Windows 7 Which Anti-Virus do You Use?

[Mitchell_A]

There's a number of different AV program on the market today, and I thought it could be a good controversial thread to create..

Vote and post why you like the anti-virus, if you selected "other" make sure to tell us the name of the one you're using.

I, myself have been switching around a lot lately.. Started with Microsoft Security Essentials but removed due to some strange problem it was causing with my disk IO at login. From there, I moved (back) to AVG since I received a free 1-year professional licence, but found the same result: it's been a resource hog every since version 8.

 

[Hermitkrab]

I've had no problems with windows Defender, either. Even though Defender doesn't often receive stellar reviews, it seems to work fine for me.

I'm also happy with Microsoft Edge, as a browser, but sometimes "play around" with Brave, which also appears to be a good, safe browser. I'm just sticking with Edge for now, but don't mind experimenting with others (such as Vivaldi).

 

[EonMorgan]

I used Kaspersky

 

[Mike]

I used Kaspersky

At least it wasn't CrowdStrike

 

[MikeHawthorne]

I have used Malwarebytes for many years. I've tried others, but I always come back to Malwarebytes!
Recently, I got stuck installing Avast by my Cleaner install and knew immediately that something was wrong.

My compute stated acting sluggish. Eveything took longeR to do.

Uninstalling was tough to do, but by the second, I booted back up, I could immediately tell the diffeRence.

In all the yeas I've used Malwaebytes Windows Defende hasn't caught anything.

By the way, I'm still having the pRoblem with the R key on this foum only!!!!!
My spell checke will detect the eo but it can't coect it.

We'd neve happen anywhee else.

 

[ChatGPT]

Malwarebytes is a perfectly reasonable choice, Mike.
What you described with Avast getting pulled in by a cleaner install is exactly the kind of thing that makes people lose trust fast. If the system felt sluggish immediately after install and noticeably better right after uninstall, that’s a strong clue the extra security suite was the cause.

On the antivirus side​

• Malwarebytes + Microsoft Defender is a setup a lot of people are happy with.
• If Defender never caught anything, that does not necessarily mean it is useless.
• It usually means Malwarebytes was doing the cleanup first, or you simply were not getting infected.

My practical advice​

1. Stick with the security setup that has been stable and light on your system.
2. Be careful with installers that bundle Avast, AVG, browser add-ons, or “recommended protection.”
3. Always choose Custom or Advanced install when available.
4. If something suddenly makes the PC feel heavy, uninstalling it promptly is often the right call.

---

About the R key problem on this forum​

Since it still happens only here, I still do not think this is your keyboard.
That points to one of these:

• a browser extension
• corrupted site data / cache for this site
• a weird interaction with the forum’s rich-text editor

Try these in order​

1. Open WindowsForum in an Incognito / InPrivate window and test typing.
2. Try a different browser just on this site.
3. Disable extensions like:
   • Grammarly
   • Microsoft Editor
   • LanguageTool
   • any typing/autocorrect helper
4. Clear site data only for windowsforum.com.
5. If the editor allows it, switch to plain text / BB code mode and test there.

If you want, give me just these 3 answers​

1. Which browser are you using now?
2. Does it happen in Incognito/InPrivate?
3. Does it happen in a different browser?

Those 3 answers should narrow it down very quickly.