Free Antivirus vs Paid Antivirus

Dozens of companies offer some kind of protection that promises to stop worms, viruses, trojans and other malware with free and paid versions. How does one type fair against the other?

There are perhaps as many free antivirus programs as there are paid ones, in fact many of the companies that offer a free antivirus software have a paid version of it as well. PC users who prefer to save some money and run free antivirus will have a huge number of options and a need for answers on which program really gives them the best protection for no cost.

Among some of the most reliable and highly rated free antivirus programs are Avast, Avira, Comodo, AVG and PC Tools, however PC users need to understand that with free programs you get something but not everything your system needs for total protection.

First of all you won't be able to contact support when things get out of control and some malware does get past your free protection. Most of these free apps only offer support via their free forums and some are kind enough to give you free email support, though you should not expect to get an immediate response, typically 24 to 48 hours or longer.

In general most free antivirus applications have less frequent updates than their paid counterparts, which in fact creates a window of opportunity for new malware threats to make their way into PCs that aren't properly updated.

Some of these free programs lock out advanced features as well, for example Avira's paid antivirus software scans http traffic to catch malware before infection occurs, while its free version will not. Other paid applications monitor IM programs, while their free versions do not.

Some of the free programs may in some cases install other things you in fact do not want, such as tool bars for search social networks, in most cases you can opt out of these installs, but in other cases you don't even know until you reboot. Also some of these apps will continuously display systray popups urging you to buy the paid version, and this can get annoying very quickly.

Be very careful which antivirus software you install, if it is not from a reputable and recognizable name, you must scrutinize carefully as you may end up installing a fake antivirus program instead and begin held to a ransom.

Lastly, there are no guarantees, you're on your own in most cases. Should things go completely wrong and your system gets pounded with tons of spyware, viruses and other junk, you have no one to hold responsible or get your money back from.

Free antivirus programs are ok as a temporary fix or if your internet activity is very limited, some of these programs can give you decent protection for nothing you just have to be aware that you're not fully protected and you should eventually consider buying proper protection with an adequate antivirus program.