Antimalware, firewall, and other security programs for Windows XP working in 2023 and hopefully beyond

[AstroSkipper]

10 hours ago, Vistapocalypse said:

Of course I may! I was born in the USA - not China. You have almost convinced me that XP diehards really are a threat to the security of the Free World, so keep up the great work! 

9 hours ago, D.Draker said:

USA and France - allies forever. Glory to the US, Vive La France ! I wonder where's the  @jaclaz's Italian anti-virus for XP ?

Must be at the first place. I don't see it in the list . @AstroSkipper, am I missing something ?

https://msfn.org/board/topic/184730-antimalware-firewall-and-other-security-programs-for-windows-xp-working-in-2023-and-hopefully-beyond/?do=findComment&comment=1244365

I always have the same concerns about software, regardless of whether it originates in Germany, France, Italy, USA, China, India or whatever country. There are good and bad developers, companies that can be trusted more or less, governments that do or do not influence, and so on. At the end of the day, these discussions do not serve any purpose here. This thread is meant to list all available security programs that are still compatible with Windows XP and to spread information about them. Therefore, I would ask you at this point to keep this thread clean, to stop discussions about concerns regarding the country of origin and to contribute something substantive when commenting. I need information, results of testing, recommendations, experiences made in terms of already listed or yet to be listed programs, and further options for Windows XP. My time and resources are limited. So please, be constructive  and let's not inflate this thread with unnecessary discussions ! In the end, from all the options listed, the mature readers can decide for themselves which software to trust or not.  And I cannot and will not take this personal responsibility away from anyone.  Thanks in advance!

Kind regards, AstroSkipper 

Edited May 2, 2023 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[D.Draker]

23 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

I always have the same concerns about software, regardless of whether it originates in Germany, France, Italy, USA, China, India or whatever country. There are good and bad developers, companies that can be trusted more or less, governments that do or do not influence, and so on. At the end of the day, these discussions do not serve any purpose here. This thread is meant to list all available security programs that are still compatible with Windows XP and to spread information about them. Therefore, I would ask you at this point to keep this thread clean, to stop discussions about concerns regarding the country of origin and to contribute something substantive when commenting. I need information, results of testing, recommendations, experiences made in terms of already listed or yet to be listed programs, and further options for Windows XP. My time and resources are limited. So please, be constructive  and let's not inflate this thread with unnecessary discussions ! In the end, from all the options listed, the mature readers can decide for themselves which software to trust or not.  And I cannot and will not take this personal responsibility away from anyone.  Thanks in advance!

Kind regards, AstroSkipper 

I asked a simple , *important* , on-topic question, which you, BTW, completely ignored.

Yes, I added a sentence to show my opinion. I can't see how it inflates your topic that much.

You better hope Mina3679 and legasyfan don't show up here, lol.

Also, I already wrote my feedback about the marvellous Ferrari Italian AV jaclaz found for me.

Kind regards, D.Draker.

[AstroSkipper]

6 hours ago, D.Draker said:

Also, I already wrote my feedback about the marvellous Ferrari Italian AV jaclaz found for me.

6 hours ago, D.Draker said:

I asked a simple , *important* , on-topic question, which you, BTW, completely ignored.

Sorry for that! I overlooked your request. I am very tired the last days. So, is that your *important* question? 

On 5/2/2023 at 5:30 AM, D.Draker said:

Must be at the first place. I don't see it in the list . @AstroSkipper, am I missing something ?

Why should "it" be at the first place? I don't understand this statement at all. And why don't you call "it" by its name? If someone reads your comment, one will not understand what you are talking about. The program you are probably referring to is called Vir.IT eXplorer. I can't find any detailed data of you regarding this program, though.
Only that: 
https://msfn.org/board/topic/177099-which-antiviruses-are-known-for-a-fact-to-be-working-on-xp-sp3-as-of-2019/?do=findComment&comment=1242782
Unfortunately, I can't do anything with that.  What did you test in detail regarding Vir.IT eXplorer? Which version have you installed? Does it have a background guard? Is it really XP-compatible? What about resource consumption in detail? At what intervals are the virus definitions updated? What are the features? What versions do exist and what are the differences? Is it free of charge? And what exactly about this program is marvellous?  You see I prefer evaluable, meaningful data based on own experiences. Or links to detailed, trustworthy reviews. I am a mathematician. I need usable, informative and evaluable data. 

Kind regards, AstroSkipper 

PS: The current status of Vir.IT eXplorer in this thread can be found here:

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by AstroSkipper
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[NotHereToPlayGames]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:38 PM, AstroSkipper said:

List of programs that have recently been abandoned

Name                        Version        Type      Date                Link

WiseVector StopX   3.0.7.0         AM+      03.06.2022    Link
† January of 2023
 

I am very thankful to see WiseVector StopX as abandoned.

I tried this one a few months ago and was hit with at least half a dozen false positives.

I do admit that my only method of verifying if a hit was positive or false positive was by using free online scanners and also uploading to my Google Drive account because it scans everything before re-downloading.

 

I wonder if your guide/thread can include recommended/suggested "online scanners"?  Not an extensive list, just some sort of "honorable mention" online scanner.

[AstroSkipper]

39 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

I wonder if your guide/thread can include recommended/suggested "online scanners"?  Not an extensive list, just some sort of "honorable mention" online scanner.

Of course, online scanners are on my internal list and will be listed here. TBH, there is already a lot on my internal list. Nevertheless, thanks for the tip!

Edited May 3, 2023 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[mina7601]

2 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

Is it really XP-compatible?

Yes, it is, don't worry about that. I can show a picture of it running on XP, if you want.

2 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

What are the features? What versions do exist and what are the differences? Is it free of charge?

Here's a link.

Edited May 3, 2023 by mina7601

[AstroSkipper]

Thanks but once again! I know the homepage of Vir.IT eXplorer which was already linked by me here:

Quotes from or links to the homepage don't help me at all. What I need is real data based on experiences made by people who really use or have used it a longer time. Or links to trustworthy reviews. Or opinions from members knowing interesting or helpful facts about that program. A short test in a VM is rather meaningless!  Anyway! Vir.IT eXplorer is an unknown candidate and therefore problematic. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by AstroSkipper
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[AstroSkipper]

Hello @jaclaz! Vir.IT eXplorer was your recommendation addressed to @D.Draker. You are Italian, and the program originates in Italy. What do you know about this program in detail? Is it well-known in Italy? Is it considered to be a good protection program? Did you make any own experiences?

[mina7601]

43 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

A short test in a VM is rather meaningless! 

Looks like you have memorized me, lol.

Anyway, I was only testing the installation process, and seeing if the program runs on XP or not. Other than that, I don't know anything about the program itself really. Sorry if i wasn't clear on that! And sorry for the link!

Edited May 3, 2023 by mina7601

[jaclaz]

38 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

Hello @jaclaz! Vir.IT eXplorer was your recommendation addressed to @D.Draker. You are Italian, and the program originates in Italy. What do you know about this program in detail? Is it well-known in Italy? Is it considered to be a good protection program? Did you make any own experiences?

I didn't "recommend" anything.

I only provided - when asked - a link to it:

No personal experience with it, all I can say is that it is VB100 certified (whatever relevance this may have) with a grade of D:

https://www.virusbulletin.com/vb100/testing/tgsoft/vir-it-explorer-pro

https://www.virusbulletin.com/uploads/vb100/test-reports/vb100-test-report-2023-04-21-vir-it-explorer-pro.pdf

jaclaz

[AstroSkipper]

35 minutes ago, jaclaz said:

I didn't "recommend" anything.

I only provided - when asked - a link to it:

No personal experience with it, all I can say is that it is VB100 certified (whatever relevance this may have) with a grade of D:

https://www.virusbulletin.com/vb100/testing/tgsoft/vir-it-explorer-pro

https://www.virusbulletin.com/uploads/vb100/test-reports/vb100-test-report-2023-04-21-vir-it-explorer-pro.pdf

jaclaz

Thank you for providing information! In the VB100 test report from 21.04.2023, Vir.IT eXplorer just about passed their test with a detection rate of 77.40% (at least 75.00% was required). Unfortunately, that is definitely not marvellous.   Is this program well known or popular in Italy?  In Germany, it is totally unknown and never mentioned in terms of available antimalware programs. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by AstroSkipper

[AstroSkipper]

FYI, VB100 test criteria and grades:

Quote

Test criteria

A product is considered to have passed a test if the product receives any grade better than Grade F.

Grades are determined based primarily on the true positive rates of the Certification Set.

GradeTrue positive rate requirement

Grade A+>= 99.5%

Grade A>= 97%

Grade B>= 90%

Grade C>= 85% 

Grade D>= 75% 

The product receives Grade F and fails the test if it:
achieves a lower than 75% true positive rate for the Certification Set, or
generates a greater than 0.05% false positive rate for the Clean Set.

Vir.IT eXplorer narrowly passed the VB100 test. Grade D is the lowest of all. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[tekkaman]

I don't know why people get afraid to use antivirus from other countries. After cloud scanning was invented all you do is chose which country you want to give your data to. Do you trust your government ?  Antivirus Cloud scanning was resumed by ESET 5 help file I quote:

Quote

You can decide to not enable the ESET Live Grid. You will not lose any functionality in the software, and you will still receive the best protection that we offer.

That was back when there were still honest companies that admitted that cloud scanning really doesn't boost your security.  It's like the issue with Tiktok. The reason US government fears users leave Facebook and other US based Social media is because they want your data. Please don't give it to China. Give it to us instead.

 https://www.howtogeek.com/540658/is-your-antivirus-really-spying-on-you/

Edited May 3, 2023 by tekkaman

[jaclaz]

@AstroSkipper

Not necessarily applying to this particular product (Vir.it), but being well known or popular is not always a proxi for anything but being well known or popular, and definitely not for quality or convenience.

As an example, take DMDE (which I actually personally recommend[1]) as a program for data recovery, try finding it searching for a data recovery program, you will find that Recuva, Easeus and Wondershare are far more well known and popular, yet they - in the best case (if/when they work at all) - offer a fraction of the capabilities of DMDE.

jaclaz

[1] but that D.Draker cannot use because the programmer is Russian

[AstroSkipper]

20 hours ago, jaclaz said:

Not necessarily applying to this particular product (Vir.it), but being well known or popular is not always a proxi for anything but being well known or popular, and definitely not for quality or convenience.

Of course, I know that but I was interested whether it is well-known or popular in your country or not. That this does not mean anything regarding the quality of a program is totally clear. Or did you seriously think that this could be a decision criterion for me?  Nevertheless, I just wanted to know that from a native person because I never heard of Vir.IT eXplorer before, and I assume most of us never heard of it, either.  Therefore, I wonder who is using this program at all, especially a program with such a modest detection rate. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by AstroSkipper
Update of content