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Anyone who owns a computer is vulnerable to a variety of security risks. There are malwares, spam emails, viruses, and trojans everywhere. If you’re unlucky, a hit from any one of those threats can easily put your work and life at a compromise. Looking for the best antivirus 2017 may seem hard, but it shouldn’t be if you’re properly guided. To help you find the best antivirus software for your PC, here are a couple of tips that you should bear in mind.
Choose an antivirus that fits your lifestyle
First, you have to identify what type of user you are. There are different types of users, each performing different sets of activities. Answer the following questions:
- Do you own a PC or a Mac?
- What operating system do you use?
- Are you a business user or a home user?
- How is your internet connection?
- How is your web browsing habits?
- What programs/software do you regularly use?
Your answers will greatly help in determining the product that’s right for you. Some home users who don’t have internet tend to opt out of installing an antivirus. That’s until an infected USB gets in contact with their port, and voila, you don’t want to know what happens next.
Determining the type of user you are, and your activities are two great considerations on what antivirus to install.
Get a product that offers real-time protection from the most common threats
You want an antivirus that actively works to protect your activities in real time. Anyone who accesses the internet can get infected within minutes. This is when your antivirus should jump in and tell you that you’re about to get in danger. A good antivirus is equipped with at least the following features:
- Anti-everything – protection from malwares, viruses, trojans, worms, rootkits, spywares, malicious scripts, email attacks, phishing attacks, network attacks, and browser exploits, to name a few.
- Automatic updates – to ensure that you’re getting the latest protection updates from your software provider.
- Malware removal – it’s one thing to detect and block, and another to remove. Some customers think that blocking and putting the malicious item under quarantine is enough. But in the cyber security world, removing a malware is an entirely different process.
Most antivirus offer basic protection from all those and more. It’s up to you to pay a premium if you want access to the more sophisticated and thorough protection features. There are, however, already a ton of free antiviruses out there that offer complete package so you might want to try them out first before deciding to pay.
Get an antivirus that has reputable performance and usability scores
With the many processes an antivirus is running simultaneous with your daily activities, you want to ensure that it’s not hogging your PC resources to the point that your productivity gets compromised. You want an antivirus that effectively manages its performance efforts without slacking down on being on-guard.
Antiviruses are big on background processes that may amp up your memory usage. A good product doesn’t interfere with your work and sits quietly until it encounters a threat.
There are several antivirus tests online that can help you decide which product to install on your machine. These tests analyze the latest malware and thoroughly test them against multiple products, then rate them according to a set criteria. Reports generated by these expert reviewers are of big help when deciding.
These are just a couple of tips in finding the best antivirus for your PC. Whatever you choose, the most important thing is to always be protected.
