Anti-Virus and Malware tools

This document exists for prevention. For active issues please see our thread on malware removal

Definitions

AV - Anti-Virus runs constantly in the background, scanning files on download, on access, or on a schedule

AM - Anti-Malware should be run on demand to check for residual PUPs or other issues.

PUP - Potentially unwanted program, this is a generic term for 'shitware'

Windows Defender

The built in solution for AV in Windows 10 is more than adequate for consumers. This is much better than running a free AV suite that is of lesser quality or plans to sell your personal habits for profit (MCafee, Avast, AVG, etc)

MalwareBytes

This is best used for supplemental scanning. The full product that functions as an AV follows the below rules for AV products.

Free Alternatives

All free alternatives are considered shitware. They will sell you as their product and provide more a more troublesome experiece. We do not recommend Avast, AVG, Kaspersky, McAfee or any other alternative AV.

Paid AV Suites

We do not recommend any paid AV suite for consumers, they do not provide significant advantages over Windows Defender and only increase overhead.