SOLVED Dump McAfee in favor of Win 10 built-in Security.

[Kellarman]

My new laptop came with a trial version of McAfee Live Antivirus. I am using it with no complaints except one. Wouldn't it be better, cleaner lets say, to use the Windows 10 Security Suite that was purpose built for this O.S.?
I learned in this forum that the Windows 10 Suite tests poorly when compared to other Security products. So the question I put to you, The Forum. And it is either Windows or McAfee because I will not look for other mfg..

 

[clifford_cooley]

I can only state my opinion/preference.

• I am currently using Windows Defender.
• McAfee would be one of the first applications I removed.

 

[AceInfinity]

McAfee in my personal opinion is more like spam-ware than anything that could be classified as an AV. The detection methods used in a few cases are actually quite scary; "hackish". Additionally, it's not that defensive from what I recall, not as resource heavy as something like Norton, and doesn't leave a big footprint behind like AVG, but it's just "not that good" at the end of the day. I loved Norton for the firewall, they have improved over the years, but they still seem to believe that it's okay to take away a 1/4 of your usable memory and same thing with your CPU usage, which is something I did not like about it.

In most cases, the built in Windows Defender is good enough for most users as long as you make it your top priority to keep it up to date and active.

 

[davehc]

"
n most cases, the built in Windows Defender is good enough for most users as long as you make it your top priority to keep it up to date and active."

For the op. If you attempt to install other antivirus or firewall programs, most will disable the built in (Defender and Firewall) IF you do this, always run a quick check to make sure they are, indeed, still operating. Normally you will get a popup in the notification area advising you, if they are not
Updating is not something you need to worry about. It is automatic and frequent in Windows 10.

 

[Dan99]

I can do more than state my opinion, I can tell you of my experience with Defender.

I use Defender and Firewall then manually cleanup with Ccleaner and Malwarebytes each week. They update automatically. They do not nag me for upgrades. I am not emailed by them. They just reside on my pc passively. I have tried many so called free anti-virus offerings and reject them all. My system is fast and free of spyware and virus attacks. I do not even get unwanted ads because I use Adblock.

 

[Bif]

My ISP offers free McAfee security suite and even with it's attractive price tag I will never use it.It has far too many processes running at any given time and I find it's equivalent of running a speed boat that's anchored..it bog's the system down to a crawl.
All I use is the seamlessly integrated Defender and Malwarebytes as an on demand scanner..no ill effect at all on system performance.
And as I always say,security is 95% safe surfing habits.

 

[Trouble]

Wouldn't it be better, cleaner lets say, to use the Windows 10 Security Suite that was purpose built for this O.S.?

I'm gonna go with....... Yep, I believe it would.
As a somewhat interesting anecdote.
I just did a clean install of Windows 10 for a friend who was frustrated with the way her computer was working. That's what she wanted so that's what I did
I booted her computer with my Acronis Rescue media and did a disk image of her drive.
I then wiped her drive with diskpart and did the new install and ran all pending updates.
IN the process of recovering her critical data from her profile and putting stuff back where it belonged, I noticed that Windows Defender kept notifying of detected items.

Nothing earth shattering, just a half dozen java script items, but....
The installed software that she was using was McAfee.
I didn't ask, so I don't know if it was an active subscription, or if it was updated or if she ran manual scans recently.

 

[davehc]

THat is certainly going in my memory store, Trouble

 

[Kellarman]

First, let me express my appreciation for the replies I received. I'm so happy to be a new member amongst this Forum. Six posts came in and they're all well reasoned and thoughtful. All excellent "food for thought" which brings me to a conclusion, a decision, and my answer.
I will "Dump" the McAfee and run a tidy system with Windows Defender, Firewall and the rest. Additionally, I will check out Malwarebytes since many use it and recommend it.
Again- Thanks to All.

 

[Defender01]

I can do more than state my opinion, I can tell you of my experience with Defender.

I use Defender and Firewall then manually cleanup with Ccleaner and Malwarebytes each week. They update automatically. They do not nag me for upgrades. I am not emailed by them. They just reside on my pc passively. I have tried many so called free anti-virus offerings and reject them all. My system is fast and free of spyware and virus attacks. I do not even get unwanted ads because I use Adblock.

I also do and run all the above with no problems.

 

[Alan Sh]

Just an FYI:

I recently removed Avast in favour of Windows Defender. I had to reboot my PC twice before Defender would enable itself. No idea why, but it's working now.

 

[Bif]

You'll be a happy camper now I'm sure...
as far as the double reboot...just one of those MS things,likely due to definition updates.
Glad its working!