My work randomly send out phishing emails to test that folks aren’t clicking on random links or files. I’ve not been caught out… yet.
Considering they’re the people using most of the malware. 
Good app, i actualy use it. Simple but it does the job
I do not believe in this approach of the lesser evil. Snakeoil only pretends to make the system more secure and hence leads to a lax handling of security. There are firewalls (also for non-rooted devices) that can limit the access to the internet app-based and block connections from outside. This is the far better approach IMHO.
@Lars_Hennig
Why not both?
AV scanners use significant amount of performance/power and the benefit is questionable according to my experience.
That’s just my opinion. Everyone should use whatever makes them feel more comfortable and safe.
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We’re looking at it from very different points of view. Your point of view is that of somebody who knows pretty well how all this works. My point of view is of somebody who has to herd total ignoramuses (both at work and home actually…) and even worse, is called each time something goes awry, including in the small hours of the night…
I know from experience that the presence of an AV is improving my chances of a good night’s sleep, or a quiet weekend. 
Not guaranteeing, just slightly improving. It might not be the solution to the problem, but it sometimes catches the most basic user errors, which is already great to have.
As for the firewall, I personally agree, but just try to explain some self-absorbed CEO (or your old auntie) that he should install a firewall on his phone (“a what?”), especially given they usually are the ones who request to be exempt of the usual security drill (“No passwords for me! I’m the boss!”)… (Yes, that did happen to me more than once actually. Cue a morning of politely insisting that it might not be entirely safe, and that there are better ways to show his rang… 
)
Anyway, we’re going OT at warp speed…
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I see your point and yes, it depends on the perspective of every one.
I still prefer believing in the chance to teach and explain rather than giving the ignorant a tool, that might increase the security or deteriorate it even more.
A fool with a tool is still a fool.
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Believe what you want to believe. If its truly Snake Oil like you claim. Then explain why my antivirus program detects scams from websites I use daily. Just browsing youtube and websites isn’t safe. I just found out that google led me to i site i never heard off. If the Antivirus program found a suspicious link just browsing google.com its definitely worth the extra protection. I never heard of one website before in the scam protection folder in the AVG Antivirus program. You can never truly be safe even just browsing the web. Probably some phishing website of some kind. You can always try just staying off the grid entirely. That just means no internet for you. Make of this statement of what you will. You can never convince me that this is a bad app. It stops even phishing scams from getting through my device.
I remember when I had Zonealarm back in the day. It would alert me of tracking cookies. Gotta make it seem like it’s worth the money. Because otherwise it isn’t.
You can never convince me that this is a bad app.
AVG is owned by Avast, and guess what they did a few years ago?
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Well time to move back to the old beige box of old. I’m apparently losing grip on reality. To where we owned the software we purchased and no internet whatsoever. Of course you can still use dail-up. Just don’t make a phone call or loose the connection you had. I hear the new Backstreet Boys album is all the rage. Now how do i get the latest drivers for my operating system that is how many years old. [LOL 
Sarcastic Comment] but really true today with greedy corporations brainwashing you in Today’s age. I would prefer going back to an older system over not owning anything anymore today. I hear CDs are making a comeback because you owned what you bought and paid for. Companies taking away the rights of ownership and replacing it with license and subscription plans of today. You literally owned the car, television, house, etc. Now when you buy the same items. They place roadblocks in their terms and conditions preventing you owning the item outright. So you don’t really own anything anymore. Not even your DNA. Period. PS. I found yet another format not supported on the modern web. .bmp image files. the other format was .mid Midi sound files.
tools like Google Safe Browsing, protective DNS such as Quad9 and DNS0, as well as uBlock Origin are way more effective and not proprietary spyware
and I think that leads to an important point of this thread: please don’t conflate proprietary spyware with the concept of various tools here.
The tools do have use but their implementation is often awful to monetize the user.
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I’d like to add Netguard for Android and Pi-Hole for the home network…
@Lars_Hennig
Yep, those are good too!
Please just do ensure to layer them.
Both Google Safe Browsing and services like Quad9 & DNS0 can block malicious domains in seconds/minutes, whereas lists used by uBO or Pi-Hole are often only updated daily/weekly.
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Sure, Pi-Hole only works reasonably well if you use it in combination with safe DNS servers and good host list providers. You could also make use of it together with a VPN to your router and use Pi-Hole on your mobile, too.
And I combine netguard with pDNSfilter which iuse the same providers of host lists as Pi-Hole in my config.
I was being sarcastic in my last comment. after all avast sold information on the web and was fined for it. still no matter how hard you try. company’s seem to get away with it. it was something I didn’t know about. as of the software I used; I moved from McAfee for basically the same reason. they didn’t protect you whatsoever. as soon as my AVG subscription expires in 2026 I’m moving to open source software alternatives. after using Linux for years now. I found its more secure than anything else. the downsides are the learning curve of the platform. I still have to use windows for backups in case anything goes wrong. it also makes a good Gaming Rig for steam games. I can’t even trust android or IOS for the same reasons. they are nothing but spyware. to bad i can’t figure out how to install calyx OS on my phone. I’ve tried more than once to install it. it kept giving me errors. So I’m still stuck on android 14 for now. Fairphone is the only company that sill allows alternative operating systems as most companies have now made it basically impossible to do so on their devices. without developer options. you can’t get to the boot loader. the more you know…
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Google Pixel has infinitely better security support and custom ROM support than Fairphone.
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I hate to say it. With Google being a monopoly and lost their lawsuit here in the us. I would have to turn that down. I honestly think that this isn’t the only company that is considered a monopoly. I would prefer the repairability of the FairPhone brand anyway. Even with all their issues. Thanks.
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