Mom got a new laptop.

[bedlamite]

This means she's gonna have a ton of questions that are caused by operator error.  


ASUS ZenBook. It came preloaded with a bunch of "free" software, and Mcafee AV.

Plan is to get rid of all the free garbage that came with it using this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10startfresh

I went all Linux several years ago, and I'm not familiar with the latest greatest software. What Is the best choice for AV? I'm assuming Windows Defender is mostly pointless, is Kaspersky of Avast still good?

[Boomhauer]

Avast is very annoying and bloated these days, pity. It was good long ago.

[Hawkmoon]

I used Avast for a number of years. A couple or few years ago it became annoying and I tried at least a half dozen others. I'm back to using Avast, and I don't find it annoying or overly intrusive at all. They seem to have found about the right balance.

[lee n. field]

This means she's gonna have a ton of questions that are caused by operator error.  


ASUS ZenBook. It came preloaded with a bunch of "free" software, and Mcafee AV.

Plan is to get rid of all the free garbage that came with it using this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10startfresh

I went all Linux several years ago, and I'm not familiar with the latest greatest software. What Is the best choice for AV? I'm assuming Windows Defender is mostly pointless, is Kaspersky of Avast still good?

If it was me, I'd make a win 10 boot stick using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.  Boot off it, wipe all partitions, install from scratch.

If it's in S-mode, get out of S-mode.  Will require a MS account in the Windows Store.  Then go to ninite.com, tag off Chrome and Firefox, and Libre Office, and whatever else strikes your fancy.

For free AV, any more, I tend to put Bitdefender Free on.  Or, since we're moving into selling Sophos to the business clients, Sophos Home free version. 

[Andiron]

I still use Kaspersky, for home and work.  Seems like the most effective/least in your face solution for an antivirus/malware prog.

[zxcvbob]

I agree with Lee about the fresh install.  Make sure the OEM install is activated first so Windows will activate after you reinstall it.

You can also do an almost fresh install in Windows itself by going into the Settings menu: Settings->Update & Security->Recovery->Reset this PC.  After you press the Get Started button, tell it to remove all personal files and apps.  I haven't done this in a while so I don't remember all the details past the Get started button and I don't have a system I want to reset right now.

I usually use the Windows Media Creation Tool to upgrade from Win 7 or to reinstall.

[AJ Dual]

I just use Windows Defender and leave it at that.

https://www.techradar.com/news/is-windows-defender-good-enough-for-your-pc

And then use the free edition of Malwarebytes to more aggressively clean manually on occasion or if there's any concerns.

Using that setup, my four teens haven't ruined a laptop with malware/viruses yet. And they scrub very dark/odd corners of the internet in constant search of Minecraft mods, and weaboo Anime stuff.

Whatever is "the best" in AV keeps switching around and is a moving target that would require you to change it every year anyway. "Good Enough" that stays out of your way and is unobtrusive like Windows Defender is preferable in my mind.

[Hawkmoon]

I just use Windows Defender and leave it at that.

That reminds me ...

I posted that I use Avast. I do -- I also run Windows Defender in parallel with Avast. I also have the free edition of Malwarebytes and I periodically run a manual scan with that.

The best defense (which may be difficult with both younger and older people) is to not blindly accept every offer that you see on screen. When my wife was alive and her granddaughter was here visiting, my wife complained that her computer was very slow. So I took a look. Someone (not sure if it was my wife or the granddaughter) had installed so many optional toolbars that there was hardly any screen left. So I got rid of most of those. Then I ran Avast in manual scan mode, and it picked up (IIRC) about 250 pieces of virus, malware, and spyware. Then I ran Malwarebytes, and it picked up well over a hundred more things that Avast had missed.

I'm pretty certain the culprit was the granddaughter. She's not at all respectful of nuisancy things like, oh, you know ... copyrights and such, so she spends (or spent -- this was several years ago) a lot of time surfing dodgy sites looking to download popular games and music without paying for it.

[bedlamite]

The best defense (which may be difficult with both younger and older people) is to not blindly accept every offer that you see on screen. When my wife was alive and her granddaughter was here visiting, my wife complained that her computer was very slow. So I took a look. Someone (not sure if it was my wife or the granddaughter) had installed so many optional toolbars that there was hardly any screen left. So I got rid of most of those. Then I ran Avast in manual scan mode, and it picked up (IIRC) about 250 pieces of virus, malware, and spyware. Then I ran Malwarebytes, and it picked up well over a hundred more things that Avast had missed.

That's exactly what I meant in the OP when I mentioned operator error.

I give it a week before she installs something that she doesn't even know she's installing and then complains about "this window that keeps coming up"

[MechAg94]

Is CCleaner still a decent program to clean out temporary files and stuff?  I got a copy from an IT guy years ago.  I stopped using it, but I have been thinking about it.

I also used to use Spybot-Search & Destroy since it had a function that blocked registry changes.  Not sure if they are still active or not.

[Perd Hapley]

I used Malware Bytes for a long time, but the Free version has gotten very pesky, constantly bugging me to upgrade.

[Calumus]

Kaspersky free is the way to go for a no cost av. Ccleaner is good for tidying up; but avoid the registry clean up. It’s been a little problematic since Windows 8 came out. After that, O&O shut up ten. Choose the “all recommended items” option, then restart.  It blocks all of window’s built in spyware. Lastly, do yourself a favor and install either TeamViewer or Anydesk and set them to start with Windows and give them a password that you’ll remember so you can log in and help her out instead of trying to explain something to her. If she needs a start button, Open Shell does the trick.

[HeroHog]

I just use Windows Defender and leave it at that.

https://www.techradar.com/news/is-windows-defender-good-enough-for-your-pc

And then use the free edition of Malwarebytes to more aggressively clean manually on occasion or if there's any concerns.

This is what I've gone back to.

[Ben]

After that, O&O shut up ten. Choose the “all recommended items” option, then restart.  It blocks all of window’s built in spyware.

Thanks for that tip, Calumus. I've still been a Win7 diehard, but now have a new Lenovo P15 arriving tomorrow. I've completely forgotten where all the Win10 "spyware" is so will definitely run O&O right away.