Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Short answer no. End user workstation 3rd party Anti-Virus is not necessary. With the recent FTC fine to Avast for $16.5 million for selling customer data they said they would protect, I decided to use this as an excuse to talk about free and paid 3rd party AV. It's not necessary for everyday users. Maybe a second opinion is good to have. But is it worth the trade-offs of privacy, system performance degradation, and annoying settings? Probably not. The default Microsoft Windows Defender or MacOS XProtect are usually good enough.
⏰ Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
1:24 - Anti-Virus Computer Impacts
1:56 - a tidbit on AV Vendors doing sketchy stuff
3:48 - What AV to use? The defaults.
5:14 - When to consider a third-party AV.
5:51 - My dumb experiment, download malware.
6:46 - Conclusion
🔗 Links:
- Official FTC Statement and Settlement: ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/02/ftc-says-avast-promised-privacy-pirated-consumers-data-treasure
- thehackernews.com/2024/02/ftc-slams-avast-with-165-million-fine.html
- theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080135/avast-security-privacy-software-ftc-fine-data-harvesting
- Most Wanted Malware: blog.checkpoint.com/research/january-2024s-most-wanted-malware-major-vextrio-broker-operation-uncovered-and-lockbit3-tops-the-ransomware-threats
🐕 Follow Me:
Twitter: twitter.com/collinsinfosec
Instagram: instagram.com/_collinsinfosec
Cybercademy Discord Server: discord.gg/bWymWhCv9p
🤔 Have questions, concerns, comments?:
Email me: grant@cybercademy.org
🎧 Gear:
Laptop (Lenovo X1 Carbon Ultrabook 6th Gen): amzn.to/2O0UfAM
Monitors (Dell D Series 31.5” D3218HN): amzn.to/2EXlgRF
Keyboard (Velocifire VM01): amzn.to/2TEswfd
Headphones (Audio Technica ATH-M40x): amzn.to/2F4Tvq6
Work Monitors (Dell U4919DW UltraSharp 49 Curved Monitor): amzn.to/3yQmDhM
Desk (FLEXISPOT EW8 Comhar Electric Standing Desk): amzn.to/3S9OxvG
💻 Cybersecurity PC Build Parts
[Processor] Intel Core i7-13700K 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor: amzn.to/3OlTTUK
[Graphics Card] Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB Video Card: amzn.to/3OE0bkd
[AIO Cooler] Corsair iCUE H100i RGB ELITE 65.57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler: amzn.to/3DEUUT9
[Motherboard] MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard: amzn.to/3Ol9La8
[RAM](2x) Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory: amzn.to/3OlsgeM
[HDD] Seagate IronWolf NAS 8 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive: amzn.to/3DFdc6K
[SSD] Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive: amzn.to/3KpTnnQ
[Case] Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case: amzn.to/44Rjaxf
[Power Supply] Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply: amzn.to/478wC1r
[Fans] Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB ELITE 47.7 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack: amzn.to/44R4myD
Short answer no. End user workstation 3rd party Anti-Virus is not necessary. With the recent FTC fine to Avast for $16.5 million for selling customer data they said they would protect, I decided to use this as an excuse to talk about free and paid 3rd party AV. It's not necessary for everyday users. Maybe a second opinion is good to have. But is it worth the trade-offs of privacy, system performance degradation, and annoying settings? Probably not. The default Microsoft Windows Defender or MacOS XProtect are usually good enough.
⏰ Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
1:24 - Anti-Virus Computer Impacts
1:56 - a tidbit on AV Vendors doing sketchy stuff
3:48 - What AV to use? The defaults.
5:14 - When to consider a third-party AV.
5:51 - My dumb experiment, download malware.
6:46 - Conclusion
🔗 Links:
- Official FTC Statement and Settlement: ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2024/02/ftc-says-avast-promised-privacy-pirated-consumers-data-treasure
- thehackernews.com/2024/02/ftc-slams-avast-with-165-million-fine.html
- theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080135/avast-security-privacy-software-ftc-fine-data-harvesting
- Most Wanted Malware: blog.checkpoint.com/research/january-2024s-most-wanted-malware-major-vextrio-broker-operation-uncovered-and-lockbit3-tops-the-ransomware-threats
🐕 Follow Me:
Twitter: twitter.com/collinsinfosec
Instagram: instagram.com/_collinsinfosec
Cybercademy Discord Server: discord.gg/bWymWhCv9p
🤔 Have questions, concerns, comments?:
Email me: grant@cybercademy.org
🎧 Gear:
Laptop (Lenovo X1 Carbon Ultrabook 6th Gen): amzn.to/2O0UfAM
Monitors (Dell D Series 31.5” D3218HN): amzn.to/2EXlgRF
Keyboard (Velocifire VM01): amzn.to/2TEswfd
Headphones (Audio Technica ATH-M40x): amzn.to/2F4Tvq6
Work Monitors (Dell U4919DW UltraSharp 49 Curved Monitor): amzn.to/3yQmDhM
Desk (FLEXISPOT EW8 Comhar Electric Standing Desk): amzn.to/3S9OxvG
💻 Cybersecurity PC Build Parts
[Processor] Intel Core i7-13700K 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor: amzn.to/3OlTTUK
[Graphics Card] Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB Video Card: amzn.to/3OE0bkd
[AIO Cooler] Corsair iCUE H100i RGB ELITE 65.57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler: amzn.to/3DEUUT9
[Motherboard] MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard: amzn.to/3Ol9La8
[RAM](2x) Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory: amzn.to/3OlsgeM
[HDD] Seagate IronWolf NAS 8 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive: amzn.to/3DFdc6K
[SSD] Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive: amzn.to/3KpTnnQ
[Case] Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case: amzn.to/44Rjaxf
[Power Supply] Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply: amzn.to/478wC1r
[Fans] Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB ELITE 47.7 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack: amzn.to/44R4myD
