How to Pick the Right Antivirus Software for Your PC

There are a number of vendors that produce antivirus software and they all claim that their products offer the best security for your computer from every imaginable form of online threat. So you may find it confusing choosing when you set out to get the right antivirus software for your system. Just buying any software that is available or that your friends are using is very risky because you may be using different PC’s or different operating systems and so on. Let us look at some of the things you should think about for you to pick the best antivirus software for your system:

Decide whether you are looking only for antivirus software or complete security suite

An antivirus program is very basic and because of this it only has the ability of identifying viruses and eliminating them from your PC. However, a complete security suite acts as a firewall, anti spyware and spam filter. Vendors usually promote complete security suite software as the best options between the two. Despite this, PC experts say that you do not need the extra features in complete security suite programs. For instance, if you are using Windows 8, you already have built-in security features. For other Windows versions you can also easily download Microsoft Security Essentials. All in all, the antivirus software is the better of the two because it protects your PC from malware.

Check credibility of antivirus vendors

You should research on different antivirus vendors if you want choose the most appropriate software for your PC. This is very easy to do because the internet is full of reviews of each antivirus program offered by vendors. Look at the pros and cons of each program and compare it with other programs. Also find out if vendors offer warranties for their products; when you will have to replace the software; and how to pay for it (monthly or fixed). If you find this a little too demanding to do, you can go to websites where antivirus programs are rated.

PC speed and scan speed

When you are choosing antivirus software make sure you check for the recommended system requirements for it. Some programs only work effectively on powerful and fast systems and may slow down your PC if it is slow. Thus, you may not be able to run other programs when the antivirus software is running or in extreme cases your computer could just hang. So check for the system memory (RAM), PC speed and operating system requirements before you install the antivirus software. Additionally, choose an antivirus program that is fast and stable when it is scanning files in your hard-drive.

Software features

Each antivirus has its own distinct features that differentiate it from the others. Some of them have numerous pop-ups that you may find annoying. Others have audio support that notify you whenever an update is available or when the software has finished updating. To compare features of different software you can download their free trial versions and decide on the one that suits you.
These are just a few of the things to look for when you are choosing an antivirus program. To get more information about this, visit spamlaws.com.