When it comes to free virus protection, you might say to yourself “Well heck, it’s free, it’s good, then!” but that’s not always the case. With many free antivirus programs, you get exactly what you paid for… nothing at all. Many of these free programs aren’t exactly the Great Wall of China when it comes to keeping viruses out of your system. More like… the Great Open Window of China, Where the Mongols can March Right on in and We’ll Even Throw them a Parade!
So you can’t really grab just any virus protection and expect it to get the job done. You’ll want to look for a few key features…
Configurability-
You don’t want it to be too complicated, but you want some level of configurability so that you can have some degree of control over everything that’s going on inside your computer. You can’t have virus protection that won’t even let you online for fear that you’ll contract a virus.
Ease of Use-
This is business 101. Make sure your product is accessible to your customer, or they’re going to realize it stinks.
Database-
Virus scanners work like vaccines, they have to have a sample of known viruses if they’re going to be able to kill them off when they see them. This is where the database comes in. A database should have a huge, huge list of known viruses so that it can efficiently take them out whenever they rear their ugly heads.
Auto Updates-
Probably the best virus scanner for this is actually a free one, Avira AntiVir. It updates at least one time every single day, sometimes several times. This ensures that you will be able to get as full and complete a database of known viruses as possible without much hassle. It updates itself and it installs itself without you having to reboot your computer or anything.
Price-
McAfee Security Center might just be the best virus protection available, but at fifty dollars for the full package, many users prefer to go with something almost as good for a little cheaper. If you’re on a limited budget it really is a better idea to shop for a bargain package like Panda, or even go with one of the free programs like AVGFree or the aforementioned Avira AntiVir.
And that’s it. Just look for an anti virus program that covers all of these bases, and you should be a happy shopper.
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