Do You Use A Free Antivirus Or A Paid One?

Discussion in Software PC & Mac started by Robilas • Jul 8, 2016.

  1. Robilas

    RobilasMember

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2016
    Threads:
    8
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    8
    Keeping your PC safe from viruses is really important, and there are a lot of anti virus out there to solve the problem. However there are too many options to choose from, especially since a lot of free anti virus are better than their paid counterparts. So what do you use? A free antivirus or a paid one?

    Personally I went for the middle ground: I use Malwarebytes Anti Malware, a free software to remove malwares with a "premium" paid version offering real time protection. After a free trial of one year I decided that it was worth my money and bought the premium version, and I don't regret it. However my previous anti virus, Mycrosoft Security Essentials, was pretty efficient aswell.
     
  2. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2013
    Threads:
    991
    Messages:
    4,335
    Likes Received:
    790
    If I were to use install an anti-virus on my computer then I'd choose a free one because there's a lot of things I've read which had me believe that you don't really get "more protection" when you use paid anti-virus. For me, I use software that restores my PC to restore the system to it's original configuration once I reboot. In addition to that I also have sandboxie installed. Any new programs I install I run in the sandbox so even if there's some bundled malware it remains in the sandbox.
     
  3. Corzhens

    CorzhensWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2015
    Threads:
    151
    Messages:
    1,855
    Likes Received:
    459
    Our home desktop used to be protected by Symantec with license courtesy of a friend.But the license may have expired in January 2015 because it wouldn't update the anti-virus list anymore (although it's still working well). For an up to date protection, we installed AVG, the free anti-virus that is downloadable from their site. However, the anti-virus was updating itself even when the setting was on manual. Got fed up with the slow down, my husband removed AVG and installed Avast a few months ago. Until now it is under observation but it looks good enough.
     
  4. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2013
    Threads:
    105
    Messages:
    2,037
    Likes Received:
    130
    I literally just use the Windows defender that comes with the windows. I used to use several different antivirus before, from Norton to Avast, to AVG, and some other ones. But seriously, to me they all the same. Not only that, but ever since I stopped using those and started only using the one from windows, I haven't had to reboot my computer. It's been three years. Before I usually did it once a year, so I say just go with the one that is already on your computer. But that's just me.
     
  5. Casiox

    CasioxActive Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2016
    Threads:
    23
    Messages:
    161
    Likes Received:
    34
    When it comes to paying for an antivirus I personally think it is something useless for me, because there are many free options in today's market which you can acquire and use for the rest of your life, with this I do not mean that paid anti-virus are not good enough, I have personally never tried one to say so, however, I have never had any virus problem on my PC with the one I'm currently using, that is my opinion though.
     
  6. davos

    davosActive Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2016
    Threads:
    15
    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    46
    I was a free avast user for a time until I realized my web browsing habits are pretty much safe to really not bother with the hassle of downloading and get a free user key,considering I mostly use a Linux kernel based Os such as Debian
     
  7. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    I use a free one, and my reason for that is that if I am going to spend money on a product - and these anti-virus programs are hardly cheap - then I want to guarantee that no infection or virus will be able to infiltrate my computer. As we all know, viruses are always being updated, and it is possible to still get malware, ransomware, and other forms of virus even with an anti-virus program installed. I downloaded a torrent of malware bytes.
     
  8. Casiox

    CasioxActive Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2016
    Threads:
    23
    Messages:
    161
    Likes Received:
    34
    Most of those free anti-virus software only let you know when your PC is getting infected, but basically do nothing about it, sometimes these find the virus for you so you can delete them by yourself and clean the whole system, it's all about picking the right one and also the best one, because there are many bad versions on the market nowadays.
     
  9. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    True. I have malwarebytes, which I downloaded via a torrent site. It didn't work at first because they patched it so I downloaded it via another site, and it worked. So malwarebytes let's me know when I am on an iffy website, or when there is something dangerous on my computer.
     
  10. cluckeyo

    cluckeyoActive Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    Threads:
    54
    Messages:
    283
    Likes Received:
    111
    I usually use AVG full. I have 2 new computers right now though, and have not signed up yet. So I am using AVG free on both of them right now. I had to remove the McAfee that came with my computer because it was conflicting with the AVG free. And since I know I will be going the AVG route, I opted to remove the McAfee. My computer was all stopped, and removing the McAfee completely restored it to normal.
     
  11. Norjak71

    Norjak71Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2016
    Threads:
    10
    Messages:
    35
    Likes Received:
    6
    Free all the way. In fact I run several. AVG, Microsoft security essentials and advanced system care. The only difference between free and paid virus protection in my experience is a few add on's for setting times to scan and what not, it's really not worth it in my opinion.
     
  12. Casiox

    CasioxActive Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2016
    Threads:
    23
    Messages:
    161
    Likes Received:
    34
    I see you, but malwarebytes is not an anti-virus at all, or is it? Because I have not read it anywhere, you could tell me about it.
     
  13. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    I think that Malwarebytes is more of an anti malware/spyware type of things? I have always been able to get rid of pernicious viruses and all sorts of other infections with it though, and it provides up to the minute protection, unless you close it. It opens up upon windows start-up, and from what I understand is quite expensive if you were to pay for it.
     
  14. venusflytrap

    venusflytrapMember

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2016
    Threads:
    5
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    16
    When I bought my last laptop, which was four years ago, it was from a small computer store in a country town. The seller was very passionate about computers and we ended up talking for a couple of hours about various ways of how to protect your computer from viruses and other threats. In the end, he installed a free virus protection software on my laptop called spybot. He explained to me how to clean and immunize my computer every month. It's an easy process. I've never had a problem with any kind of threats on my computer since I bought it.
     
  15. Casiox

    CasioxActive Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2016
    Threads:
    23
    Messages:
    161
    Likes Received:
    34
    I have heard that it does not work that amazingly when using the free version, it's a shame you have to pay to get the real "protection" and such things, however, you would be paying some considerable money just to receive an alert, everything else has to be done by the user.
     
  16. gwood

    gwoodNew Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2016
    Threads:
    1
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    2
    Paid ones. I have used different free ones at one point or the other. I have used AVG, Avira etc, in fact, most of the free ones. But none of them were up to the mark. Then I switched to Bitdefender and have been using it ever since. It is quite good, and if you do some search you can find 90 days trial versions to try it out.
     
  17. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    I agree that it is a shame that you must spend so much money to get a quality version, but then again from their point of view, they have made a product and they are going to want to make money off of it. But if you are smart, you will pirate these softwares instead of spending all that money.
     
  18. Casiox

    CasioxActive Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2016
    Threads:
    23
    Messages:
    161
    Likes Received:
    34
    Well, remember that piracy is actually a felony, the thing is that it can not be controlled at all, everybody uses pirate products these days and it seems like it will not stop from happening, however, we sharethe same thoughts, you pay for an official version of a software that you do not even know if it is going to work as they say it is, it is also an useless thing since you have to pay it monthly, I do not really consider it as a good investment at all.
     
  19. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    I know, but nobody really pays attention to that law. I suppose some do, and then there are those that will buy something after pirating it just because they want to support the service that they are getting. Yep, I cannot count the number of times I have pirated software, only to be sorely disappointed by its performance. I often think to myself that if I had paid, I would not have been a happy customer.
     
  20. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2012
    Threads:
    110
    Messages:
    5,621
    Likes Received:
    378
    I don't use one now and I haven't been using one for more than a year now. When I ran Avast, it found some viruses in my PC that aims to get passwords from you. I don't know how I got it, but since I use KeyScrambler, they won't be getting any info from me. I removed the antivirus again since I thought it was the one responsible for my sound issues (the PC was reformatted with another disc from another technician, after that my sound was garbled when opening programs or when the PC was being scanned) but the issues still remain. With 1 GB RAM I would forgo at this point having an antivirus software.