Tips for buying Anti-Virus Software

Tips for buying your own Antivirus Software

As most of us own our own electronic devices nowadays, we ought to protect them with an appropriate antivirus software. On top of computers and laptops, phones and tablets are also vulnerable to viruses. Therefore, it is important for these devices to be protected from malwares.

Getting an antivirus software would be able to protect your data and block out any potential cyber attacks. However, getting the right antivirus software could get confusing and stressful, as there are many factors to consider.

Here is a list of factors that you should consider when you’re purchasing the right antivirus software:

Price—Budget, Free Trial & Payment Terms 

First of all, it’s best to consider your budget before diving into the different options that you have. You could consider some antivirus software that are free, before considering the ones that are priced with different payment terms. 

Priced software also has different versions and amount of features which affects the price of the package, depending on the amount of features in a certain version. 

It is best to consider a software that offers a free trial, as it allows you to take a look at what is available for the paid version. You would be able to understand how the software works, and decide if it could suit your needs. This way, you would be able to make a better choice when you’re making the purchase.

Apart from these, you can also take a look at the payment terms—one-time off, monthly and yearly subscription—available. Yearly subscriptions is the option that consists of updates and provides long-term support. There are flexible pricing options, hence, you should take a good look and browse through thoroughly before making a choice.

Spyware/Malware Scans 

To start off, malware is a broad term for any software that harms your devices. Malware allows unauthorized access to your devices, and causes harm to your files and computer. On the other hand, spyware is a form of malware that spies on your devices’ activities. Spyware allows tracking of passwords and internet activities. 

An appropriate antivirus software would minimally be able to protect your devices against these, with a good threat detection rate; high accuracy of detecting the true positive malware files and true negative malware files. It would also be able to avoid giving you false positives and false negatives, as some completely safe files might be removed, while some harmful files would be deemed safe to open. 

Real-Time Information & Prevention

An important feature of the antivirus software is also being able to detect risks constantly. Some antivirus software have the option to run in the background or turn on and off at scheduled times for this particular feature. This would be able to protect those who browse the Internet, check their emails or download files regularly. 

Your software should include threat prevention and threat removal features. 

Some of the threat prevention features includes:

• Reactive file scanning
  Before you open any files, it would be vetted and thoroughly compared against the antivirus’s database before determining if the file is safe to open.

• Complete system scans
  This prevents any lingering, undetected threats from compromising your data with a detailed scan every corner.

• Web browsing protection
  This feature allows the filtering of URL links and webpages to determine the level of potential risk and safety history, to ensure safer browsing.

Threat removal is usually included in all antivirus software, however, it would be a plus point if the software allows you to review the potentially malicious files before removing them.

You should be looking for an ideal software that provides both prevention and removal.

Features—Email, Download, Spyware/Malware Scanning 

Free antivirus software has limited features, while paid antivirus software provides advanced security features. The different types of features you should be looking out for are:

Spam Filters

Another feature would be spam filters as it would allow effective and efficient filtering of unwanted messages in your inbox, and prevent these messages from getting to your inbox. This feature prevents your data from being revealed and pried on, as spam emails cause a huge amount of computer attacks and issues.

Download Protection & Anti-Phishing Toolbars

Files can contain all sorts of viruses, which contributes to why download protection is important. Picking an antivirus software offers file download scanning would be helpful in protecting your devices as well.

As for anti-phishing toolbars, they protect you from phishing frauds which causes you to give away sensitive data like personal information, banking details and passwords.

File Shredders

It’s important to be able to eliminate harmful files completely. Despite deleting them from your hard drive, it is possible that electronic traces are not entirely removed from the system. This endangers your system and files as others who access or inherit your computer have the possibility of recovering such files. 

Firewall

Having a firewall prevents external harmful programs from retrieving your data.  Firewalls are made to monitor inbound and coming and outgoing traffic, helping to safeguard your network.

Speed & Compatibility

Another important factor when getting the right antivirus software is compatibility. Depending on the amount of RAM in your computer, if your computer RAM is lower, you would have to choose a software that requires lesser resources. You can learn more about the system-intensive options through reviews and pick the less intrusive option, to prevent your computer from slowing down.

Whether you are looking for a suitable software, or a software that works across multiple devices, you will have to check your system configuration and check if it is a compatible match with the software you’re looking to buy. 

With many versions of antivirus programs out there, Windows users have to be extra careful with the exact operating system that is compatible with the software. As  Mac users, you can get away with being slightly incompatible, however, it would be best to look for the right version. No one would want to waste their money on something that would not be able to operate properly and protect your computer.

Other than compatibility, speed is also crucial. As the antivirus software would be running in the background all the time, if not most, it has to perform efficiently without slowing down your device.

A worthwhile software would be capable of scanning during tasks such as

• file copying
• archiving and unarchiving
• installing/uninstalling applications
• launching applications
• downloading files
• browsing websites

Great Reviews & Privacy Policy

Consider taking a look at reviews online before investing as you would want to pick a software that has been tried and tested, with positive reviews and recommendations. If you’re looking for an unbiased opinion, you can take a look at AV-TEST as they test different packages to see how each of them fare under test conditions. 

An antivirus software withholds the largest shares of our personal information. By allowing a large extent of access, you should be careful about whom you are giving your data too, and that the software is secure. Take a look at the company’s privacy policy along with the other factors before making your purchase.

Here are two products you would like to consider: 

Bullguard & Bitdefender Features

Bullguard Internet Security 2021 is more suitable for home usage, whereas Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security is targeted towards small companies looking for simple and efficient security.