Recommended anti-virus for 2023?

[Steelbom]

G'day g'day,

I have a free install of MalwareBytes which I run every month or two.
I've never felt the need to have an active antivirus; I don't click dodgy links or open files from unknown senders, amongst other things.
I also have a VM which is mostly isolated which I use for opening any files that I think are legit but a bit suspicious.

However, I was watching that LTT video about the hack using a fake PDF.
That's something that could definitely get past me as I open a lot of PDFs (if they're from an expected/legitimate source).

Thought it might be prudent to have some form of active AV.

TLDR; I'd like a paid anti-virus. I have the free MalwareBytes, considering upgrading to paid.
Read some reviews that say BitDefender or Norton are quite good... the latter includes a firewall as well.
I'm currently just periodically running a MB scan and using the default Windows Defender firewall.

Any thoughts / advice?

Cheers,
SB

 

[CodeBeholder]

I find this article still valid and follow it's advice: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/best-antivirus/

TLDR; According to a study of all available AV software, Windows Defender is as good the other products.

 

[EXCellR8]

I've been partial to BitDefender Total Security for awhile now; I think I'm paying for it on 3 devices. They often have some multi-device coverage deals going on.

Can't go wrong with a 30 day trial

 

[A///]

Windows defender is very good. you don't need anything else. I would even say you don't need much beyond that malware bytes free option. a few years ago when the company changed formats i didn't pay for another paid license but kept with the project. sadly it does seem whatever charm malware byte had in the past is long gone. there's a lot of low impact steps you can take to minimise your security risk. just takes time thats all.

 

[mindless1]

LTT solution: Don't keep windows default setting of hiding file extensions. Next, LOOK at the file extension.

AV solution: Upload anything to virustotal first for multi-engine scanning.

I'm not suggesting not to get a paid AV if that's what you want, but that option depends on it alone, while the above two solutions seem like more protection for your concerns.

 

[VirtualLarry]

LTT solution: Don't keep windows default setting of hiding file extensions. Next, LOOK at the file extension.

But beware the ThioJoe-discovered (*) malware, where they insert escape characters into the filename, to cause RIGHT-TO-LEFT rendering, thus making something into a .exe.PDF, actually be an .exe.

(*) One of his more recent, and serious, videos.