With so many options available for free and paid antivirus software, the question of whether or not free antivirus software is good enough is a legitimate one. While the answer many times depends on who you are asking, we thought it might come in handy to shed some light on the matter.
All free antivirus programs have limitations
While most of the free antivirus programs have evolved massively over the years, they still do present certain limitations when it comes to the threats that could put your device and important data at risk. Even though the majority of them offer basic protection with automatic scanning and some of them provide supplementary tools like browser add-ons that verify malicious links, what these free tools always lack is technical support. Even though some providers offer a certain level of support via live chat or telephone, free antivirus users have to find the answers by themselves most of the time.
Now, if you are a business owner, read carefully: free antiviruses do not provide licenses for business use. Besides, when you choose a free antivirus, you’ll usually have to put up with the company’s repeated advertisements to upgrade to a paid product. As we all know, there are no such thing in life as a free lunch, and antivirus providers will do their best to either convince you to upgrade to their paid versions or, worse, they might even gather personal information via the toolbars they incorporate to research your internet browsing habits and work hand in hand with companies in those fields via ad targeting.
How to avoid all these and more
If you want to have complete protection – which is especially necessary if you own a business – then the most valid solution is the paid antivirus, which nowadays also provides defense against spyware and malware, as well as firewalls or other such additional features to ensure that your systems and data are kept secure. Most of these suites are updated automatically to provide protection against evolving threats, too.
Some of the advantages of these paid solutions include technical support whenever you require it and supplementary features to secure your identity online. It’s good to ensure you choose one that delivers antiphishing protection, too, so that no website can get its hands on your sensitive information, and that the technical support is delivered via live chat or means other than telephone since if you live on the other side of the world, this could prove to be a nuisance.