Stop paying for third-party antivirus tools. this is exactly why

At the last moment, the United States Board of Trade announced the cancellation of Kaspersky tools. As of September 29, ZDNET’s Lance Whitney reported, Kaspersky will not be able to lend antivirus signature updates and code updates for blocked merchandise to consumers in the United States.

Once I learned that information, I was as surprised as anyone else. Did someone accidentally press a button that took us back to 1999? Does the population still pay for third-party antivirus tools?

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It seems like a rush, but good luck finding valuable data in the market for antivirus tools in 2024. Most of the information I was able to find came courtesy of the makers of said tools, which is not the most valuable supply.

Antivirus tools through numbers

A latest survey via Safety.org revealed some data about the US market that seems reliable. That survey said that about 54% of US citizens use default virus coverage that covers the devices they are using, while 46% use third-party antivirus methods.

However, of those who do go to the trouble of setting up the remaining coverage, only a little more (33 million households) pay for the privilege. Norton and McAfee combined have a combined 52% share of paying consumers, while Kaspersky has just 4% market share. If these numbers are correct, 1.3 million US citizens should be able to ask for money back from Kaspersky at this pace.

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And here’s the section that stood out to me from that document:

US citizens are significantly more likely to use third-party antivirus methods and pay for the tools. People over the age of 65 are twice as likely to subscribe to paid antivirus services and products as those under the age of 45.

That demographic may still be more likely to pay for a landline, and chances are you’ll be stuck behind a guy over 65 who’s writing a test at the grocery store, my guess. According to , there are approximately one million times as many times more chances that you will experience the same experience with someone under the age of 45.

Full disclosure right here: I’m over 65, have a head of gray hair, and haven’t worn a third-party antivirus tool in a long time. Although my blonde friend is still paying. Why? For this reason they still focus on AM radio. It’s what they’ve grown up with, and it makes them feel really comfortable.

This is also a huge misuse of money.

How to protect your technology in 2024?

No matter which tools section we’re talking about here, you’re more likely to find something simply amazing with the default coverage integrated as part of the platform. On a mobile device (iOS or Android) this refers to app binds that the OS developer manages. On Mac, the XProtect antimalware generation has been around for over a decade and is useful for mainstream warnings.

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And for Windows? Well, Microsoft Defender Antivirus, which is integrated with every Windows PC, automatically receives tests from third-party laboratories that are ready to measure the effectiveness of the security tool. The level-up process began about seven years ago, and since then Microsoft Resolve has often scored between 99% and 100%, making it every bit as efficient as third-party competitors, remote or paid. .

Or that result also weakens the case.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, when Windows PCs were at their peak, most malware reached people’s PCs through electronic mail attachments or over the network. These days, Vector has taken off successfully. Automatic updates provide protection against newly emerged vulnerabilities. Your fashionable electronic mail consumer blocks any executable record attachments, including script-based information. And network firewalls have come a long way since 2002 (testing calendar). And the latest test results show that Microsoft Defender is useful in blocking all the most common attack vectors for ransomware and data stealers.

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Reasonably, a modern antivirus app blocks 99.2% of the few warnings that come in, given various layers of coverage. Or even then, your personal instincts (“Don’t click that link!”) are also in effect. For this reason modern, fully patched client PCs are not really the target of the legal gangs responsible for fashionable malware.

primary goal

Most of these attacks are carried out through micro-legal gangs and are aimed at companies, using vulnerabilities that are more likely to be in third-party tools than within the OS itself. Russian hackers wore SolarWinds control equipment to hack Microsoft and alternative high-value targets. A widely used app called MOVEit, from Go Instruments, was used in a breach that subsequently affected thousands of large companies and executive businesses, and there is a brand new vulnerability that has recently been reported .

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shell. British Airlines. BBC. Nova Scotia province of Canada. They were the victims of the MOVEit attack, not random PC customers. Nowadays, big cyber criminals are focusing on this type of target. A signature-based antivirus app is not committed to providing coverage against those focused attacks. Rather, IT sections in huge organizations want micro-network-based tools that allow directors to monitor for signs of intrusion at real-time.

Miniature fry customers are fairly protected by the use of default security features, usually as a result of ambitious attackers making disproportionate financial gains in choosing such small victims. If you’re still paying Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky for antivirus coverage on your home PC, it’s probably time to let that subscription expire. But when your IT area in the paintings says they want you to install an endpoint tracking app, leave them at their word.

Just make sure it’s not from Kaspersky.