I have been computer free for probably 15ish years until I recently bought and set up a RPi4 with Linux. It’s been fun but I’m not really a super user so I’m looking to back to Windows as my main OS.

  1. is antivirus a necessity? I will be gaming and streaming on my new setup.

If yes then

  1. what are some ideal options? Paid or free.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

  • PineRune@lemmy.world
    1·
    10 months ago

    If you stay away from sketchy sites and don’t click every link that says “DOWNLOAD NOW”, Windows Defender and a web browser with ad-blockers should do their job well enough.

  • Donebrach@lemmy.world
    0·
    10 months ago

    For years I always defaulted to Avast until it literally blocked Halo Infinite from running without any warnings or explanation so I finally looked into it—windows defender is fine. Basically all antivirus programs have become what they claim to defend against—malware. Likely the only actual defense you need these days is a VPN but that’s really only if you’re up to some shady shit to begins with, such as wanting to protect your privacy.

    • finn_der_mensch@discuss.tchncs.de
      0·
      10 months ago

      Actually no, a VPN does not protect your computer at all.

      Edit: Neither your privacy. You’re mostly tracked though cookies and other identifiers on the application level. A VPN only helps to hide your IP address on the network layer, but you don’t really need that.