Having
been involved in IT for well over 25 years, I have been frequently asked many
questions regarding computers and computer-related topics. One of the most
frequent I am asked has to do with anti-virus software.
Not too
long ago, any PC system you purchased did not come with one, leaving the choice
in your hands. The less savvy buyer went about blissfully unaware that there
was no protection at all, often to their future detriment. More recently, new
PCs were shipped with 30-day trial copies of either McAfee or Norton/Symantec -
which I admit is much better than nothing at all - but when they expired it
left you almost as unprotected as before. Not to mention the multiple
notifications per day that your product was about to expire and that you
"should" opt for a paid package that will cure all your woes.
Then came
the free revolution. Realising that people were no longer willing to pay for
anti-virus-only software when there were other threats around, companies began
to develop free-to-use versions of their products. Of course, there were
compromises on getting these things free, as they were often stripped-down
versions with basic functionality and and limited technical support. But the
important thing is that they did the job respectably. And as time wore on the
improved tremendously.
Just this
morning a colleague who had just received a laptop asked me what anti-virus she
should use. The laptop came with a trial of Norton (Internet) Security 2015 and
she was actively considering paying for a license to continue using it. Not
that I am against that idea but I consider Symantec's products to be notorious
resource hogs.
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| Norton by Symantec - ScottyPedia doesn't love you at all. |
So, what
free solution did I recommend for her? What could possibly satisfy my
discerning taste?
I told
her to go with BitDefender Antivirus Free Edition.
It is one of the most lightweight software around in terms of actual system
resource usage and packs a powerful punch. It is in fact the best rated of the
free anti-virus solutions available (and it goes without saying that I am an
avid user of it). It even has an Android version for your smartphones and
tablets. Like most of the free services it does require that you create a user
account with them (supplying your e-mail address), which allows you to keep
track of all of your BitDefender-protected devices via the Internet.
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| Bitdefender is definitely ScottyPedia approved! |
The
installation process is a breeze, requiring few interactions from the user.
Once installed, there are no annoying settings and options to configure and it
is maintenance-free too, working silently and reliably! Also, BitDefender's
free version has never once asked, prodded, hinted or otherwise tried to
encouraged me to opt for one its paid-for cousins (as some of the others do
frequently and annoyingly).
The one
drawback is that it is a Windows-only solution; there are no free Mac or
iOS versions.
Honourable
mention must go to the alliterative trio of AVG, avast! and Avira
for their free solutions. They aren't bad at all but BitDefender
really rocks!
I hope
that I've given you some helpful free advice on free anti-virus solutions. Feel
free to send me your questions or comments.
I personally prefer AVG as a free solution. I did not have a good experience with Avira; it had a dumb pop window that came as part of the package that you just had to live with. I would add tho, honestly while free anti-virus software does save you money, you have to "manage" the software. That is, daily I would check for notifications with it, look for anything suspicious, make sure its up-to-date. I eventually gave in and bought a version of mcafee, and honestly while it was not cheap, it was very headache free. For me, I what I would advise would depend on the person, for someone not too techy and also not diligent (or lazy), or just does not have the time, I would recommend that they use a pay anti-virus. (Daniel Cockburn)
ReplyDeleteI actually like Avast (yes scary voice and all) I plan to try out Bitdefender with my new laptop though (afterall it is ScottyPedia approved!)
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