Stop paying for third-party antivirus software. Here’s why

Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a ban on Kaspersky software. According to ZDNET’s Lance Whitney, Kaspersky will no longer be able to provide its U.S. customers with antivirus signature and code updates for the banned products starting September 29.

When I read this news, I was as shocked as everyone else. Did someone accidentally press a button that would take us back to 1999? Do people still pay for third-party antivirus software?

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Apparently people do, but good luck finding reliable information about the antivirus software market in 2024. Most of the data I could find came from the developers of said software, which is not the most reliable source.

Antivirus software in numbers

A recent study conducted by Security.org revealed some numbers about the US market that seem credible. The study indicates that about 54% of Americans use the default antivirus protection that comes with the device they are using, while 46% use third-party antivirus programs.

But of those who do bother to install extra protection, only about half (33 million households) pay for the privilege. Norton and McAfee together account for 52% of those paying customers, with Kaspersky accounting for just 4% of the market. If those numbers are accurate, 1.3 million Americans should be able to seek a refund from Kaspersky later this year.

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And here’s the part that jumped out at me in this report:

Older Americans are much more likely to use third-party antivirus programs and pay for them. People over 65 are twice as likely to subscribe to paid antivirus services as those under 45.

This population is also more likely to continue paying for a landline, and the odds of you getting stuck behind someone over 65 writing a check at the grocery store are, by my estimate, about a million times higher than the odds of you experiencing the same thing with someone under 45.

Let me tell you straight: I’m in the 65+ age bracket, I have gray hair, and I haven’t used third-party antivirus software in decades. But my silver-haired peers continue to pay. Why? For the same reason they still listen to AM radio. That’s what they grew up with and it makes them comfortable.

It is also a colossal waste of money.

How to Protect Your Tech in 2024

Regardless of the category of devices we’re talking about here, you’ll probably have no problem with the default protection included in the platform. On a mobile device (iOS or Android), this means the app store run by the operating system developer. On a Mac, XProtect antimalware technology has been around for over a decade and is effective against common threats.

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And what about Windows? Well, Microsoft Defender Antivirus, which comes with every Windows PC, consistently passes third-party lab tests that measure the effectiveness of security software. The upgrade process began about seven years ago, and Microsoft’s solution has consistently scored between 99% and 100% since then, making it just as effective as its third-party competitors, both free and paid.

And even this result underestimates reality.

At the turn of the 21st century, when the Windows PC landscape was at its peak, most malware arrived on users’ PCs as email attachments or over networks. Today, those vectors are effectively blocked. Automatic updates protect against newly discovered vulnerabilities. Your modern email client blocks any type of executable file attachment, including script-based files. And network firewalls have come a long way since (check the calendar) 2002. And recent test results show that Microsoft Defender is effective at blocking all the most popular attack vectors for ransomware and information stealers.

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On average, a modern antivirus application blocks 99.2% of the few incoming threats that manage to get past the other layers of protection. And even then, your own instinct (“Don’t click on this link!”) is also effective. That’s why modern, fully patched consumer PCs aren’t really the target of the criminal gangs responsible for modern malware.

The main targets

Most of these attacks are launched by sophisticated criminal gangs and target enterprises, exploiting vulnerabilities that are more likely to be found in third-party software than in the operating system itself. Russian hackers used SolarWinds management software to hack Microsoft and other high-value targets. A widely used application called MOVEit, from Progress Software, was exploited in a breach that affected thousands of large enterprises and government agencies last year, and a brand new vulnerability has just been reported.

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Shell, British Airways, the BBC, the Canadian province of Nova Scotia: these are the companies that were the victims of the MOVEit attack, not random PC users. These are the types of targets that major cybercriminals are targeting today. A signature-based antivirus application cannot protect against these targeted attacks. Instead, IT departments in large enterprises need sophisticated network software that allows administrators to monitor for signs of intrusion in real time.

Smaller users are relatively well protected by default security measures, largely because determined attackers see no financial benefit in preying on such insignificant victims. If you’re still paying Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky for antivirus protection on your home computer, it may be time to let that subscription lapse. But if your IT department at work tells you to install an endpoint monitoring application, take their word for it.

Just make sure it’s not from Kaspersky.