Windows on offline machine, or virtual box on Linux with no network access (if you like to toggle between the two), and a cheap light laptop with Linux for all your online work.
Takes a bit of getting used to Linux but after a year or two you won't go back, I was a big windows fan before I did this. You can have the best of both worlds.

 

I have had no AV for about 20 years now, just a sandbox and the Emsisoft manual scanner (their emergency kit). Their AV suite is really efficient but way too heavy for my needs.
2 things I like about this free manual scanner they have:
first off, it is just a scanner, so it simply lists whatever is found and does nothing else on it's own, unlike so many other AVs that rush to lock or delete files with no prior user confirmation (even when properly configured!).
Second, potential "threats" are categorized properly. To give a quick example, this scanner rarely detects keygens as troyans or some other BS. They are categorised as PUP, crackware etc., which is what they are in most cases. And whenever this scanner recognises a keygen as something else than that, then you can be sure that it's been tampered with and that it's not the "simple" keygen it'd like you to believe it is!

 

DefenderUI and Voodoo Shield Pro very RAM friendly and works lika a Charm

 

Malwarebytes here

 

Avast my friend. It blocks all r2r key generators xD
... kitammuort' Avast ...
(explanation: Tipycal italian expression to insult dead relatives. Principally used in Naples)

 

Kaspersky was great but I do not trust it anymore. Windows Security and Simplewall are great combination.

 

The one you DONT isnstall
Havnt used an AV since 2007 and i am perfectly happy with that i only use a good firewall.

 

Thanks ArticStorm for your contribution.

The economy is interested in you having a secure PC so you can keep spending your money at Amazon. The large part of the population uses what that comes with Windows and don't worry about it because they don't understand the technology. Computer crime has become massively more in recent years, clear that some manufacturers earn their products with the fear of the people.

The weak point is the e-mail, meanwhile many people know that you should not open every mail and especially no attachments that come from unknown people, so off to the spam folder. Meanwhile, there are already many websites with HTTPS, the S stands for Secure and increased the security. For driving a car you need a driver's license, for the internet nothing, so the internet is a shark tank. Let's hope that the schools for the next generations media literacy and the protection of their own person, so that they can protect themselves from identity theft and fraud.

 

When you're rich you have an alarm system and cameras outside your door. One has taken care that the windows are not to be levered open. These people, as you have already described ArticStorm, but are reckless when it comes to secure password assignment or banking via smart phone.

Again and again you read about ransomware attacks because the IT of the companies is poorly secured. Sometimes it is also ex-employees who are angry with their boss and then damage the company. A funny anecdote was, one sent to a high employee of Wall Street, a gold-plated USB stick with a thank you letter for his work, he plugged the USB stick on his PC and then the system was infected.

 

There are solid arguments out there for using no AV. Many of these arguments are also based on nobody ever clicking a link that might be remotely suspect or installing anything that is not signed. Potentially the two most dangerous things for any user are phishing and ransomware. With only a few exceptions, most good AV's and malware removers can remove almost everything else effectively after infection without data loss. Theoretically this means for most scenarios you do not need it unless you know you are downloading risky things all of the time. So based on that you do not need one until after, only in theory. A web sandbox will protect most users from most things but not all.

An app that effectively protected everyone from only ransomware and phishing in every scenario would be the more effective I feel but I do not think it exists without all the other bloatware. It would also have a much smaller footprint. But that is only my opinion.

 

The first thing we all have to learn is, that there is no absolute security.
Not even with the proposed tool (which of course would be great)
Backup is the name of our unloved friend.

Spoiler: In almost every scenario I can imagine a good backup strategy would be a life saver

Where I live, the administration of a city has just fallen victim to ransomware. The latest intact backup is half a year old. The temptation to pay a few bitcoins then is great. Understandable.
Whether the recovery would have been successful is more than questionable.
However, a backup at least once a week could have shrunk the problem to a trifle.
The emergency service provider (there are some good around) would have identified and deleted the ransomware, secured the network and restored the backup in a controlled environment.
For companies and public institutions there is even an insurance against the costs of this measure

 

Last edited: Apr 11, 2022

Kaspersky is a Russian software. You know: it's from Russia. Not that they are evil, but they have to comply to the Russian rules and play the Russian game. I do not trust them. Nowadays... Russia... nope. Know wadda mean?

 

Bingo!

 

What a nonsense, Kaspersky Lab is a swiss company since a few years. The data centers are located in Zurich. Kaspersky is no less trustworthy than its competitors. Rather, it is more trustworthy. However, the security mechanisms integrated into the OS are usually the better choice.

 

Last edited: Apr 11, 2022

Spoiler: Kaspersky - Worldwide

Deutschland
Kaspersky GmbH
Despag-Straße 3
D-85055 Ingolstadt
Deutschland
Geschäftsführer: Tanguy Le Bescond de Coatpont
Eingetragen beim Amtsgericht Ingolstadt, HRB 3527
USt-IdNr.: DE238012879 Impressum: www.kaspersky.de/impressum

Europa
2 Kingdom Street
London
W2 6BD
Vereinigtes Königreich
+44 (0)20 3549 3499
[email protected]
www.kaspersky.co.uk
Russland und GUS
39A/2 Leningradskoe Shosse

Moskau, 125212
Russische Föderation
Türkei
Kolektif House,
Nida Kule Batı, Barbaros Mah.
Begonya Sok. No:1/2 K:B3
Ataşehir, İstanbul, Türkei

Naher Osten
Office 2201,
22nd Floor, Arenco Tower,
Dubai Internet City,
Dubai,
PO Box 502849,
Vereinigte Arabische Emirate
+971 4 559 0800
[email protected]
me-en.kaspersky.com

Südafrika
Building 15
Thornhill Office Park,
Bekker Road, Midrand,
South Africa
+27 11 783 2424
[email protected]
www.kaspersky.co.za

Asien-Pazifik-Raum
1 Harbourfront Place #09-05/06
Harbourfront Tower One
Singapore 098633
+65 6870 2320
[email protected]
www.kaspersky.com

Südostasien
Level 11-02, Block A, PJ8, Jalan Barat, Seksyen 8
46050, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Malaysia
+603 7962 6788
[email protected]
www.kaspersky-sea.com

Japan
Sumitomo Fudosan Akihabara Bldg.7F
3-12-8 Soto-kanda Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 101-0021, Japan
+81-3-3526-8520
+81-3-3526-0150
www.kaspersky.co.jp
Nordamerika
500 Unicorn Park, 3rd Floor
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801

USA
+1-866-328-5700 (Toll Free)
[email protected]
usa.kaspersky.com
Mexiko
Niederlassung in Mexiko
Mitikah – Torre M,
Avenida Río Churubusco 601, Col.
Xoco, Coyoacán;
CDMX 03330
+52 (55) 6394-3390
[email protected]
latam.kaspersky.com

Lateinamerika
Kaspersky – LatAm HQ
Avenida Queiroz Filho, 1700 Torre A Cj 803
Zip 05319-000
São Paulo / State: SP / Brasilien
+55 11 4280-1770
[email protected]
latam.kaspersky.com

 

In March 2015, Bloomberg accused Kaspersky of having close ties to Russian military and intelligence officials.[17] Kaspersky criticized the article in his blog, calling the coverage "sensationalist" and guilty of "exploiting paranoia" to "increase readership".[18]

In June 2015, United States National Security Agency and United Kingdom Government Communications Headquarters agents broke Kaspersky antivirus software so that they could spy on people, leaks indicate.[19]

On 15 March 2022, the German Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) issued a warning against the usage of Kaspersky antivirus and cloud software. For antivirus software to work it requires deep access into the user's system and thus a particularly high level of trust in the software, the vendor and the encrypted update channel. Due to certain actions of Russian military and intelligence forces and the threats issued by Russia against the European Union, the NATO and the Federal Republic of Germany as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the usage of the software may not be considered trustworthy any longer and would impose a serious risk for a cyber-attack to be successful.[20]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspersky_Anti-Virus

 

That is the truth. Possibly the saddest part about the abundance of AV's, anti-malware-phishing-ransomware is that it tells us that the human race has too many people that are malicious and borderline sociopaths who do not care whose lives they mess up.

 

Windows Defender RUINED performance on a lot of computers (mine, friends, family ..)
100% CPU stuck for hours

That's why i use Comodo Internet Security Premium ( but for free).
After 30 years of troubles with most solutions, it is (almost) trouble free.
Just need to disable it when using/moving sister site files

There is no "perfect solution".