The choice of an antivirus or PC security program is very important. If you don’t choose the right one, you could end up wasting both time and money. In some cases, you could end up with more problems than you started with. This is why you should take the time to understand computer antivirus protection and how it works, and how various programs differ.
While there are certainly “free” antivirus and “free” anti-malware programs, they won’t protect you from everything as they are often limited in what they can do. There are literally new viruses, malware, and other threats popping up every single day and most free programs don’t have a sufficient enough infrastructure to keep up with the newest threats every day and to protect you from everything.
Some of the paid antivirus suites do have the ability to protect you from everything and to keep up with the new threats popping up around the globe. The good news is that they paid programs usually offer free trials, usually from 7-days to 30-days, and even a money back guarantee after you buy it. If you do try one program and decide that it’s not for you, make absolutely certain that you remove it completely from your computer and get rid of all traces of it before downloading a new antivirus program to try. You don’t want there to be any conflicts.
Computer Antivirus Protection Extras
The “extras” that come with a full computer antivirus protection suite include a superior firewall, ransomware protection, malicious file prevention, phishing and hacking protection, and so forth. Some suites go a bit further and offer features like a VPN, parental controls, a password manager, file shredder, webcam protection, and more. However, the more extras a suite comes with, the costlier it is going to be. Get only the suite that comes with the stuff you know for sure you’ll really need.
An added benefit of paying for computer antivirus protection is for features and convenience. You get everything you need in one nice package and can even rely on it to update automatically. The right program should be designed in a way that allows the user to interact with it as little or as much as they want, and to have as much control over it as they need. Since some antivirus suites demand more resources in order to run effectively than others, it’s important that you keep your system specs in mind. For instance, a machine with under 4GB of memory will likely have trouble running a security suite with a lot of extra features.
Now that you know what to look for in computer antivirus protection, you can get started. One name most people like to get started with is Norton. Its Antivirus Plus suite is easy to use and offers enough features for the average computer user. It’s also pretty affordable.