This question is one of the most frequent I get. It is also one of the most frequently ignored pieces of advice I give out. With all the Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware, Anti-Spyware, Adware removers, etc. out on the market it is enough to make an IT person's head spin. Fortunately, I am here to break it down for you.
Let's begin by discussing what you get from free anti-virus solutions vs for-pay solutions. Most of this information is conveniently available from the websites, but I will go ahead and compile it here conveniently for you. We will compare options that have both a free and for-pay solutions and discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and reasons for each function. I will then guide you in the reasoning behind my opinion.
There are a few common differences between free versions of Anti-Virus Software and their for-pay counterparts these are listed below.
Let's analyze these one at a time so you better understand what they are.
Real-Time Scanning:
A Real-Time Scanner monitors data & files as you download or view them online. It is a pro-active method for checking for viruses before they can get to your computer and do damage.
Active Firewalls (Intelligent Firewalls):
Active firewalls monitor your computer for incoming connection attempts from devices that are not your computer. They then decide or ask you if the connection is safe. In most cases they do a very good job deciding on their own. Here are a few examples.
Identity Protection:
Identity Protection focuses on certain specific types of Malware (malicious programs). There are hundreds of types of these, but some examples are key-loggers (these keep track of what you are typing and can extract usernames and passwords in some cases) and form copiers (these monitor what you type into websites and can often extract credit card data and other personal data). An Identity Protection suite will remove this malware as well as watch for signs of it to prevent symptoms from an unknown malware.
Browser Protection:
Browser Protection generally has a two-tier approach to protecting your browser.
Next, I will cover the common features of free Anti-Virus solutions.
Passive Scanning - A passive scanner scans your computer at regular intervals, generally at a schedule that is set up by you. Often times these schedules are never configured and therefore scans are never performed. When one of these virus scanners detects a virus, it cleans the file. Often times, these do not fix the damage caused by the virus.
Passive Firewall - A passive firewall generally puts your computer into a "lock-down" state. It blocks all incoming communications. In order to do any configuration, it almost requires advanced knowledge in computer networking. This is good if this is the only computer you own, or you never plan to share files. Even then, it can lead to complications when browsing the internet.
The Summary
Remember the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." When working with computers this can ring doubly true. Quality for-pay Anti-Virus solutions start around $40. Remember you spent anywhere from $500 to a few thousand. A $40/yr Anti-Virus solution is a small price to pay for much better protection. Consider this, if you need professional work to fix virus damage, it could run $200-300. That covers 5-7 years of quality Anti-Virus software.
I recommend a for-pay anti-virus solution.
- Real-time Anti-Virus and Malware scanning
- Active Firewalls
- Identity Protection
- Browser Protection
Let's analyze these one at a time so you better understand what they are.
Real-Time Scanning:
A Real-Time Scanner monitors data & files as you download or view them online. It is a pro-active method for checking for viruses before they can get to your computer and do damage.
Active Firewalls (Intelligent Firewalls):
Active firewalls monitor your computer for incoming connection attempts from devices that are not your computer. They then decide or ask you if the connection is safe. In most cases they do a very good job deciding on their own. Here are a few examples.
- You have music on your computer and you also have another computer in your house. You want to connect the computer that doesn't have music to the one that does. An Active Firewall will see that the computers are in the same house (network) and allow it.
- You are online. You click on a bad link. The link tries to create a connection to your computer to transfer a virus. The Active Firewall would then block this connection attempt because it is from a foreign (not the same house/network) source.
Identity Protection:
Identity Protection focuses on certain specific types of Malware (malicious programs). There are hundreds of types of these, but some examples are key-loggers (these keep track of what you are typing and can extract usernames and passwords in some cases) and form copiers (these monitor what you type into websites and can often extract credit card data and other personal data). An Identity Protection suite will remove this malware as well as watch for signs of it to prevent symptoms from an unknown malware.
Browser Protection:
Browser Protection generally has a two-tier approach to protecting your browser.
- Link Scanning - Link Scanning contains a global catalog of websites known to frequently contain viruses. When you browse to the website, your Anti-Virus software interrupts you with a warning screen to tell you that the site has malicious content. Some of these even tell you at the search engine whether-or-not the site is safe.
- Pre-loaders - A pre-loader loads a site before it shows in your browser. This allows it to inspect the site for any suspicious behaviors, and to interrupt them either by a warning screen or by blocking the suspicious activity.
Next, I will cover the common features of free Anti-Virus solutions.
- Passive Virus Scanner
- Passive Firewall
Passive Scanning - A passive scanner scans your computer at regular intervals, generally at a schedule that is set up by you. Often times these schedules are never configured and therefore scans are never performed. When one of these virus scanners detects a virus, it cleans the file. Often times, these do not fix the damage caused by the virus.
Passive Firewall - A passive firewall generally puts your computer into a "lock-down" state. It blocks all incoming communications. In order to do any configuration, it almost requires advanced knowledge in computer networking. This is good if this is the only computer you own, or you never plan to share files. Even then, it can lead to complications when browsing the internet.
The Summary
Remember the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." When working with computers this can ring doubly true. Quality for-pay Anti-Virus solutions start around $40. Remember you spent anywhere from $500 to a few thousand. A $40/yr Anti-Virus solution is a small price to pay for much better protection. Consider this, if you need professional work to fix virus damage, it could run $200-300. That covers 5-7 years of quality Anti-Virus software.
I recommend a for-pay anti-virus solution.