The vast majority of us now fully understand that we need an antivirus program in order to be able to use a computer safely. However, with thousands of programs out there, it can be quite overwhelming to find out which ones you should consider, and which ones you should instantly dismiss. While good antivirus reviews can be of great help with that, it can still be difficult to understand which elements are important to you personally.
Why Do You Need an Antivirus?
First of all, you really need to understand why an antivirus program is important, which goes above and beyond protecting you from malware. Without it, it will not be able to run properly, and you are likely to find that it will crash regularly as well. This means that you cannot properly use your computer as you need it either.
Obviously, however, the key thing is that it protects you from people with malicious intent who look for your Social Security Number, your bank account number, your passwords, and any other information that they can use to steal your identity. And then there are some people who simply enjoy destroying other people’s computers, simply because they can.
Essential Elements
There are a few things that you have to look for in particular once you start comparing antivirus programs. Choosing to read reviews is a very good starting point, so long as you make sure that the company doing the reviewing is not actually associated with the program manufacturer. Some of the things to look for in the review include:
- User friendliness. Unless you are a computer technician yourself, it is likely that you do not properly understand all the elements of an antivirus program. Hence, you have to make sure that it is easy to use at all times.
- It should be able to protect you from all the different types of malware. This includes dangerous websites, popups, Trojans, keystroke recorders, viruses, spam, worms, adware, and phishing attempts.
- The program should come with excellent customer service and technical support. You have to make sure that, if you do have a problem or a question, you need to be able to speak to somebody who is able to help you with that.
- It should be affordable. There are many free antivirus programs on the market, but they are questionable in terms of their effectiveness. Usually, they only give you an element of what the full program offers, in the hopes of you being encouraged to buy it in full. While this may not be as useful, therefore, it is always better than nothing. Additionally, it gives you an opportunity to test a product before deciding to buy. If you do this with multiple products, however, you do have to make sure that you uninstall any other versions, as this could confuse your system. A fair price for a full antivirus suite is usually between $30 and $70. If you see something that is $90 or more, it is likely that it is serious overpriced.