My rules that haven't led me astray yet:

• Use Linux
• Use Firefox with uBlock Origin with all/most of the built-in block lists enabled
• Stick to reputable sources listed on FMHY and the r/piracy megathread
• Prefer open source emulators and source ports for gaming
• Have an automatic backup system that does off-site backups
• Use network-wide or system-wide host blocking using custom DNS servers for your router or operating system (such as Pi-hole or NextDNS) with aggressive block lists

Even if your antivirus expires, you'll still have Windows defender, which is at least as good, if not better, than whatever antivirus you're already using.

Also, as long as you're smart about what you download and open on your computer, you'll be fine

Don't pay for Windows antivirus apps. It comes with it's own.

None of it is any better than Defender. When Defender came on the scene, every enterprise I've worked in stopped buying AV licenses - they have that little value.

Video and audio are unlikely to contain a virus that Defender wouldn't catch (say an executable renamed as an mp3) which just wouldn't launch anyway.

The one thing you can do to improve your security is to stop running as admin on Windows (which the first user account is by default and necessity). Create a user account just for doing this stuff - a regular user account, which means it can't make changes to the system itself.

Even better is to test anything suspicious in a VM.

Using Linux for this is the best approach all around. Get an old laptop, run Linux. Most tools are developed for Linux first anyway.

I mean I assume most of us use Linux, but there can still be malware and viruses. Just gotta be careful. I stay away from most games since those are ripe for malware. Video and audio ive never had an issue

If you're downloading video or audio files the risk of malware and viruses is pretty low. Usually the worst thing you'll find is intentionally sabotaged files that have audio or visual glitches. It's very hard to create malicious media files because they are viewed by other programs and not executed directly. There is a trick they use sometimes where they will try to trick someone by naming a file "popular song.flac.exe" just check the file extensions before opening them and open them from your media player rather than double clicking the file and you'll be fine.

The real danger is programs. Any executable file could be dangerous, which includes things like roms too. I personally won't go near executables because the risk is so high. Having an anti-virus software helps, but some of them like Norton and McAfee are hot garbage that don't work as advertised. Strangely Micro$oft's Bitdefender is really good though and free. There is a paid version but if you practice the opsec some of the other posters suggested, you should be fine.

The built in windows defender is very good, no reason to pay for or install anything else.

i haven't used an antivirus since 2019, as long as you have good online habits you should be okay. Also if you use windows defender works perfectly fine.

Use Linux, do not use Microslop. If you are still using Microslop that is your first issue, there are many different flavours of Linux you can use, some that look like Windows if you need it.

Use the *arr set of apps; like radarr, sonarr, prowlarr, etc.