes any links on websites or in email messages. By employing this level of skepticism, we can all avoid encountering most of the issues we all hear about on the Internet, every day.
My2Cents,
Ernie
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I like your skepticism. It’ll help to keep you safe on the Internet, and from most malware. Even we, who use GNU/Linux, should employ a healthy dose of skepticism regarding anything from the Internet, and we should take pains to keep our systems as up to date as we can. These two measures will do more than anything else I can think of to protect us from the miscreants out there.
Ernie
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On Windows:
- Don’t visit shady websites.
- Don’t run illegal or shady software or multimedia.
- Don’t open any emails from strange sources or with a strange topic and especially don’t open file from an unconfirmed source.
If you do all of this, you should be golden. No anti-virus needed. With proper user education, Windows would be much safer.
For Linux the same goes, but illegal software is much less of a problem here, simply because people tend to use the software provided by their distribution. Also, malware targeting desktop Linux is extremely rare and usually doesn’t get far, simply because the user base tends to be more knowledgeable.
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Good advice for all systems mac, android and linux included.
Is this an issue for chromebooks ?
I have never tried to use one and have no experiance on that platform !
Only thing i would add is the source of the software best from the relative stores
For Windows, the only part of what you say that I take exception with is “No antivirus needed”, and that’s only because of how Windows is created using a monolithic philosophy (the OS is one big thing) in which everything is incorporated into the kernel, while GNU/Linux (and friends) is developed on the philosophy that we should build small things, each of which should do one job very well, then combine those small things to do big jobs.
My2Cents, With that said, I agree that if Windows users become better educated about secure user practices (Cognitive Security), they will be much safer, particularly on the Internet.
Ernie
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I think so. Even though the Chromebook OS is based on GNU/Linux, just as with any other OS, users must act with what I call “Cognitive Security”.
I define Cognitive Security as employing a very healthy dose of skepticism regarding ANYTHING that comes from the Internet (websites, web apps, and email messages in particular). It starts with carefully checking the URL any hyperlink will take you to. This part is the most difficult for me to explain to non-techies, because it involves understanding how URLs are constructed, so I usually tell them “Never click any hyperlink. Instead, use your web browser’s search function to get to the site if you really want to go there”. The next part is never taking anything you see or hear on the Internet at face value. Always check that it’s correct/accurate, using other sources, before making any decisions, especially if it supprots your views. If more people did this, there’d be fewer who get sucked into extremist/terrorist organizations, or at least who adopt extremist views, right (liberal) or left (conservative).
My2Cents,
Ernie
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I like that. It explains the difference, which some people apparently find difficult to grasp. It is not a material or a visual difference, it is difference in design.
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Yes it is, and that difference explains why GNU/Linux is more secure than Windows, and doesn’t need antimalware software, other than rootkit detection/removal.
Ernie
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Do Chromebooks Need Antivirus Software in 2024? | Security.org.
Basically says no just be careful… hopefully we are, but not sure that applies to everyone
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Probably not. All we can hope for is that at least some of them read items from Its FOSS, and learn. 
Ernie
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If you use Linux distros specifically which are backed by big giants like Canonical then you’ll have to be careful as you never know what privacy measures they might take .
As such always Remember privacy is a myth even on Linux. You can be fished if you fall in hands of hackers also vulnerabilities exist everywhere.
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I am not a ubuntu user myself, but many rely on Canonical for the base of the distribution… are you suggesting its a problem, care to say more ?
I’m not sure that I agree with your reservations about Canonical, but I agree with your admonition to use care on any OS, in general. That’s why I preach about “Cognitive Security” all the time.
Ernie
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Same here.
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