Best anti-virus for Windows 8.1?
 

I'm about to upgrade to Win 8.1 and I'm wondering what most people who have that OS are using for their primary AV software.

I've been getting by with just using MSE on Win 7 along with an occasional MalwareBytes scan.

That's what I'm still using on 8.1 but MSE is called windows defender I believe.

Does that come built-in with Win 8 or was it a separate download?

Historically MSE/Defender is a separate download but I think its built-in for 8.1. Its not the best AV I'm pretty sure but its good enough for average user. Its high performance and low annoyance but gets like 70% hit rate on current viruses.

If you are visiting the dark web with it then perhaps Kaspersky, Avast, Antivir, bitdefender are probably best but require more experienced users and some of those have questionable updaters and install processes. Also I think Kaspersky is not free.

I've historically I've used Comodo because I want its firewall though not really liking the current user interface and its got its own annoyances with requests for you to call their support line. I will actively not recommend McAfee though.

Don't go too much into choosing an anti-virus, pick a free one that is not intrusive such as Avast. The usefulness of antivirus programs is constantly diminishing, even Symantec has gone on record to say this.

True security is achieved through other measures, such as using something like Noscript, blocking ads which can be an infection vector, activating click-to-play in your browser so you are not vulnerable to attacks from malicious Java or Flash, etc.

I recommend Sandboxie, it will prevent any of your browsing activity from infecting any of your system and is very simple to use.

I haven't used third-party antivirus software for many years. I always disable real-time protection in Windows Defender as one of the first things I do, to avoid that performance hog. But I do run the occasional scan and almost never find anything, and when I do - it's minor.

That's not to say I can't be infected, I just don't bother fretting about it - since I don't really have anything I can't afford to lose on my system.

I don't think I've had a real virus problem for more than a decade, and I re-install my OS at least every six months or so, so there's really no point in bogging my system down with pointless software.

Then again, I'm a bit anal about keeping my system ticking on full speed.

Built in.

Thats all you need. The best protection is you, just be careful what you download and where you go. Using an AdBlock will also help anything being transmitted by bad ads.

Just using Windows Defender. I stopped using 3rd party software long ago.

I use AVG on my desktop, but just Windows Defender on my Surface Pro. The only reason I have AVG on the desktop is that I didn't realize Windows Defender was already installed.

I've been using avast for a long time…
It's easy to install and I don't trust windows defender so much… Not for any good reason though

I have been using Avast for a long time as well but, a month ago, I got an offer I couldn't refuse: Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 for 15 bucks. Once licence for it will run out, I will return to Avast.

Bitdefender is a huge performance hog, I wouldn't want it even for free.