Why Pay for Antivirus Protection Today?

Who says you don’t get anything for free anymore. It might be rare nowadays but it does happen and antivirus applications is an example. Today when you sign up with Verizon or Comcast for internet access one of the first things that you are charged for is “security protection”. There is no reason to pay an additional fee for these services. Do yourself a favor. Check out your internet bill and if you see these charges call your provider and cancel the security services. After you have done this, first uninstall the old antivirus program (usually Symantec or MacAfee)  and then install one of the following free antivirus solutions. Use the extra money to treat yourself to a night out or pick up a gift for your favorite IT blogger. 

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a great choice for a free antivirus. I have been using this one for years and this application has seen impressive improvements and enhancements recently. This antivirus program offers a high level of protection. This is due to the inclusion of a fully-fledged behavioral blocker that is the "Identity Protection" protection.

There is a paid version which offers more security and firewall protection.

 

Microsoft Security Essentials is a growing favorite; with good detection rates, particularly for rootkits. Even more impressive is that Security Essentials has very few false positives, is light on system resources and is good at removal of existing malware.

Microsoft Security Essentials is the best choice for average users because of the minimal user interaction required. It automatically updates and removes threats. No registration is needed, apart from a quick validating of Windows, and there are no nag screens or advertisements.

The main downsides are the slow scan speeds and the lengthy amount of time it takes to quarantine malware but because this is relatively new in the free antivirus game I expect improvements here soon.

In conclusion, between these two excellent antivirus solutions I would recommend that those of us who are less “tech savvy” s check out Microsoft Security Essentials while those of use with a little more computer knowledge and awareness stick with AVG for now.

* Important Note: If you do this, make sure you act immediately, first uninstall the old antivirus applicantion and install the new program without delay! Your computer will not be protected properly until you do this.