Are antiviruses worth it ? My subscription expired a few days ago and they're pestering me to renew it. Will Windows Defender be good enough ? Do I really need an anti-virus ?

Windows Defender is sufficient.

But really you should switch to Linux.

@adhdeveloper I'd love to but primarily being a .NET dev isn't helping much :(. Agreed that .NET core is now cross platform, but from what I hear, the DX is not at par with what Windows has to offer. I might be wrong, but I haven't really dug into it.

If you use Windows, Windows Defender is enough - if you install regularly updates and "keep away from shady sides" TM.

eww windows

Yes, Windows Defender is enough. Also, it's fast - it doesn't slow your OS down, at all.

I should start suggesting people run Windows every time someone mentions Linux.

Oh, so now you see how stupid it is to recommend Linux at every possible opportunity?

BTW, I don't vape.

I'm just using Kaspersky free version

@Demolishun you should try tobacco

@WildOrangutan you're living on the edge, bruh.

The only case an antivirus has ever served me well is when I used to download .exe's of MS Office/ Adobe Suite, games etc via torrent.

Other than that their web safety exts suck, usually they're memory hogs, and often they auto-quarantine legit self-signed executables (eg OSS/ freeware). Pure annoyance. You are the biggest danger to your computer, but you can also be its greatest antivirus

@webketje So you didn't use cracks? Cracks (actually the exotic packers used to compress/obfuscate them) seem to be the real target of snake oil.

@Demolishun underrated comment, but one I can get 100% against. As if one OS was enough. Linux fanboys are cancer

@adhdeveloper linux doesnt magically prevent you from getting a virus. In fact, the choice of the OS makes hardly a difference. The problem usually sits in front of the PC.