Windows Personal Endpoint Security Software

Note

Avast, Avira, AVG, CCleaner and norton are all Gendigital brands

Threat report   statistics and facts

malware is big business

Phishing is the most common cyber threat targeting individuals today,
most commonly by email and social media messages,
malicious file downloads, and infected websites and mobile apps.

86% of threats are scams and other social engineering.

Since nearly all of these are web-based,
browser defense (e.g. malwarebytes Browser Guard) seems appropriate.
Instead of a Windows email app, I access email via web browser,
which enables Browser Guard.

Reports by dedicated security software testing labs

AV-comparatives

AV-Test
SE LABS

IMO other credible evaluations

PC World

tom's guide

my Windows PC

Windows Privacy & security

now rated one of the better free security software suites and built-in

Traditionally, Microsoft Defender had a poor reputation
- more malware was viral, could not propagate if detected by most PCs.
- Defender improved, and less malware spreads virally.

CCleaner Free Download

obsolete app and driver versions warnings (I rarely update drivers)
clean registry, cookies, browsing history, logs and temporary files
handy browser plugin, Windows app uninstaller and startup software tuner

Malwarebytes

Browser Guard warns away from suspect websites

free malware scanner
- good for quickly checking downloaded files
- good for scanning a Windows PC suspected of having malware
  Some malware blocks downloading malwarebytes,
  so want it already installed