Viruses. Ugh.
Luckily, we’re a little more savvy about viruses, malware, adware, Trojans and worms these days than we were back in the nineties when you could basically guarantee your Packard Bell would be infected with a few dozen of them the minute you got it out of the box. Still, even as antivirus software has developed, viruses have evolved right alongside it. The jokers out there making these malevolent programs are coming up with more and more ways to sneak around your computer’s security measures and invade your system.
So there’s one main thing you should look for in a good antivirus software download: Updates.
Go ahead and get the most recent, effective antivirus program out there, but know this: Somebody’s going to outsmart it in a month or two.
Unless the maker of the antivirus program is constantly updating it with a new database of known viruses, and new ways of getting rid of them, your antivirus software isn’t exactly a brick wall of defense, it’s more like a speed bump.
So keeping that in mind, here are three of your best options for protecting your computer from viruses…
McAfee Security Center
To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson in Jackie Brown, “When you absolutely positively got to kill every computer virus in the room, accept no substitutes”. McAfee is one of the most impressive antivirus packages out there today. The virus scanner gets constant updates while leaving you in control (it won’t restart your computer without your say-so, for example), but… it is about fifty dollars for the full package. If you want a free download, you’re probably after…
AVG Free
What AVG Free really has going for it is simple: It’s free, and it gets daily updates. McAfee, as good as it is, tends to get its updates “as and when”.
Don’t misunderestimate AVG Free just because it doesn’t cost a dime, though. AVG is one of the most potent free virus scanners out there, and at least as capable as a number of antivirus packages you’d have to pay for, with an already huge database of known viruses, and more being added every day.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal
Kaspersky sets itself apart from other virus scanning programs with a simple, but very much appreciated strength. It can unzip and scan a file in the blink of an eye. Beyond that, it’s not really a complete package, and you will want to use a firewall in conjunction with Kaspersky, but anything in the Kaspersky anti-virus line is able to find and kill viruses in half the time it takes several other programs. Kaspersky, depending on which package you get, might cost you anywhere from ten to thirty dollars, but the price is well worth it if you want to save time.
