How to Pick the Right Anti-virus Software

In the early 1990s, computer viruses used to amount to not much more than a big annoyance. Today, however, hackers have created trickier and more perilous viruses than ever before. The worst viruses in circulation today can damage computers, sometimes beyond repair, costing PC owners hundreds to thousands of dollars to repair or replace their damaged computers.

Another big concern for users today is information theft. If your computer is infected with spyware, you risk giving out your financial and personal information to the world. If you buy something online occasionally, like almost everyone these days does, you might unknowingly hand over your credit card info if your computer is infected with spyware.

Luckily, anti-virus software developers have kept up with hackers over time, and there are many excellent anti-virus suites available for purchase today. However, sorting through the technical jargon and specs on anti-virus software can be overwhelming if you're not tech savvy. Here's all you need to know to choose the right anti-virus software.

Choose Anti-virus Software That is Compatible with Your OS

The first step in choosing the right anti-virus software for your needs is easy. You can weed out any anti-virus software that is not compatible with your operating system. If you're planning to upgrade to a new or different OS in the near future, keep this in mind.

Focus on the Scope of Protection and Effectiveness

These two factors are the most critical components to any anti-virus software. Ultimately, the most important job of anti-virus software is stop viruses from infecting your computer, and these two factors directly relate to this mission. Effectiveness is the approximate percentage of all known viruses that a software suite successfully blocks, and scope of protection is the range of malware a software pack protects against, which may include worms, Trojans, spyware, adware and other malware. The best software suites offer nearly 100-percent effectiveness and protect against all types of threat.

Consider Updates

Updating your software is absolutely critical for it to work effectively. Software that protects against viruses needs to be updated very frequently to keep up with the hackers' ever-evolving creations. Most users will not update their software manually every time an update is released. This is why nearly all reviewers say that security software that automatically updates in the background is necessary.

Consider Ease of Use and Support

If you're not tech savvy, you should definitely consider these two factors before you make a purchase. Not all anti-virus software is a cinch to install and manage, so you'll want to make sure you get an application that is. It's also a good idea to make sure that the company that produces the software has reputable help and support in case you do become stuck while using your new security software.

Consider the Features List

Some of the best security software comes with an array of features. For instance, our top-rated anti-virus application, BitDefender, allows you to configure the software to scan for threats on popular social networking sites you use such as Facebook and Twitter. There are several other ways you can customize the features in certain brands of anti-virus software, and some of these features may or may not be important to you.

Where to Find All the Above Info

Check out our professional reviews of the best anti-virus software that cover all of the above aspects of computer security and more. We review the top-rated brands in depth and rank them by effectiveness to make researching your anti-virus software purchase easier.

At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don't Have To.™