Internet Security

[yansee]

just got a new laptop it`s windows 10, the guy who set it up for me said there`s no need to download security like Kaspersky as the laptop has it`s own widows/microsoft buit in and if i downloaded one it could cause problems,is this right please ?

[aelmpvw]

i've used microsoft free security for years without a problem

[emmie]

i used to have kaspersky, until i had a major hassle with it, i bought this laptop six months ago and use only the security that it provides, haven;t had any problems so far.

[Zacs-Master]

Our resident computer expert, Buenchico, always recommends Avast, which is free.

[emmie]

some say you don't need another security package, i went with that advice from some abers.

[198kHz]

He's right. Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials have had a chequered history, but it's now generally acknowledged that the inbuilt Windows 10 Security is as good as anything else.

[yansee]

Thank you all for answers and advice, appreciated

[Old_Geezer]

I would hope that if you opted to download and install an alternative it would turn off the existing one.

[Buenchico]

Windows 10 has its own anti-virus software built into it (as indeed have preceding versions of Windows had for many years). Some review sites (etc) sometimes question whether Windows Security is actually as good as third-party software and Microsoft's cause certainly wasn't helped when, some years ago, one of their senior executives stated that it was "only a first line of defence". However hundreds of millions of people use it daily without any problems.

The idea that downloading something like Kaspersky 'could cause problems' though is, in my opinion, total and utter rubbish! Having TWO anti-virus programs running simultaneously is, indeed, likely to lead to system conflicts BUT all third-party security software disables the built-in Windows program by default, so users of Kaspersky (et al) only have one security program running anyway.

However I'd go along with the view that there's absolutely no reason to spend money on anti-virus software. The free stuff is just as good. (Indeed, the free versions of software such as AVG, Avast, etc are IDENTICAL to what's provided in the paid-for versions; you just don't get any additional 'bells and whistles' to go with it).

In the past I've encountered problems with the updating function of Microsoft's own software, resulting in computers running at a crawl. I initially switched to the free version of AVG but then found similar problems. So I tried the free version Avast and stuck with that for many years:
https://www.avast.com/en-gb/index#pc

However, since acquiring a Windows 10 laptop several months ago, I've never got around to installing Avast on it because the built-in Windows Security software seems to be doing everything I want, without any problems, anyway.

So my advice is EITHER to stick with Windows Security OR to download and install the free version of Avast. I most definitely do NOT recommend paying for any anti-virus software, as I regard it as a total waste of money.