Antivirus

[Mikekolly]

Does discount coupon worth the subscription? Actually I found https://www.couponbuffer.com/coupons/avira/ is offering discount on Avira antivirus but I'm not sure if I would get the full features of Avira nor not.

[IainB]

The question would seem to be kind of academic, since you don't need to pay for a very good  - possibly the best - AV (antivirus) software, given that there's a perfectly good free one that comes bundled with Windows 10 in Windows Defender.
Windows Defender includes a Firewall and an AV (which was previously named MSE - Microsoft Security Essentials). All you need to do is enable that AV in the OS, and away you go. However some OEM installations actually disable the MSE component, and nag you to pay for a pre-installed AV package (Norton/Symantec seem to be notorious for doing that). Maybe that is happening in your case.
If it is what is happening in your case, then you will probably first have to remove all traces of Norton/Symantec or whatever you have, before the MSE AV can be enabled. That was what happened with one of my laptops, at any rate. I used RevoUninstaller ($FREE version) to uninstall any proggies related to "Norton" " or "Symantec", then I used Everything to search up all left-over files/folders related to "Norton" " or "Symantec" (including in the Windows Store cache) and deleted them, then ran CCleaner ($FREE version) to remove any left-over Registry hooks. Those AVs were almost as bad as a virus/malware.

As @f0dder wrote in reply to your question in the thread Re: Windows 10 Privacy Concerns

What antivirus I can for my windows 10 Privacy and protection?

Just stick with Windows Defender for AV - possibly supplementing with MalwareBytes AntiMalware - but read this.

As for "privacy", you might want to read this. O&O Shutup10 doesn't seem too bad, though.

- where your question was:

What antivirus I can for my windows 10 Privacy and protection?

@f0dder's advice is very good in that it seems to be consistent with the discovery/experience of many Windows PC users in this forum (i.e., it is not just an unfounded opinion). If you search the discussions in the forum, you will find various useful threads on MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) and MalwareBytes.

Of course, if you want to, or prefer to pay for an AV proggy such as Avira, then go ahead - knock yourself out - but then, why worry about the value of a discount coupon for an Avira subscription?   

[Mikekolly]

Oh, windows defer is enough!
Thanks Iain for the advice.

[Ath]

Oh, windows defender is enough!

Important requirement: On Windows 10 that is, older Windows releases only have a 'less well-developed' MSE version available.

[Mikekolly]

Thanks For your suggestions;

[f0dder]

Oh, windows defender is enough!

Important requirement: On Windows 10 that is, older Windows releases only have a 'less well-developed' MSE version available.

Isn't it Win7+?

[Ath]

Isn't it Win7+?

Well, the Win 10 version is the one updated with (reasonable) up to date AV technology, not the Win 7/Win8.x version, AFAIK, and the baseline Win 10 OS is far more security-aware than previous releases.

[MilesAhead]

One of the professors who teaches the Computer Repair Level 2 class I am fond of taking is very psyched on Avast AV.  You can totally legally create a bootable USB scanner after installing the trial version on a clean computer.  You can download Avast from Ninite

Step by step to create a bootable USB

The professor had an IT company back in the day.  He related that his company was paying some $6,000 odd per year subscription for a corporate wide license of Norton AV.  As the story goes, he kept encountering strange behavior on some of the workstations.  But the Norton scans all came up clean.  He consulted friends with their own IT companies and was told to scrap the Norton and create the bootable Avast thumb drive and scan the strange workstations.  Turns out the Avast detected dozens of malwares on the "clean" workstations and fixed them up.

I am not a big believer in AV period.  But when I do scan I use a free one with a good reputation.  Hmm, why does that remind me of a Dos Equis commercial? 

I haven't tried MSE myself but regular posters on several Windows Support Forums swear by it.  I just never got around to checking it out.  It can't be a total piece of crap because the regulars who praise it are no dummies.  If you have a pre W10 system you may want to download MSE.

[f0dder]

I haven't tried MSE myself but regular posters on several Windows Support Forums swear by it.  I just never got around to checking it out.  It can't be a total piece of crap because the regulars who praise it are no dummies.  If you have a pre W10 system you may want to download MSE.

It's not as much of a "MSE is super cool and catches everything" as it's a case of "Pretty much everything else has a high snake-oil factor, and is so hopelessly engineered that it creates more security problems than it fixes".

[MilesAhead]

I haven't tried MSE myself but regular posters on several Windows Support Forums swear by it.  I just never got around to checking it out.  It can't be a total piece of crap because the regulars who praise it are no dummies.  If you have a pre W10 system you may want to download MSE.

It's not as much of a "MSE is super cool and catches everything" as it's a case of "Pretty much everything else has a high snake-oil factor, and is so hopelessly engineered that it creates more security problems than it fixes".

I believe that.  That's why I don't run any Real Time Shield(tm) type stuff.  I used SandBoxie for awhile but it became too small for the job imho.  Plus the author got pissed about some licensed copies he gave away being passed around.  So he set up the new license mechanism so he could kill your license by remote control.  Too much overkill for me.  I stopped updating when it would have meant changing to the new license scheme.

The scare mongering marketing scheme annoys me anyway.  That and the idea that if somebody pays a few hundred bucks for a "certificate" they must be trustworthy.  What a laugh.  Like make sure if you are ripped off it is by somebody who isn't broke.  I fail to see the logic.