Posts Tagged ‘buying antivirus’

What To Look For In Antivirus Protection

Sunday, September 14th, 2008

What’s the absolute best antivirus software to run on your computer? Just about everyone asks that question when they purchase a new computer or even upgrade their internet connection. With the rising popularity of high-speed internet as of late, effective antivirus protection is all the more important. The internet is literally riddled with malicious software, and without a quality antivirus product, your computer may be at risk.

There are a few key factors to keep in mind when youíre shopping for a antivirus software.

  1. How often is the software updated? Are the updates automatic?
  2. Does the software block spyware and Trojans along with traditional viruses?
  3. Is there a built in firewall?
  4. What sort of return policy does the product offer?

All of the above questions should be asked and you should be satisfied with the answers before choosing an antivirus program. While there are free antivirus software options, they are usually limited in their capabilities and not nearly updated as frequently as paid programs.

Another big selling point is customer support. What type of customer support is offered by the software? Phone? Chat? Email? Paid antivirus programs obviously will have better customer support, while the free varieties very often have none at all, or sometimes simply offer email support that takes quite some time to get a response from. Some of the better antivirus software providers offer 24/7 live phone and/or support. This can be very useful, especially for computer users who are unfamiliar with antivirus software or who need a little bit more assistance.

To further help you decide which antivirus product youíd like to run on your system, have a look around online on the various review sites to see what people are saying about them. Also computer and technology magazines can be a great resource for information and reviews on antivirus products. Most importantly check to see that users are saying that they are satisfied with the effectiveness of the software, and also the customer support they may have received. Itís important to know that your antivirus provider will be there for you if a serious problem arises.

If you’re still having trouble deciding which antivirus software is best for you, you could always install a trial version of the software and see how you like it. Just be sure to install any antivirus software you might have running before you install any new antivirus software to avoid any potential conflicts.

Having constant antivirus protection is especially important if your computer is continuously connected to the internet. As the popularity of high-speed internet has increased, so has the amount of hackers and malicious software. It is imperative that you have dependable, up to date antivirus software to protect you from such threats. Itís also a good idea to perform routine scans of all of your files to ensure that there are no viruses hiding or infected files. Most antivirus programs will give you the option of being able to schedule scans for a future date, or even to automatically scan at a regular interval that you set.

How to Choose the Best Antivirus Software Product

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

There was a time when it was generally a good idea to have antivirus software running on your computer. With the advent of the internet, it has become absolutely imperative. Email, chat rooms, and file sharing gave viruses the ability to spread like wildfire and infect millions of machines. In order to ensure that you have adequate protection, you’ll need a sophisticated antivirus program. To help you determine which antivirus products are the best suited to provide you with that protection, here are some key things to look for.

The internet is a great place to start. Check out reviews and see what customers are saying about particular antivirus products. Virus Bulletin as well as AV-Comparatives specialize in antivirus reviews and are considered an authority in the industry. Computer and Tech magazines are also great resources of information pertaining to security software, along with their respective websites.

A good review will focus on the effectiveness as well as the usability of the software. Obviously the most critical function of any antivirus software is the actual process of detecting and removing viruses and other threats. After finding software that excels in this area, you can further narrow down your options by looking for which products among them offer the best speed and stability.

If antivirus software is slowing down the computers of its customers, it is likely the first thing theyíre going to complain about on online forums or blogs. Therefore it’s pretty easy to determine which products are notorious for hogging system resources and slowing down overall computer performance. Some software may also conflict with other software and potentially cause errors. If you think you’ve done adequate research and found a program that will perform well on your system, be sure to download the trial version first and test it out for yourself before committing to a purchase. There may be errors or incompatibility issues that could arise after some use that you otherwise would not have known about. Be sure to run different applications while the antivirus software is running to make sure that they run smoothly.

Some antivirus software is much easier to operate than other types. An additional benefit of downloading the trial version first is you can get to know the interface and see if the product provides you with sufficient ease-of-use. Several types of antivirus software offer extensive customization options, while others do not.The “set and forget” option is one that a lot of antivirus software customers look for. What the feature essentially does is give you the ability to set the software to perform scans and updates automatically, at an interval that you determine. This is much more convenient than having to manually update your software or initialize regular disk scans.

It’s a good idea to test out more than one antivirus program by taking advantage of their free trials, but keep in mind that you must fully uninstall one program before attempting to use another one. Running two types of security software simultaneously may likely result in errors or system instability.