Is Defender and malwarebytes pro secure enough for banking

I have read about every thread on here, and it doesn't seem to have a direct answer. I had Norton security and it is a memory Hog. When I dumped it, Defender found a Trojan that it had missed. The free programs like AVG and avast are what you pay for. I know several of people who have been infected with both of these, mainly speaking of the free version. I had MSE on my other laptop because Norton pretty much crashed 7 when it first came out, and never got an infection. My question is this, Are there anybody on here that does IT for a living that can comment on wither or not that the new Windows 8.1 Defender is secure enough with malwarebytes premium for finances, or should i just live with Norton being a hog and go back. My computer is a whole lot faster and shuts down like it should now. I know the test reviews are paid for and it's like buying bottled water, compared to just getting it, you pay for the bottle. We all use a microsft based program and no matter what the browser is, It's still microsoft. Does the new Anti-virus provide adequate protection for banking? I appreciate the responses. Thank you!!


Hello, I should have stated that I use Chrome, I don't download hardly anything except Itunes, malwarebytes or google. I don't do the Porn sites, the gambling and or pirate downloads either. When I do buy from somewhere, it's Amazon or Ebay.

Caveat .. am no expert, so cannot fully answer your question.

But I think it would be difficult for members here to answer your query, as no-one knows your download, or browsing habits.

For what its worth, I use only Windows Defender, updated daily, and have never had any infection on my Win8.1 laptop.

I use Internet Banking regularly

But I guess I could be described as a very careful browser user, and down-loader. I do run Malwarebytes about once per week

I updated my original question. Thanks Atomcrusher for getting me to clarify my habits. I always ask the same thing, but forgot to mention it in my own post. Sorry.

WD and MBAM Pro works for me as I am not reckless with my surfing habits. This may help you:
Practicing Safe Computing Habits | HP® Support

One thing you could do is install another browser and use one of them only for sensitive sites ...separate your leisure from your business activities. Install NoScript and AdBlock Plus in it to minimise being exposed to malicious buttons/ads and stuff. Set the browser to never remember anything when you shut it down like cookies, passwords and form data. Links to your sites in the browser bar is ok.

Most banking trojans come in the form of a rootkit, not all, but most. There are several rootkit scanners you can use as part of the "layered approach" to maintaining a clean system works best. This means aside from your AV of choice, using various malware scanners such as Malwarebytes or AdwCleaner to run regular scans.

Another good addition to your arsenal of scanners would be TDSSKiller. Run it before going to any banking site as an extra security measure, the scan doesn't take long.

NOTE: When running TDSSKiller, launch the program, click on the blue text "Change Parameters" & check the box marked "Detect TDLFS File system." Click OK & then run the scan.

Borg 386 said:

Most banking trojans come in the form of a rootkit, not all, but most. There are several rootkit scanners you can use as part of the "layered approach" to maintaining a clean system works best. This means aside from your AV of choice, using various malware scanners such as Malwarebytes or AdwCleaner to run regular scans.

Another good addition to your arsenal of scanners would be TDSSKiller. Run it before going to any banking site as an extra security measure, the scan doesn't take long.

NOTE: When running TDSSKiller, launch the program, click on the blue text "Change Parameters" & check the box marked "Detect TDLFS File system." Click OK & then run the scan.

Click to expand...

Thank you for that referral to TDSSKiller. I have added it to my arsenal of protective software

Several good suggestions here I'll give it a try in mine.
TDSSkiller , useful HP web document, noscript app are new ones for me.

Excellent advice above.

Pesonally, if I were doing numerous financial and other sensitive transactions I would prefer one AV.

Check out Kaspersky Internet Security and their Safe Money feature. I have used Kaspersky in the past and found it to have minimal effect on my system compared with the received protection. Kaspersky offers a free 30 day trial.

Like the other threads you have reviewed, there will be many opinions.

Safe Money Infographic | Online Banking Infographic

I'm an IT guy and I've yet to find the perfect solution or combination that always works.

We are more or less using Windows Defender now at work. Technically, it's System Center Endpoint Protection, which is pretty much the same as MSE/WD. Just a centralized managed and controlled version. We occasionally get infected from people who still click on things in email. We used to have Trend Officescan before and it too missed things.

I think the most likely source of malware and viruses are sites for pirated software and such. I don't even think the port sites are nearly as bad.

If your browsing habits keep you mostly safe, I would opt for the app that returned the best performance for you. If you have gone years without any real infection, and your AV program was never really stopping anything, why have it chewing up resources.

Remember, if there was a perfect AV app, we would all use it. But as evidenced by the number of apps available and the opinions among members on what is best and why, clearly there is not a clear winner here.

A lot of these "What's the best AV" threads. Great advice and great explanation, Patrick (pparks1).

I really appreciate the responses. Thank's pparks1 for the thoughts. I don't open attachments in email unless I know it's on the way. Like you said, I haven't ever really had an infection more than a popup thing. Thanks!!!! I try to be careful.

If you are really that concerned with electronic banking you could use a linux live dvd/ usb stick. This way you can be 100 % sure that your system is not infected. Another, slightly less secure solution would be to either install a linux distribution to dual boot or a virtual machine with Linux. That's what I do for internet browsing, I always browse the web using Virtualbox and Linux Mint 17.1.