It used to be absolute crap in the XP/Vista/7/8 days, but ever since the anniversary update of Win 10 (I think it was about then) it has been as solid as any other AV.

 

Same, I was just going to say Kaspersky seems to have the best true detection rate out of all the AVs and seems to leave R2R stuff alone

 

I use Malwarebytes Premium for a/v. I set up a folder exclusion in it, and that's where I run keygens. I also discovered I had to add the exclusion in Windows Security even though I had it off. I also use sandboxie when running keygens.

I trust that the groups releasing software to us have no malicious intent, but I've seen it once or twice where someone releasing something (I think a game?) was unknowingly infected. So to me, it's better safe than sorry. If I were extra cautious I'd probably use a vm for testing installs, but this works for me.

I don't agree with people that say to not have an a/v at all and just be careful what you download. That works really really well, until it doesn't. I played that game for a long time, and was really good at it.. then I made a mistake so now I just prefer to err on the side of caution.

Offline systems that you are fairly locked down and don't want a/v eating resources are a different story, of course.

 

Last edited: Sep 5, 2022

BitDefedender pain in the *ss ... Use kaspersky and Kaspersky Tweak Assistant ... Good luck ...

 

As mentioned, uninstall your AV, you don't need it. You only need it if you got to dodgy websites. I work in IT, haven't had AV on any machine for at home for years, never had an issue, and now my computers run much better.

 

@Mr Happy If you were a Linux user I would believe you, but Windows itself is a trojan, and it needs complex protection against other trojans and viruses on the network

 

Windows defender is enough but it still delete my keygens sometimes so I disable it.
Your common sense is your best antivirus.

 

easy to do

Open the app
Click on protection
click on anti virus
Click on advanced
de-activate bit defender shield
job done

problem solved.
no fuss
no mess
no bother

 

I just go into the antivirus program and release the data it took hostage

 

I'll use 7zip to extract the files from the keygens (at least r2r ones) to a folder that is specified under exceptions, as I'm unwilling to completely exclude everything that ends up in the windows temp folder

 

I would do this, if Windows defender were controllable. How do you disallow heuristic detection and create exceptions with win defender?

 

In my opinion, you can't edit Defender there.
I would not do without Defender, computer crime (ransomware), cyberwar etc. are increasing rapidly.
You can also drive a car without a seatbelt, it can go well for years. But just in case, you are insured with the seatbelt.

I've attached you a link, but you probably already know that, you can add
file, folder, file type and processes to exclude in Defender (Add exclusion).

Add an exclusion to Windows Security
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...security-811816c0-4dfd-af4a-47e4-c301afe13b26

 

I have used ESET antivirus for years with best success for keygens/cracks.

But don't fool yourself, keygens/cracks always are and always will be a security risk. These days malware is turning to Powershell attacks that often completely avoid antivirus detection (even Bitdefender), so if a cracker or group decides malware is in their best interest, you will get infected and you'll never know it (or at least for some time).

 

Don't uninstall Bit Defender! It's a great antivirus and yes, we need an antivirus on our systems.

Making an exception folder only works for regular scanning. When you run a keygen (even inside that folder), Bit Defender sees a threat active in the system. Before you run any keygen you just have to disable the bitdefender shield like Recoil has shown earlier. You can disable it manually, or for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc., permanently or till the next reboot.

 

Thanks for the advice.
That's what I'm actually using a crappy antivirus, so defender is not on, and I can control this one more easily. That's Avira. But since the last update, it's not respecting exceptions and scans folders that are in the exception list, detecting false positives, so I have to find another solution.

 

Your situation may be different than what I experienced, but I mentioned in my post above that I had set up an exception in MB premium, but exclusions still didn't work until I added an exclusion in Windows Security too even though the Windows AV was disabled. You add the Windows Security exclusion as the link in @BEAT16 's post described.

I like to run stuff like keygens sandboxied, so I had to do a few things before it actually worked properly for me, one of which was exclusion in Windows Security. Not sure if that will fix the issue you're seeing with Avira or not though.

 

I stopped using antivirus software like 5 years ago, and run very High End PCs at home, all of them run a pre-debloated version of win 10, where even the built-in Defender is removed (OFF), and have never been happier, no fuss, and of course I normally just download "Warez" from "sites" I trust. But...
I found that running a suspicious file, in VM, to see behavior, with a check on website called virusTotal, works way better, for me.
That is after using a lot of different AV software in my life, and nowadays, I find them totally useless, expensive, and just resource draining. My 2 cents.

 

Yes, I'm most probably going that way, as I almost download nothing lately, and when I do it, it's from a very trusted website and trusted posters.