Many antivirus programs are on the market; some are free, and others require a license. However, all antivirus programs are not created equal, so it doesn’t matter which one you use if you want maximum protection. This post will guide you through the options and give our recommendations.
Why antivirus?
You may be wondering if antivirus is still necessary. It was something we heard a lot about once, but not as much anymore. The short answer is yes. Good antivirus protection is still essential to have. Shady people who develop computer viruses are becoming increasingly creative, and it is, therefore, necessary to have a good antivirus program to keep up with the threat. Likewise, humans often negligently allow viruses and malware to gain access to our computers, for example, if we click on the wrong link in an email or download an infected file from a website. These things may look legitimate, even if infected files or viruses infect your computer. In the worst case, these will destroy or lock your computer and demand a ransom, just as has been seen to happen with large and small companies and many private individuals.
Is free antivirus good enough?
There are both free antivirus programs and some that you have to pay for. So an obvious question is whether the free programs provide sufficient protection. Our recommendation is that, as a starting point, you prioritize buying a good antivirus. If you insist on using a free solution, we recommend Windows Defender, which is included in Windows. However, the purchased programs contain stronger and broader protection. The free programs usually only provide fundamental protection. We also recommend that you avoid antivirus programs such as McAfee, AVG, and Avast, as we often see that they delete Windows files and cause system errors in Windows. There is no guarantee that a purchased antivirus program will protect you against everything. Still, you give yourself and your own IT security the best conditions for optimal protection in this way.