Free virus protection – so good, they protect you

Free antivirus

Virus protection is a must in today’s PCs. But you need to spend several hundred dollars per year – or you could still do with free alternatives?

Being without antivirus in your computer for the majority as unthinkable as driving without a seatbelt. And blindfolded. The threats from malicious code and the ways they enter the computer has increased in numbers from year to year and antivirus companies for a constant struggle to keep up.

But for many it feels like a heavy charge to lay out several hundred pieces a year in commercial security. A student who turns on his money or who are not able to get their own licenses would be able to choose free antivirus software.

Side by side with antivirus giants Symantec and Kaspersky are a handful of companies that provide security for free. Among other things Microsoft. Most are actually manufacturers of commercial payment programs, also has a simpler free version.

One might wonder why. Do not compete with themselves? No, many of them see it as the marketing of its pay program. Running the free version so the chances are greater that you upgrade to the same manufacturer’s payment program with more features when you can afford.

In addition, manufacturers realize that not everyone will pay for virus protection, and the more computers on the Internet that are unprotected and can be infected and then used to attack the greater the threat to the rest of the computers. It also loses antivirus companies on, because then they get harder to protect their customers.

Free programs are not many features. Only the minimum necessary to avoid getting lousy computer with various forms of malware such as viruses, worms, spy programs, and rootkits. A couple of the programs we’ve tested have a little extra protection for your browser.

The best payment programs are also clearly more effective at detecting and protecting against virus attacks, plus you get a whole bunch of other features to keep your computer safe. But for a smart users who do not engage in too risky things online can free programs actually go a long way.

In our test, we use independent virus lab AV-tests tough tests, and this year they actually put your “Approved” stamp on all fours. This says a lot, because it is not always even pay programs receive it.

Unassuming AVG impress

Another favorite is AVG, which has become very popular in recent years. A relatively reliable, economical and discreet protection that is suitable even for slower computers, as it requires unusually low CPU resources and memory.

Functionally, this is more modest compared to Avast. AVG has a simpler interface and less detailed information about what is happening in the computer and the network. But that does not mean that the program has been a lack of features. On the contrary. There is, for example, actively browsing protection, classified listings and a mode for minimal interference when playing games. Virus protection is quite effective, especially AVG is good at weeding out most of what it finds. The performance is hardly affected at all, but the AV test, some annoying false alarms in their tests.

The program can also do a general analysis of Windows and tell me if you have unnecessary files, registerpostermed more. To clean them, you can upgrade to the pay version. A final function called AVG for “identity protection”. But neither of the software or the manufacturer’s site we find any information on what is protected and how.

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