How do you guys secure (microsoft windows) PCs now? Not in general, but for the respondents here, what do you use and why?
I haven’t used regular platforms for a very long while now. I’m having increasing problems with graphics load and I’m getting tired of fighting it. I upgraded a year ago and it’s already not good enough for some fights. I think I need to go back to more conventional platforms. Windows, etc.
Tech support would be more apropriate i think.
I don’t need technical support with warcraft. This is more about platforms and systems … people usually seem pretty helpful here, thought I’d give it a try.
EDIT: and people generally seem to like chatting about stuff like this, just checking around
But they maybe albe to better help you.
What do you mean “to secure” the PC?
What is the specific question you have?
Well, back in the old days I used to use kazpersky. It was a good reliable product before that snowden guy changed the landscape. That was before the built in windows defender existed. I’ve been out of this a while.
I’ve heard that malware bites is good, everyone seems to swear by something different though.
That’s pretty much all you need. Number 3 should probably be number 1.
Yea Windows Defender is already built in windows 10 and its really all you need.
install an addon that blocks ads and don’t look up single hot women near you and you’re fine.
Sal and You are spot on. Haven’t touched third party antivirus/antimalware/etc since 2013 or so at this point… just set up adblock, keep everything up to date, and avoid obviously dodgy stuff.
Browse all the reviews for CPUs and GPUs before buying it. There are some game performance benchmarks too. Some games are ridiculous when you dial up the settings.
Cyberpunk 2077:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/cyberpunk-2077-pc-benchmarks-settings-performance-analysis
Watchdogs Legion:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/watch-dogs-legion-benchmark
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla:
https://overclock3d.net/reviews/software/assassin_s_creed_valhalla_pc_performance_review_and_optimization_guide/1
WoW is more into CPU than GPU. Try upgrading to Core i5-11600K or Core i7-11700K when its available. Intel Rocket Lake is coming soon.
Graphics depends on your monitor resolution as well.
Rhy, you might try reading the OP again
Graphic issues. With no full PC specs provided.
Most things are good, but don’t rely on defender, it’s not really secure at all. People like to think free stuff is good, it’s like if some random guy on the street offered you a free sandwich, would you eat it?
Mcafee is probably the worst paid service I’ve encountered, even the creator hated it.
I use a combination of paid security, a non-windows browser, addons for said browser, and common sense (i.e. I don’t use wowhead).
Worth noting that if you’re using an up-to-date/recent version of Windows, the Edge on your machine is a Microsoft-flavored fork of Chrome and thus not the security and compatibility nightmare that old Edge/IE was. It can even install extensions from Chrome’s extension store.
On my own Windows boxes I’m now using a combination of Firefox and Edge and skipping Chrome, since Chrome no longer brings anything special to the table.
Bitdefender internet security is one of the good ones, Norton used to be but since they have you enter CC info first in order to use and a pita to remove that info I would avoid them.
Bestbuy always has various ones on sale as well.
Others have some good advice so I’ll just pile on top of that.
Windows can be made more secure but the OS itself is designed for ease of use. Security is an afterthought. The recent SolarWinds hack supposedly revealed US agencies were using known Windows vulnerabilities to break into systems for years. Now that foreign governments starting using the vulnerability we’re getting patches for it.
If you’re really serious about a secure Windows environment you’ll also have to setup an external setup (ie custom DNS server, hardware firewall, proxy etc).
From an OS side you can strip down the OS with unused services and remove software that you won’t use. It’s a pain but doable. Also your security settings will get wiped when you have a major new build applied via patches.
It’s doable but a lot of work.
I don’t use Chrome either, so don’t worry, not about to defend that product.
MS is a brand I use as an operating system because it’s just more compatible with everything. That’s the only reason, and if there were a viable alternative I’d ditch them.
As far as edge goes, I’m not likely to use it ever. I’ve seen other products by them that were terrible, and because there are alternatives that do the same or better, I go with trusted software.
thank you guys for the replies, it’s pretty interesting
I’ve run in to a few people who are relying on the built in windows defender, saying it’s pretty good now
the other advice I got is to go through or set up a VPN, something I haven’t done before
removing or disabling java is another one
and of course, with every update all the switches can get flipped back again, very annoying
some kind of adblock is a good idea as well, I’ve had more than a few friends have trouble from things embedded in ads - things that the site who hosted the ads knew nothing about really
thanks,
VPN is okay but it tends to be problematic with some types of fraud detection
Recently a very popular tech youtube channel got shadowbanned from the platform likely because of a remote login by one of the members on vacation, which cost them a ton of money.
I think the level of security you need to use depends on the user - regular everyday joes probably are fine with the regular stuff like I mentioned, and VPN/lastpass type stuff if you have higher risk user needs.
Wrong Windows defender is considered to be as good if not better than most paid AV programs… even security groups are now advising to use it. Defender is GREAT. You have to be using the newest Windows 10 builds…