But then again I use the paid version, so that could be the difference. Personally, as someone that uses Bitdefender, I've never had an issue.

I think WannaCry and NotPytra are perfect examples of the importance of having good active protection. However, it is never a bad idea to have some form of active malware protection as a single worm can royally mess things up. Malwarebytes free version and HitManPro are excellent secondary anti-malware products to have for periodic scanning when you think you might already be infected. In fact, I think I remember reading somewhere that other anti-malware products like Emsisoft use Bitdefender's engine because of it's strength in detecting previously unknown malware. How so? Most lab tests of Bitdefender constantly have it at or near the top of the pack when it comes to protections and performance. Norton, McAffee, and *shudder* Webroot come to mind among others. While Bitdefender is just bad, some of these are basically viruses in and of themselves. But if you do want a proper antivirus, Vipre, Avira, and Avast are usually what I recommend.

I don't bother with active virus protection, I've found Malwarebytes' free version and common sense is enough for me. Bitdefender is pretty trash IMO, there are definitely better options.

Avira download pending