Best antivirus alternatives to Microsoft Defender?

So, look, I'm currently running Norton, but my rig is absolute garbage—seriously, it's struggling just to stay alive—and I am dying to claw back some much-needed RAM. My master plan is to just rip Norton out of there entirely, fire up Microsoft Defender, and then load up my web browser with uBlock Origin, Malwarebytes, and that Malwarebytes extension for the browser.

What do you guys think about this setup? Am I actually gonna keep things secure, or am I just asking for trouble? And more importantly, is this actually gonna free up enough memory to stop my PC from choking?

Personally, I’d just stick with Microsoft Defender and uBlock Origin in my web browser.

Microsoft Defender is honestly pretty weak protection—let’s be real, we're talking maybe 80% detection, whereas actual commercial AV programs hit closer to 98%. Malwarebytes is fine, but it's really more for hunting down spyware; you can't rely on it as your sole line of defense. If you want something free, try Avast or AVG—out of all the free options out there, they're easily the most demanding and actually get the job done. Also, uBlock Origin is a solid solution for your web browser.

Microsoft Defender is always sitting pretty in those top 10 antivirus rankings, and honestly, since it came bundled with Windows 10, it’s been my go-to. It’s free, and I haven't run into a single issue with detection or anything weird since day one.
I don't really clutter my system with much else—just keep Malwarebytes free running in the background. I don't even bother with the trial activation; I just run a quick scan, update the definitions every now and then, and then shut it down until I need it again.

https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/

Look, we’ve talked about this before—no antivirus software out there can give you 100% protection. If you’re downloading every random file you see and aren't using an ad blocker in your web browser, you’re basically asking for trouble... Anyway, to answer the question, Microsoft Defender is perfectly fine for basic use. I’d also suggest grabbing the free version of Malwarebytes and running it once a month; honestly, it's a top-tier tool for keeping things clean.

Microsoft Defender just can't hold its own against a dedicated, pure-bred antivirus—especially when it comes to actually scrubbing malware from a system. The only reason people even bother using it is because it's baked right into Windows, making it the path of least resistance for the average user. Personally, I don't trust a Microsoft product that far, but I suppose it beats having zero protection. Besides, as Larry Ortiz5 already pointed out, if you're downloading every random file you see without paying attention, no antivirus on the planet is going to save you from an infection.

Look, there are over 350,000 new viruses and malware strains popping up every single day. When you run the tests on the top 10 antivirus programs, they all hit above a 99% detection rate. So, saying Microsoft Defender is sitting at 80%? Honestly, that claim is just ridiculous.
At the end of the day, the biggest layer of defense is actually just the user. It’s about how careful you are when you're downloading files or if you're smart enough to stay away from sketchy websites.

Microsoft Defender commentary:

https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/com...hould_turn_it/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/c...tely_terrible/
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...b-6e6fccf5be4b

The breakdown: it’s plagued by too many false positives, struggles when it actually comes to scrubbing viruses, the interface is mediocre at best—and don't even get me started on how much it hogs system resources. Objectively speaking, it’s only better than the absolute bottom-tier junk—think McAfee or IObit—but it falls way short compared to the heavy hitters like Bitdefender or Avast.