USING FREE ANTIVIRUS VERSUS PAID ANTIVIRUS.

An antivirus is extremely essential for the protection of one’s computer system. As the name implies, it helps protect the computer against viruses that may otherwise infect and corrupt the system. There are several antivirus options available to choose from in the market, some free and some paid.

One cannot accurately say which one of the two antivirus programs are the better alternative. Each person has his/her own preference and each alternative has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.

Free antivirus softwares generally provide only a bare minimum level of protection. They are able to scan risks to the system and often do so automatically as well. Only a few of them may have a firewall and may be able to check for corrupted links. In contrast, paid antivirus softwares most definitely have more comprehensive security tools such as email scanner, parental control and theft protection.

The engines of both the antivirus software are the same. The basic difference is in the level of sophistication of both. Most paid spywares have more sophisticated proactive components that help prevent the system from getting infected at all in the first place. Many of the free antivirus programs aren’t that good at preventing the virus from getting into the computer, but there is no doubt that they are effective in detecting and removing the viruses once the system is already infected.

Even though both types of antivirus software detect threats well, the paid ones do gain a little edge over the free ones. On the contrary, the free antivirus softwares are faster on average than the paid ones. Thus, both offer certain pros as well as cons.

However, it is notable that all those companies that offer free antivirus programs also offer a paid version of it. This clearly indicates that there is a difference between the two. A good option in this case can be to install a paid version of an antivirus with good preventive capabilities, along with one or two free ones, so as to obtain the best of both the worlds. Nonetheless, a person must evaluate well as to which option he/she wants to select for the sake of the system’s proper security.