Can anyone suggest (in their experience) the best internet security that they use?
Thanks.,
Change your password every 2 weeks or so, Do network scans and install IDS systems to prevent untrusted people getting into your account.
Make sure you disable things that your not using in the firewall. Ports, Settings and what not.
Don’t hand out the password to random friends or family, sometimes they come in and have random malware installed.
Setup a guest network, Limit your browsing to normal websites and treat your router like a child, it doesn’t know what’s bad or is good. It relies on you to make sure it’s kept safe.
Thank you for your response. Apologies. I meant more about what Antivirus is the best to use? thanks.
AVG Works decently, Most malware is distributed through phishing emails but as times shift they’ve begun using discord to spread the malware. MS10D Sucks due to the fact it doesn’t detect browser based threats. Most times I notice a popup page has HTTP.Evil.Clicker installed, but AVG picks it up and blocks the threat or alerts me.
MSDEF isn’t the worst AV, It’s not be best either however it’s free with install and has nothing hidden except for telemetry scanning. If you’re concerned about Malware being deployed an IDS usually prevents malware from going unnoticed as it pops up or asks if you want a program to connect.
Thank you Chloe. 
AVG has had some controversy about selling user data which is unacceptable: Avast and AVG collect and sell your browsing history: What you need to know | Tom's Guide
I agree, Windows Defender which comes pre-installed with every Win10 machine or higher is definitley not bad. I’ve had discussions with people who told me that it’s unnecessary to pay for anything more since the virus definition are often the same.
I personally use Avira Free Antivirus but it’s starting to get bloatware as well, having included some “PC Optimizer” software which is bundled with the Antivirus. Kinda annoying cuz the freeware also has some “Please buy premium” popups once a week or so. And also it detects some “issues” with my PC performance which is bullshit. Once I click on fix it asks me to buy premium lol. But the antivirus feature works quite neat, always detects infected files when I download them or move to my PC before I even try to execute them.
Last but not least, Malwarebytes definitely deserves a shoutout. They do a lot in terms of fighting scams as well and they have a very good reputation for their MBAM. If I would pay for antivirus, I’d definitely pay them and if it’s just to support them for fighting scams.
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Indeed AVG/Avast may sell your data, however windows does that as well. Just about any large corporation sells and trades data. It’s rather impossible to maintain the ability not to profit in some sort of fashion.
You shouldn’t need to buy a New AV however it depends on what your looking for. I Run with ESET-NOD32 due to the fact It’s a pain to bypass or bypass for long periods of time. After sometime most encrypted malware stubs begin to be scanned and the encryption basically fails. I Also deploy Anti malware products on my Linux Desktop just to keep shit out however my IDS Does more than enough work to even have an Antivirus installed it’s just lovely to have one sometimes trusted software from GitHub deploys malicious software/scripts so it’s best to have it running just in case someone wants to clip my BTC wallets or something which is not so much of a problem yet i’ve encountered it before. My IDS wouldn’t detect a local clipboard replacing script but my AV usually nabs it.
It comes down to whats needed/expected, some AVs are better than others and others offer additional protection where it’s needed the most. Some people want a better Internet detection scan, others want better Ransomware protection and others aren’t doing too much weird shit to be bothered to even have an AV installed.
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Thanks NeeP. Would this be relevant to a paid service, also I use a VPN (Windscribe) is the above still an issue? (sorry still learning). On their website it states: But only references the free service. thanks.
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As per VPN, if your questions is free vs paid VPN then yes, mostly you should go with a paid VPN as their business model is to earn revenue through the paid memberships and not by selling your internet traffic. There are exceptions though, Windscribe and other VPNs which offer paid subscriptions are fine to use in their free version. They offer the free version to lure you to buy the premium later on which is ok. So they are safe to use but often have some limitations, i.e. less internet speed or some data cap.
I like how AVG phrased it: AVG does NOT currently share any non-personal data.
It doesn’t say anything about what they do with personal data + they only say “currently”. Maybe they have stopped now once the media burned them for selling user data but I still don’t want to support such a company in any way, shape or form.
I don’t think other companies sell data, at least not to that extend. It also depends where the users are located. Being located in an European country, I’m covered by the GDPR which limits the companies’ rights to do whatever they want with my data. I haven’t heard about any other bigger VPN/AV brand being in the news for selling user data and I’m sure there are people who are looking out for that.
Thanks for the reply. yeah, so I use paid Windscribe VPN not the free version.
I also live in EU so covered by GDPR which is good, in terms of AV (i run windows) do you think windows defender is enough or would you suggest Avira. Bitdefender or Malwarebytes? etc etc
I’m a very private person so want to keep that but also defend my laptop against threats, open to suggestions?
TIA
Malware bytes is decent, If your concerned about being hacked or hit with Malware install an Intrusion Detection System (IDS). I Run one on most of my devices. This way it keeps any unwanted connection out of my system.