The vast majority of users have no interest in av/am.
They have no interest in understanding how things function.
They know how to turn the machine on/off and click on some icon to do something.
That's why msft has windows defender in w10.
I've used avast free for years, it does not give me any fuss.
There are many shields you can enable.
I use 3.
As for av compare sites the good/better/best seems to change monthly.
Hello
This post is by no means a comprehensive dissertation on anti-virus programs. It’s only intended to provide MY method of selection as information you can use_or not.
Most anti-virus programs will do what they are designed to do and that is protect your PC. I prefer a Comprehensive Suite that has firewall, anti-virus, malware and email client protection vs acquiring separate modules. I also choose pay programs vs freebies. IMO and experience the latter seem to be lacking in one or more areas for my protection needs. That said, the key is understanding how these programs do their job.
My benchmarks in alphabetical order are Bitdefender, Kaspersky and Norton. I judge an anti-virus on four criteria:
Prevention Detection – Stopping a potential threat before it happens – either silently and/or with an alert
Removal and/or Quarantine – Nasties can get through any protection which usually occurs between database updates. When that happens, what are the odds that the program will detect it and take the necessary steps to clean my system
Customization – Firewall tweaks, types of scans, email client, malware scrub and more
PC Performance Hit – Does it slow my system
To make the determination reference the first three (3) I rely on third party reviews and independent testing organizations. Now, I’m not completely naïve as I realize there is always some form of compensation involved with any rating or testing procedure conducted by a supposedly "neutral" source. Understanding that I search for consistency in ratings for the same products on multiple sites to see how they are ranked. My benchmark products are consistently given high marks on any number of sites. I’ll list AV-Test.Org as a site I use for baseline measurements.
To address the fourth criteria_PC Performance Hit. FYI, I use both Windows-10 and Mac OSX. Trust me on this…all Windows PC’s are not created equal. The most common thread that a Windows PC has is the OS. Beyond that the manufacturers have a field day with components and proprietary software (Bloatware). Not trying to come across as a Mac fanboy but I can and will say that there is more consistency beyond the OS when it comes to build components. Nuf’ said.
So what does…what I just wrote have to do with PC Performance Hits reference a Comprehensive Protection Suite? Without going into a lot of details I use Bitdefender and Norton. For brevity, the first three criteria I mentioned are equally good on all three (3) products.
Kaspersky (as good as it is) in my experience slows down my Windows systems. Obviously, that is a perception (opinion) otherwise Kaspersky would not be enjoying the success it does as a viable product. Therefore, I use Norton.
Norton on the other hand kills my Mac’s performance. Yes, there are nasties out there designed specifically for Mac’s.
Bitdefender has a Mac antivirus client (not a suite) that I tried on a trial basis and it impressed me. There is no noticeable slow down on any of my 4 Mac’s all of which are of different size and model year. I was so much impressed with it that I decided to try the Bitdefender Suite 2017 which includes 10 seats to protect Windows and Mac’s.
As I have two Windows-10 PC’s I removed Norton from one and loaded Bitdefender. So far so good and I like the customization it offers. After my evaluation if all goes well I’ll probably ditch Norton in favor of Bitdefender because of the Mac component. If not for that I’d stick with Norton.
Hopefully, this brief OPINION gives you a start on how you might go about selecting your next anti-virus suite or standalone component.
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