What is the best antivirus for your computer?

The computer is an integral part of everyday life. For some it is a means of earning money, for others it is a means of spending leisure time, for others it is a means of communicating with friends and relatives through the computer, and for others the computer has even replaced going to the store. Therefore, people try to protect their computer and the data stored on it as best as possible. But how best to do this in the world of advanced technology? What guides people when choosing protection for their personal computer? How to achieve the maximum level of security? In this article we will help you understand everything and make the right choice.

So, in order to protect your “machine” you need to definitely install an antivirus on it. This is a program that will protect your computer from malicious software, scans the files and folders we work with to detect viruses, destroys the viruses found, and also disinfects infected files. There are a huge number of antivirus programs, and each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Before you start choosing an antivirus, you should understand the fact that you need to install not two or three antiviruses, but only one. Since after installing several, a conflict of programs will begin, which will affect the performance of the system. If you want to install another antivirus, you must first uninstall the installed one.

Let's now look at the main antivirus programs. They are free and paid. Let's start with the free ones.

Free antivirus programs

• Avast Free Antivirus;
• AVG Antivirus;
• Avira Free Antivirus;
• MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials).

Avast Free Antivirus

1. Avast Free Antivirus is one of the popular antiviruses that not only protects your computer when viewing Internet content, but also protects against spam and hacker attacks. This program scans the entire OS for viruses at boot time. Adds suspicious or malicious files to quarantine. This program also has built-in self-defense, that is, no virus can remove it from the computer.

Advantages:

• High functionality and level of protection;
• Fast data scanning;
• Does not load the processor;
• Nice interface.

Flaws:

• Triggering false alarms;
• There is no blocking of pop-ups and banners.

AVG Antivirus

2. AVG Antivirus - protects your personal computer from spyware and viruses, and also blocks web pages with suspicious content. This antivirus is updated free of charge and supports common operating systems. Mainly used by home network users.

Advantages:

• Does not load the processor;
• High level of protection;
• User-friendly interface.

Flaws:

• Slow computer scanning;
• Intrusive advertising content.

Avira Free Antivirus

3. Avira Free Antivirus – reliably protects against viruses, worms, and Trojans. One click is all it takes to remove malicious software. Doesn't burden the system.

Advantages:

• Low resource consumption;
• Lightning-fast system scan.

Flaws:

• The absence of a module that warns about visiting a malicious site;
• A huge amount of advertising;
• Lack of Russian menu.

MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials)

4. MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) is an antivirus program that will protect your computer from malicious files and spyware. The program is updated every 24 hours. After installation on your computer, you do not need to restart it.

Advantages:

• Ease of use;
• Nice interface;
• Doesn't load the system.

Flaws:

It is worth noting that to use a free antivirus you need to install it and go through the registration procedure. Some antiviruses, such as Avast, are available in both paid and free versions. After the free demo version of the program expires, you will need to purchase it, but after purchasing the program’s capabilities expand significantly. But if you have enough of the functions that the demo version is equipped with, and you have neither the desire nor the need to buy it, then after the program expires, the activation procedure should be repeated.

Now let's move on to considering the main paid antivirus programs.

Paid antivirus programs

• Kaspersky
• Dr.Web
• NOD32

Kaspersky

1. Kaspersky is the most popular and revered antivirus. This program perfectly protects the system from worms, viruses and other “virtual nastiness”. It also has the following functions: payment protection, parental controls, anti-spam and anti-banner.

Advantages:

• High scanning speed;
• Effective protection;
• Instantly block threats.

Flaws:

• Expensive license;
• To fully scan your computer, you need to close all programs.

Dr.Web

2. Dr.Web is at the origins of antivirus programs. It effectively protects your computer and allows you not only to remove virus software, but also to treat and restore infected files. Using this antivirus, important information is restored. Dr.Web also has excellent self-defense; it will not be removed by a pest program.

Advantages:

• Ability to check archives;
• High level of self-defense.

Flaws:

• High license cost;
• Needs regular downloading of updates.

NOD32

3. NOD32 – perfectly protects the system from malware, spyware, and resists scammers. This program includes anti-spam protection and a personal firewall. There is an opinion that this is the best antivirus for experienced users, as it requires some settings.

Advantages:

• High speed;
• High level of protection;
• User-friendly interface.

Flaws:

• High license cost;
• Some settings required.

We reviewed the main anti-virus programs, which, according to their criteria, occupy leading positions in the ratings. All of these programs are compatible with the Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems. Of course, the main indicator when choosing antivirus software is the security and protection of data stored on the computer. But when choosing antivirus software, you should also consider the power of your computer.

Which antivirus is better to choose for Windows 7?

The Windows 7 operating system was created in such a way that it has built-in functional protection, which is many times greater than previous versions of the OS. And everything seems to be fine, but the “evil geniuses” who develop malware are one step ahead, and their pest programs penetrate the system, infecting and destroying everything in its path. Therefore, like any other version of the OS, Windows 7 needs additional protection. This means that you definitely need to install an antivirus program on your computer.

But what is the best antivirus program to choose? There is no clear answer to this question. Of the programs we have listed, all are considered good, but none of them guarantees 100% protection for you.

When choosing an antivirus, keep in mind that the operating system can be 32- or 64-bit. Antivirus software is developed specifically for each type. And, of course, computer parameters. If they are very weak, then an antivirus like Kaspersky will simply slow down all the work.

Also, when choosing an antivirus, you need to decide what kind of work you need a computer for. If you use a computer to play games or surf the Internet, then Avast (free version) is suitable for you. If you also work on it, then, by the way, Kaspersky (paid) will suit you. So, the choice is yours!

Which antivirus is best for Windows 8 and 10?

The Windows 8 operating system, like its predecessor, is equipped with a basic level of protection. Each new OS version has expanded and improved security features. Finally, we see that Windows 8 has reached the point where programmers claim that this system is so developed and debugged that it can easily protect itself without antivirus software. But after weighing all the pros and cons, we still recommend installing an antivirus on your computer.

Since Windows 8 is significantly different from previous versions, not every antivirus program is suitable for this system.

And yet, which antivirus is best to install to ensure stable system operation and protect your computer? Hand on heart, we can safely say that Kaspersky antivirus is ideal for Windows 8. It was this company that was the first to “conquer” and adapt antivirus software for Windows 8. The system’s operation with this antivirus is stable and safe.

Antiviruses such as NOD32 and Avast have also performed well in terms of system protection and stability.

Summarizing what has been said, we can conclude that choosing an antivirus program is your personal choice and we have no right to impose our opinion on you, but please give advice on choosing a particular antivirus program. There is no need to chase popularity and brand, this is not always an indicator of quality. And also follow the reviews of friends and acquaintances, because every user praises the antivirus that he uses. But, be that as it may, the choice is yours. Make no mistake, read, take a closer look, because the security of your computer depends on your choice.