Opinions on Antivirus for flightsim PCs

[edpatino 1,960]

Hi folks:

One of my A/V licenses (on my laptop) is about to expire (in about 1 month) and want to hear your opinions about the best A/Vs out there to protect our flightsim computers and, at the same time, being not so rude or aggressive in detecting files that are not really viruses or malware, or taking to much attention from you as user, but that run as smoothly as possible in the background instead. It's also important that it would not affect the performance of your machine.

Please suggestions?. Anxious to hear them!.

Thanks, Ed

 

[Bobsk8 12,582]

Least effect on a simulator is Webroot. Can't be beat for having the  least affect on a PC's performance. https://www.webroot.com/us/en/home/sem/brand?rc=5340&sc=701F0000000etVr&gclid=CjwKEAiAirXFBRCQyvL279Tnx1ESJAB-G-QvYn5EHovtYhmCPlFgX2S-dghA1WZVtRaZ26ZhlsE5ZRoCTnfw_wcB

[jjjallen 37]

virus software has been deprecated by blackhats who now favor Malware delivered via links.  I simply use Windows 10 defender which does the job well IMO.  Don't compare it to past Defender versions or even the virus Scanner Marketeer versions.  They all do the job well but Defender is the least obtrusive IMO.  Make sure to exclude you sim folder in any case.

 

Regards

jjs

[reecemj 144]

I turn Eset off when am flying on my sim machine. Never had any problems with it.

[Bobsk8 12,582]

I turn Eset off when am flying on my sim machine. Never had any problems with it.

 

And if you forget to turn it off, it will drag your performance down like a boat anchor. 

[edpatino 1,960]

And if you forget to turn it off, it will drag your performance down like a boat anchor. 

 

I had to uninstall its latest version and changed for the one I use now which is also not good for me. Previous versions of ESET worked fine, until the latest version came out with a lot of glitches IMO.

Thanks, Ed

[Cruachan 705]

And if you forget to turn it off, it will drag your performance down like a boat anchor.

With respect, Bob, that's nonsense. I've been using ESET NOD32 A/V exclusively for many years since first recommended by the late Michael Greenblatt and never had any performance related Issues. Mind you my experience ihas been confined to Windows XP 32bit and Windows7 Pro 64bit.Perhaps it's a Windows 10 thing, an operating system I'm endeavouring to steer well clear of for as long as possible. Oh, and by-the-way I NEVER turn it off expect during new software installations and it's always fully up to date. All that is necessary is to exclude any sim-related folders from being scanned.

 

Regards,

Mike

[Bobsk8 12,582]

With respect, Bob, that's nonsense. I've been using ESET NOD32 A/V exclusively for many years since first recommended by the late Michael Greenblatt and never had any performance related Issues. Mind you my experience ihas been confined to Windows XP 32bit and Windows7 Pro 64bit.Perhaps it's a Windows 10 thing, an operating system I'm endeavouring to steer well clear of for as long as possible. Oh, and by-the-way I NEVER turn it off expect during new software installations and it's always fully up to date. All that is necessary is to exclude any sim-related folders from being scanned.

 

Regards,

Mike

 

I and a friend of mine both ditched it a couple of years ago and switched to Web root, and saw an increase in performance on both P3D and Train Simulator. Wasn't nonsense for me. 

[sultanofswing 57]

Have not ran any Anti-virus software in probably 5 years or so.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

This is actually a subject that I have a lot of professional experience with.

 

I'm sure that, like similar threads, we'll hear from people who damn this, damn that and even say that antimalware isn't necessary.  As a computer engineer with network management experience at the base and ISP level who has worked with end point security I certainly have a different opinion.

 

First, just using an antivirus can provide you with a false sense of security. What is recommended is a full computer security suite, but I'll tell you that this too can lead to a false sense of security depending on how it's setup, updated, monitored/used and of course there is user behavior.  Most of us know these things, but I say them to avoid people picking apart a recommendation.

 

The three best rated security suites (in no particular order) are Bit Defender, Kapersky's and Nortons.  They all have their nuances, but are all pretty much equal.  I've used Norton's for several years because the price for 10 licenses... yep, I'm running Norton's on three desktops, three laptops, and the rest are Android devices.  Two of the desktops are Flight Sim Beta Test rigs - which CAN NOT be hindered by performance issues, and they ARE NOT.  I don't even know Norton's is running (remember, I'm a computer engineer so I at least know how to monitor such things) so all the scary boo-boo stuff about Norton's or other security suites is just not accurate and I say again it's all how you set up your software.

 

If anyone is interested, I made the case for mandating use of a computer security suite for those who fly shared cockpit (which is becoming more and more mainstream) in the OVPA Shared Cockpit Setup Guide, which also contains Norton's Security Suite settings.  You can find the guide in the AVSIM Shared Cockpit forum, Aerosoft Connected Flight Deck forum or the OVPA Website.  It not only applies to shared cockpit, and it's something that everyone might read and ponder over if they think that PC security is not a big deal so long as they watch which websites they go to... that is an important part of one's security plan, but only a part of it.

 

I hope this has been helpful, and I'd be happy to answer any related questions anyone might have.

 

My very best wishes to all my flight sim brothers and sisters.

[fppilot 4,355]

virus software has been deprecated by blackhats who now favor Malware delivered via links.  I simply use Windows 10 defender which does the job well IMO.  Don't compare it to past Defender versions or even the virus Scanner Marketeer versions.  They all do the job well but Defender is the least obtrusive IMO.  Make sure to exclude you sim folder in any case.

 

Regards

jjs

I agree. It is my AV (Windows 10 defender) and I use MalwareBytes. The combo has been 100% effective, and I do a lot of variety in my web surfing! And the combo does not seem to affect my system performance. That to me along with 18 months of 100% effectiveness is the decisive factor!

[Beardyman 604]

For years Microsoft Security Essential in use - never had any problems

[kaosfere 3,115]

Speaking also with professional experience, I agree with DaveCT2003.   If you have a Windows PC and it isn't completely airgapped from a network it is reckless to not run antivirus and antimalware on it.   MSE is a solid recommendation, because the cost is zero, but if you're worried about maximum protection it's not the way to go.   There are a number of organizations that do serious AV testing, but I really like AV Comparatives.   They consistently rank several AV packages in the top tier, with probably the two best scoring ones usually being Kaspersky and BitDefender.    MSE usually falls one, if not two, classes behind.

I run Kaspersky on all of my Windows machines, with game mode configured for activation where suitable.    I also routinely scan with MBAM.  (MBAM v3 is out and now does real-time AV scanning in addition to its malware scans.  I've been thinking about giving that a spin, but I want to wait for some independent tests on it.)

If you don't want to run AV, keep your machine off the network and never install anything you don't 100% explicitly trust on it.   That's the best way to be safe.

(Really, though, the best, cheapest AV is common sense and a little education, but we all know how common common sense is.   )

[Guest JustanotherPilot]

Been using Kaspersky Total Security, multi-licence from day one on FSX, FSX-SE, P3D and XP10and 11. The only issue I have ever had was when it thought the Milviz 737 FSX install was installing malware and quarantined a few files, I just added those files as an exclusion and it installed no worries. And Kaspersky recognize loyal customers and offer great discounts to renew when it's time.

 

Prior to Kaspersky I used Norton and had no end of warnings and quarantining of files when I tried to install a flightsim Addon.

[hesynergy 67]

If anyone is interested, I made the case for mandating use of a computer security suite for those who fly shared cockpit (which is becoming more and more mainstream) in the OVPA Shared Cockpit Setup Guide, which also contains Norton's Security Suite settings.

 

Great input Dave!

 

I didn't realize your technical background... similar to mine (ex-Systems engineer/network consultant/CNE/CNI )in my heyday, and that's a great comfort to know that there is someone Who not only shares your deep interests, but also one whom you trust, and most importantly, is "current".

 

Regards,