kaspersky total security questions

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How does Kaspersky’s Total Security stack up against the competition?

 

Is there a better one, for less cost?

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My manager likes to resell Kaspersky.  I use Sophos Home (free) on all my Macs.  We had been going with his recommendation to use AVG Free when customers didn’t want a paid antivirus – we’re not doing that.  Too many machines have come in with active infections and fully functional AVG – it just flat out doesn’t do the job.  I put Sophos Home (free…) on a customer’s pc recently, seems to be working as well as it does on my Macs.  Windows Defender actually isn’t as bad as MSE used to be.  I prefer to not use the M$ solution, just because of their decades long history of hooking their apps into the OS in ways other companies don’t have access to.  So if M$ s**** up one month on Defender and a zero day get in wide circulation, it’s a bad day.

Hey look! Another Feature Update!

You mean I shouldn't click Check for Updates?

Where is the Any key?

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I am using Kaspersky Anti Virus for years. I trust the app and never had any problems.
Kaspersky is at the top of Anti-Virus apps in all tests.

For Windows 10 Microsoft Defender is good enough for most users.

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According to AV-Comparatives, Windows Defender performs as well as Kaspersky, but has more false positives.

cheers, Paul

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WSJCitizen, wavy

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then if it has more false positives, It really does not outperform Kaspersky, right?

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DriftyDonN

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false positives leave me with a perception of the word POSITIVE. Perception is reality. I used Kapesky many yrs back- too much in the way. I use Bitdefender Total Security now(dont really need Total security as It eats up battery on android and I dont have a mac. My next will be down a notch. Ive gotten used to Bitdefender so Ill stay with it for now.

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[Michael Austin]

anonymous wrote:

How does Kaspersky’s Total Security stack up against the competition?

 

Is there a better one, for less cost?

For the best software available I generally look for objective reviews on them. Kaspersky is consistently at the top of their game. A loooonnng time ago I remember being impressed that a Kaspersky analyst (a woman) had all us geeks atwitter because she’d found a way to inject surreptitious code into a PC’s BIOS for the first time. Many network techs were freakin’ out over that.

PC Mag still has some pretty good reviews and there will be other sites. I ran Symantec/Norton for many years. I also liked and ran WebRoot for a while. I recently switched to Bitdefender and I like its performance.

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-antivirus-protection

Finance, social and tech founder. Managing director of new crowd sourced games in pre-release development. Director on a new consortium to bring fractional ownership of heritage antiquities to the blockchain. My planet-wide talk show for people craving new stories by which to live is Casual Saints.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by Michael Austin.

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PS… here’s the PC Mag link for reviews of Internet security suites

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-security-suites

Finance, social and tech founder. Managing director of new crowd sourced games in pre-release development. Director on a new consortium to bring fractional ownership of heritage antiquities to the blockchain. My planet-wide talk show for people craving new stories by which to live is Casual Saints.

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Is there a particular reason why you’d need the “Total Security” package? The “Internet Security” package is the one I use and it covers all I need it to do. If you don’t need everything in Total Security, you can save yourself some money by getting Internet Security instead.

As to how it stacks up against the competition, pretty well. Kaspersky is reliable and effective and their product is consistently ranked as one of the best anti-malware solutions out there. There’s a free version of Kaspersky (not the free trial) for Windows that’s a little hard to get, but it exists.

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DriftyDonN

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i’ve used Kapersky for the last year now the only issue I’ve ever found with it is that I’m using the plug-in called DIVI with WordPress and it does not allow it to run.

it did find a virus on an email that no other software in our organization found. it was not a false positive. What I’m finding now though is that the new attacks are coming through emails perhaps on people’s cell phones we’ve experienced quite a few attacks like that in the last month and we know that it’s coming from the cell phones because the emails that get sent out by the virus include addresses that are not on the person’s work address list but are on their contacts on your phone. I’m of the belief right now that antivirus software is only mildly effective against the new series of viruses were seeing. also they are targeting people who are not using multi factor authentication. I’m also of the believe that the era of a sole password is about to end.

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DriftyDonN

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do you know anything about ESET Cyber Security Pro?

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Based on results from AV testing sites, I switched to Kaspersky from Bitdefender which was consistanstly hanging up on my system. The Kaspersky initial scan did find a couple small issues that BitDefender ignored. The only issue I have with Kaspersky is what I consider a sneaky popup guised as an “update” that is actually offering an “upgrade”. I personally find that an unethical business practice. I am going to wait and see if that goes away. But, from a security standpoint, Kaspersky seems solid.

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I had used a number of Anti Virus softwares over the years, AVG was one of them, I switched to PCMatic a couple of years ago, have had ZERO problems. AV has them sitting on the very top in their testing.

I had a nasty virus with AVG that is why I switched to PCMatic and have had zero problems with it. It lets me set up white board for programs it does not recognize and then they run without problem.

I recommend this software gladly. It is only 50$ for 5 machines for one year. Works on my phone too which is android.

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Based on recommendations years ago on the Lounge website, I switched to Malwarebytes and have had no problems.

I see that Malwarebytes does not feature in the latest listing above, and so I’m considering switching to Norton.  My wife’s machine (identical to mine as I built them both) had Kaspersky on it. I found that to be a heavy user of her computer as well as a bloated piece of software.

Please comment on Malwarebytes latest iteration.
Trevor.

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Webroot SecureAnywhere is tiny and uses few resources.  If malware does any ‘damage’ Webroot can roll it back.  It can even recover from ransom ware.  You can buy a license keycode on eBay, which I have been doing for three years.  Five devices for one year is £15.

Tech support is by email one-on-one and is excellent.  Covers Windows, Mac and Android.  A scan takes about two minutes.

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WSmross wrote:

It can even recover from ransom ware

Given that you need to decrypt the files affected by ransomware, how can Webroot recover?

cheers, Paul

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By keeping copies of original files?  When it spots suspicious activity, it starts journalling – recording all changes that a process makes.  Best go to their website and read about it as I am not an expert.  It was an Editiors’ Choice in a PCMag review.

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There is no mention of being able to recover from ransomware on the Webroot site. They only suggest you backup.

cheers, Paul

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long time ago, in this very same OLD Woody’s Lounge, someone recommended Emsisoft. i kinda believe it’s from Germany.

i tried for a while, liked it and have been using it since. quite satisfied

does anyone have something to comment about it?

 

 

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You did not look very hard!  Check the feature list!

https://www.webroot.com/ca/en/home/products/compare

 

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Paul T wrote:

There is no mention of being able to recover from ransomware on the Webroot site. They only suggest you backup.

cheers, Paul

see here for additional info https://uk.pcmag.com/antivirus/36570/webroot-secureanywhere-antivirus

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From the PCMag article.

And we demonstrated empirically that under the right circumstances, it can reverse ransomware damage

Added to the lack of this claim on the Webroot site, I would not consider “ransomware rollback” to be a feature.

This doesn’t mean it’s not a good AV, just don’t rely on it to protect you from new ransomware variants.

cheers, Paul

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I’ve been happy 2+ years now with Webroot. Not a resource hog. I switched from many years with Norton. Their advanced features are good.

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Paul T wrote:

From the PCMag article.

And we demonstrated empirically that under the right circumstances, it can reverse ransomware damage

Added to the lack of this claim on the Webroot site, I would not consider “ransomware rollback” to be a feature.

This doesn’t mean it’s not a good AV, just don’t rely on it to protect you from new ransomware variants.

cheers, Paul

Why do you not consider it a feature?  It is a very good AV and has this added feature.  You seem to have made your mind up DESPITE the evidence.  I hope the OP is more open minded.  Anyway, you are entitled to disagree with me, no worries.  😊

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Nothing to be open minded about, it’s not advertised on the Webroot site so it isn’t a feature.

cheers, Paul

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Based on what I saw on the website, it says effective prevention (not the exact words) but nothing about “Rolling Back”

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Paul T

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Paul T wrote:

Nothing to be open minded about, it’s not advertised on the Webroot site so it isn’t a feature.

cheers, Paul

Yes, it is.  Here is another link.  https://www.webroot.com/blog/2017/05/13/wannacry-ransomware-webroot/

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anonymous wrote:

Based on recommendations years ago on the Lounge website, I switched to Malwarebytes and have had no problems.

I see that Malwarebytes does not feature in the latest listing above, and so I’m considering switching to Norton.  My wife’s machine (identical to mine as I built them both) had Kaspersky on it. I found that to be a heavy user of her computer as well as a bloated piece of software.

Please comment on Malwarebytes latest iteration.
Trevor.

I am using Malwarebytes Antimalware also, and so far have not caught any malware since I started using it exclusively. I was using Avast with it, but after an attack where neither of them detected the malware, I decided they were no longer compatible with each other. The thing is, now days, I don’t think ANY anti-malware can catch all the new bugs the crooks are throwing at us. Maybe Kaspersky and ESET come the closest, but as long as I’m running as a “standard” user, I can simply run the CCleaner file cleaner and flush anything out of the account by simply doing that. A reboot is required to kill anything that may be in RAM.

Now saying that, one must also keep ALL applications updated so that no vulnerabilities can be exploited. I’m having great luck with Opatch on my Win7 machine, and it is doing a better job than I used to, manually, when Secunia PSI was still in business. Opatch can also be used concurrently with Windows 10 update, and there should be no conflict, but I have read from other users that sometimes Opatch beats Microsoft Update to the draw; and does it with much less intrusive updates. It runs on a special micro-patch cycle that does an amazing job keeping things patched without need to reboot, and wondering if MS update will leave the machine a brick after a rollup update. I’d be tempted to turn off Window 10 updates, if that is still possible and use it instead!!

I am not a shill for Opatch, just a very happy user that wants to foil the dastardly deeds of criminals on the web!

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WSdanielr2 wrote:

long time ago, in this very same OLD Woody’s Lounge, someone recommended Emsisoft. i kinda believe it’s from Germany.

i tried for a while, liked it and have been using it since. quite satisfied

does anyone have something to comment about it?

 

 

Emsisoft is an extraordinary anti-malware suite. It was the only one that could even detect the legal MPAA spyware that was on my machine because of all the HDTV and blu-ray burner equipment I had on the PC. The only trouble was, when they dropped the Mamutu HIPS and melded it with the suite, I could no longer adjust it to leave my spyware alone. Since I like using my HD cable service, and look at a blu-ray movie occasionally, I had to discontinue using it. One of the BIG impressive records about Emsisoft, is that they told their own government to go fish, when they attempted to pressure them into allowing a back door for surveillance. Now THAT is impressive! And as far as I know they never did knuckle under to any government on this issue!!

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Well I’ve been satisfied with Kaspersky Internet Security for years, but the US Government certainly doesn’t like Kaspersky. I don’t know why.

48 CFR § 52.204-23 – Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and
Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab and Other Covered Entities.

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause –

Covered article means any hardware, software, or service that –

(1) Is developed or provided by a covered entity;

(2) Includes any hardware, software, or service developed or provided in whole or in part by a covered entity; or

(3) Contains components using any hardware or software developed in whole or in part by a covered entity.

Covered entity means –

(1) Kaspersky Lab;

(2) Any successor entity to Kaspersky Lab;

(3) Any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Kaspersky Lab; or

(4) Any entity of which Kaspersky Lab has a majority ownership.

(this continues on and on)…

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JohnW

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I’ve been using Symantec for decades with no problems, and so I’ve become biased to their products. I suspect the reason the US Government doesn’t like Kaspersky is that it’s a Russian company. Just my two cents!

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yes there always is in the back of my mind the question that isn’t virtually every company in Russia capable of being compromised by the government? Then again isn’t virtually every company in this country capable of being compromised by the government? I chose to give Kapersky  try last year because of the reviews and I’ve been by and large been happy with it,

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