Best Light Weight AV?

TairikuOkami · Apr 18, 2025

Levitate11 said:
Just stick with Avast and stop studying?

Yes. Avast has a great behavioral protection.

Panda and 360TSE are pretty light. They will do, when combined with a safe DNS like Quad9 and something like:

Prevent Malware & Ransomware Infections on Windows PC | OSArmor

OSArmor is a Windows application that focuses on preventing malware and ransomware infections by blocking malware delivery methods and suspicious processes behaviors.

www.osarmor.com

echo2446 · Apr 18, 2025

Levitate11 said:
I've been using Avast Free for years, but it's becoming more and more of a pig.

Yeah, me too. I used it for over a decade until I couldn't stand the memory usage anymore. For free stuff, it's still one of the best. If my system had 32GB of RAM, there's a good chance I'd go back to it. Since you are not troubled and you already like it, I wouldn't bother moving away from it. The only free AV that could arguably be better is Kaspersky.

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

Bitdender free is pretty lightweight.

Sheikh · Apr 18, 2025

russ8585 said:
I switched over to Windows 11 a few months back and Bitdefender is causing high slowdown. Explorer becomes almost unusable in some cases. Tried playing about with the settings but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

What are the best options available for a low resource AV?

Currently using MS defender which is good, but I would like a bit more protection.

I’ve Purchased the ESET Smart Security Premium. It’s too light for my system with 8GB RAM. (Using 30MB)
it’s one of the best AVs for recognizing all threats!

Edwin · Apr 18, 2025

Defender out-of-the-box. Never had a problem.

KevTech · Apr 18, 2025

glasskuter said:
On my machine MWB Pro + Defender at idle runs using about 1/2 gb ram and only a smidgen of cpu so you can't get much lighter on resources than that.

Nod32 just a few Megabytes.

gunrunnerjohn · Apr 18, 2025

kelper said:
OK, I uninstalled Webroot. Defender is using 150 - 500 MB of RAM.

I don't get excited about what memory is being used if it's that little, my machine has 64GB.

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

But mine has only 4GB, so I do care!

gunrunnerjohn · Apr 18, 2025

kelper said:
But mine has only 4GB, so I do care!

WOW, yes, I would care if that was the case as well! Why so little memory?

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

It's non-upgradeable. But 24H2 runs just fine.

oldschool · Apr 18, 2025

kelper said:
But mine has only 4GB, so I do care!

If you're not content with Defender, Panda and Webroot (by itself) are your low RAM alternatives. Webroot has great web protection, but overall is poor.

Levitate11 said:
Still, I'm wondering if something lighter is enough. I have a free download of Webroot with my new system. There's also MS Defender, which seems to be getting more respect. I confess to running with UAC disabled, but I could enable it if you convince me to.

So, Defender and Webroot? Is that enough? Something else? Just stick with Avast and stop studying?

Stick with Avast as @TairikuOkami suggests, or Webroot alone.

Sheikh · Apr 18, 2025

kelper said:
It's non-upgradeable. But 24H2 runs just fine.

Have you ever tried Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC?

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

oldschool said:
Webroot has great web protection, but overall is poor.

Please explain, I would disagree.

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

Sheikh said:
Have you ever tried Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC?

No, only the RAM is non-upgradeable the laptop is running 24H2

oldschool · Apr 18, 2025

kelper said:
No, only the RAM is non-upgradeable the laptop is running 24H2

You may trust the reviews by the big testing/promotional outlets, if you like. I don't put much stock in them.

Or you can look at these:

App Review - Webroot SecureAnywhere 2024

Webroot is an American security solutions provider. Formerly SpySweeper, the company acquired PrevX several years ago to create its SecureAnywhere solution. For several years now, Webroot has set itself apart from the competition with 100% Cloud protection. Despite this choice, it has...

malwaretips.com

App Review - Webroot SecureAnywhere CE 2023

Webroot is an American security solution based on the 100% Cloud. Previously, Webroot provided an anti-spyware solution called SpySweeper. They bought PrevX, one of the first companies to focus on the 100% Cloud, to become SecureAnywhere. Despite this, Webroot has never shone in my tests, and I...

malwaretips.com

App Review - Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete

Hello and welcome to the Webroot test! Webroot is an American antivirus. Having bought PrevX years ago, the company has kept the same philosophy by marrying the lightness of the product and the 100% Cloud. The antivirus is very easy to use, suitable for novices. It will not be for geeks crazy...

malwaretips.com

App Review - Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete 2021

Hello and welcome to the Webroot test! Webroot is an American company, acquiring PrevX a few years ago. They took over the operation of PrevX by making an antivirus in-the-cloud, and adding features. The protection is average. Even if Webroot has done a perfect job on URLs (by blocking all my...

malwaretips.com

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

I can't find any reviews of Webroot from the main AV testers. This may be because Webroot won't pay their fees. The major testers do not seem to understand that Webroot does not use definition files and will only act when malware starts to act maliciously. I still trust Webroot and do not think Defender is nearly as good. No computer of mine has ever been infected.

kelper · Apr 18, 2025

For anyone open-minded, here's a recent review of Webroot.

[URL='https://uk.pcmag.com/antiviru...eanywhere-antivirus[/URL]']Webroot Essentials

oldschool · Apr 18, 2025

kelper said:
No computer of mine has ever been infected.

Same here, with Defender. Security is not software, rather it's user dependent.

Levitate11 · Apr 18, 2025

glasskuter said:
On my machine MWB Pro + Defender at idle runs using about 1/2 gb ram and only a smidgen of cpu so you can't get much lighter on resources than that. I haven't measured it during scans. But even if my arrangement used more ram, as the owner I have a responsibility to add more if needed. The two play really well together and have protected me for many years.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the best protection one can have is common sense and using it to practice smart browsing habits. Ultimately YOU are your best protection.

Don't click on the first links of a web search. Go to only official sites. Go to ONLY reputable sites, not some off-the-wall place that sells stuff at what your think is a real "bargain"or some obscure place you've never heard of. Be cautious about any ads you click on and don't click on ANY ad on social media sites. Don't click on ANY email links unless you are absolutely sure of their validity. All these are ways you get exploited.

Do not EVER, EVER give anyone remote control of your computer unless your are 100% sure who you are dealing with.

All the AV apps in the world will not protect you from hackers. The user is most times responsible if he/she gets hacked. Make passwords, especially those to sensitive financial sites really, really difficult and use @2FA on those sites. This includes sites like Amazon who has your payment information stored. Most of these sites use passkeys. Use them if possible. Better yet, use a good password manager so you don't have to keep passwords on a tablet in your desk drawer. With a PW manager you'll have to remember only ONE password.(Mine one password is 22 digits long) You get more bang for your buck with a good password manager than you will ever get from paying for an AV app. Don't duplicate passwords. Change passwords on sensitive sites at least once every 6 months. (Yes, your email password, too and don't make it the name of your dog with a "1"after it or your kid's name)

Want to cut down on junk mail? Do not under any circumstances give your primary email address to websites or sign-ups for whatever. Create a throw-away email address for that purpose.

Last, but not least, if your data is important to you...Back...It...Up.

Yeah, I do most all of that now. But, you never know... In today's climate, I don't mind an application adding a layer beyond "paying attention".

As for passwords... this short story goes way back. But back in the early days, I worked at a very large computer company. So most of what we did was on the leading edge. Those were mostly "terminal on the desk" days. Of course they had passwords required. No one every changed them. Eventually they made us change it every year. Then every six months.

Then they went to once a month and prevented reuse of old passwords (most people were just flipping back and forth between two favorites every six months). At this point, most folks would forget what their passwords was last set to. So people started writing them down. On half the computers in the company people had a post-it on their terminal with their password. If they didn't, then that pull out extension panel on the desk had s post-it there.

LOL, the company had gone from people having passwords that were mostly unlikely to be guessed (when they didn't force changes) to half the company having their passwords available 24/7 on their desk. High security.

--

That old story told, what do you like for Password Managers? Or should I start a new thread as I'll be hijacking this one?

cheaterslick · Apr 18, 2025

Levitate11 said:
That old story told, what do you like for Password Managers? Or should I start a new thread as I'll be hijacking this one?

Start a new thread. That may prove interesting.

Best Light Weight AV?

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