Can I Use Multiple Antivirus Programs? - Comments Page 1

Just downloaded Malwarebytesfree and it begins as the full paid program and claims to revert to the on demand type after 14 days. Does this mean I'm going to have 'competing programs' for the next 14 days?

I'm currently running PC Matic.

I use Malwarebytes Premium and Windows Defender in tandem - the MWB scans my PC daily and I run a manual scan with the Windows Defender once a month to maintain protection - they seem to work together seamlessly and my PC operates normally.

You didn't mention PC Matic or Sophos

Malwarebytes (free or paid versions) don't conflict with Windows Defender, and doesn't slow down machines. I've used them both on several machines, and recommend them both to many others.

Bill C. It sounds like you clicked on the Free Download button at the top of their page and got the Free Trial of the paid version.

At the end of the free trial if they do not offer the free version go back to the page Bob links to in this article and click on the Pricing tab. Then choose the free version to download.

I love Windows Defender. It never asks you to pay for anything...just does its job and occasionally a box pops up letting me know a scan finished and I'm okay. I also use Malwarebytes Free to scan when I think something might be wrong. Occasionally, it asks to update and without a choice gives me a couple of weeks of the paid one...and at the end of that period, asks if I want to keep it or revert back to the free one, I love free!

My Dad is having trouble with Yahoo Mail who are "forcing" him to pay for Mail Pro or take ads on the free version.

He finds the ads too distracting so he attempted to upgrade to Yahoo Pro.

AVG totally blocks the payment stating it is doing so because the site is "URL fisching"

Now he doesn't know what to do, and neither do I

Any thoughts Bob?

I totally agree with the other comments about using Windows Defender and a paid version of Malwarebytes. I've never regretted the decision. Also, Bob's article about Privazer has me using that program as well. It's awesome!

I was fortunate to get an offer to buy MalwareBytes Pro with an unlimited, lifetime license many years ago when they still offered that option. They support it every bit as well as they do their yearly subscribers (it's pricey now) but I've never had a virus or piece of malware make it to my machine - I did use the free version for a couple years prior to that offer - it was $25 for life. I have transferred it to at least three different computers as I replaced desktops over the years.

I do run Windows Defender at the same time - there's a hack to permanently disable Defender, but they don't conflict or slow my machine, so I let them both operate. So far, so good. I have in the past used various free programs Comodo, Avast, Norton - none were easy, all were horrible to get rid of. I'm happy with my setup and will likely keep it as is.

I also have Apple devices, iPad Pro, iPhone, and a MacBookPro laptop. I use the free version of Malwarebytes on the laptop, but have a paid subscription to Sophos Home which is also outstanding and run that on all my Apple devices. So far, so good.

Lucy - I've had Yahoo Mail Pro for more than 20 years, they kept it at 19.95 until Verizon bought Yahoo. If you dig deep enough, you can find a phone number that will let you talk to a live person in the Yahoo Mail department. I've only had to do that once and years ago. I don't even remember what the problem was but they were able to fix it. No issues since even though Verizon doubled the cost. I have a Gmail backup, but I've used Yahoo Mail since 1995 or so and still like its interface best - though the original version was better than any of their improvements. Anyway, I suggest you dig into his settings, you'll be able to find a way to talk to them and they'll be able to fix it. They'll have a workaround for the payment issue. I have mine deducted automatically from my checking account - my protective services aren't involved at all.

Lucy: I also have Yahoo Mail and hate ads. So, I use Firefox and have added Ad Blocker. Other browsers have some form of Ad Blocker, but I'm not familiar with them.

Many paid sites object to my Ad Blocker. So, I choose to 1) not use them, or 2) white list them and tolerate their ads or 3) subscribe to them.

Perhaps you could use 2 real time scanners if the scopes are different. I remember (vaguely) the existence of virusscanners and adware (and the like) scanners without overlap. But that's long ago. So,assuming that's not the case anymore I agree with Bob. NEVER use more then 1 realtime scanner

Thank you to Gene and Phil

Gene ... I'll give that a try

Phil ... Yes, it is the Ad Blocker Yahoo Mail! object to. Dad would be "happy" to pay a subscription to avoid the ads that white listing brought forth.

Third option is to use Yahoo Basic Mail which removes most of the features. He may have to go that direction in the end though.

One may have many "Anti" programs installed it just depends on which ones are active at any given time. My choice is MS Security Essentials (MSSE)and Malwarebytes (MBAM) on my Win 7 PC.

It is recommended to run scans with other "anti" programs since each has their own strengths and weaknesses. I have my unattended overnight batch scan with a different scan every night. If a program does not have a command line version I use PTFBpro (like AutoIt) to run the scan. The requirement to do this is first run an SC command to turn off MSSE and also in every scan program list all other program's quarantine folders in the skip settings. When completed turn off the scan program and turn MSSE back on.

Hi Bob. You said you installed three antivirus progs and it took several hours to uninstall them. That surprised me as I would have made a disk image before carrying out that type of experiment so that restoring my PC back to how it was would have only been a matter of minutes. Any comment on my method would be appreciated.

I have used Webroot on two Windows computers since 2014. It scans quickly and on schedule It does now slow anything done. And I have never had an infected computer! Windows Defender scans periodically as well.

I have 2 (two) real-time and 1 on-demand AV Programs installed in the same time on my computer, and they all do very well, besides there´s not a grain of slowing down my computer. The 3 AV programs are: BitDefender, Kaspersky and Loaris Trojan Remover. They cohabit without disturbance.
Soussi

For that complain about advertising in web mail systems, regardless of the system, there is an alternative. It's called an email client, and there are lots of them, and most are free.

Mozilla Thunderbird is probably the top recommendation for free clients, Microsoft Outlook for the paid clients. I still recommend and occasionally use Windows Live Mail, even though it's hard to find now. Windows 10 "Mail" is another, although I find it so dumbed down it's frustrating to use.

All of them handle multiple email systems at the same time which perfect if you have more than on email address that you wish to keep separate. I use MS Outlook with 10+ accounts, and every one of them have the same interface. There is even a free copy of Outlook for Android.

After reading this article I did some checking and found out that windows defender was off and I couldn't turn it on. After several hours of searching I found out it was missing an update. I also found out that Microsoft was the best route for solving the problem (who knew?)after trying several other websites for help.
Thanks to your article I would have never known it wasn't working. Keep up the good work Bob.

I use threatfire as a second anti-virus it works well with any other anti-virus.