5 Best AntiVirus Software for Virus Protection

5 Best AntiVirus Software for Virus ProtectionTweet This

Today, in addition to Virus, we need to worry about Spyware, malware, and other malicious code that can steal our personal data, if we are not that vigilant. Even the websites you trust can have viruses all of a sudden. So, do you have the means to protect yourself?

Your anti-virus is your final protection. When a website, browser, or an app has a security flaw, a malware will attempt to install keyloggers, rootkits, or all sorts of bad things. They use these malicious software to gather financial information from your computer and harness for botnets.

If a malware attempts to enter into your system and you have anti-virus on, these are blocked. This is why you definitely need an anti-virus/malware blocking software in your computer or device.

Anti-viruses aren’t created equal. There are anti-viruses that are a totally useless, some has more than what you actually need, and some made it just right.

So, other than looking for the best price you can buy, take a look at some of these features first:

• Spyware and Malware scans – Should be able to scan and detect latest spyware and malware programs and remove it immediately.
• Download Protection – Acts as a security guard while you surf, blocking sites with malware code as well as removing virus, malware etc from software that you download.
• Email Scanning – Scans emails for potential threats, gives alerts as well as removes the virus/malware.
• Speed – How quickly can the scan run?
• Compatibility – Anti-Virus Software that is Compatible with your pc or device.
• Auto-Updates – Ability to perform auto-updates. ie: Download latest updates of the anti-virus software to your computer.

Let us see what are the best options that provide you total security. Listed below are popular choices that are selected based on features and good ratings.

#1 Recommendation: AVG Internet Security

AVG Internet Security is one of the best performing anti-virus software product. The anti-virus software uses layers of protection. The first layer is a traditional anti-virus that recognized threats by matching it to their database. This layer also protects against spyware and adware to protect your personal information. The second layer, also known as Resident Shield, prevents you from opening infected files. There are new threats occurring everyday that the database just couldn’t keep up, this is where resident shield is useful.

AVG also checks whenever you exchange links in social networking sites. The AVG Social Networking Protection prevents you from clicking a malicious link in Facebook or Twitter.

#2 Recommendation: Kaspersky Anti-virus

Kaspersky Anti-virus protects you against bots, worms, rootkits, Trojans, spyware, and viruses. It can also detect new threats and prevent them from entering into your system. What is best about Kaspersky is its interface. You can customize and control just about any component in the software like scheduling scans, toggling specific features, adjusting security levels, etc. Kaspersky URL advisor protect your system when browsing the web. It also has a browser plugin available in Internet Explorer and Firefox. There is also a virtual keyboard and gaming mode. A virtual terminal is available if you need to input sensitive information online. Virtual keyboard circumvents keyloggers and keystroke recognition malware that attempts to steal information from you. The gaming mode lets you play games in full screen mode without interruptions.

BitDefender Anti-virus

BitDefender Plus is a top-tier anti-virus known for its superior protection and performance. It is effective at successfully blocking, and neutralizing infections. It ensures your computer is secured without hogging in too much resources. SmartScan, for example takes advantage of your computer’s processing power but does not intrude with your daily task. BitDefender is built for optimization and speed. In order to maintain maximum performance, Scan Dispatcher discovers and makes use of time slices if your system’s resource utilization drops below the threshold. BitDefender also monitor social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. It blocks suspicious links that are prevalent in these social networks.

Avast! Pro Anti-virus

Avast! Pro is one of my favorite anti-virus software. It uses several layers of protection to keep your computer and resources safe from several angles. It has built-in protection from spyware, Trojans and rootkits. Avast! Pro also has a heuristic scanning engine to detect malware that tries to bypass traditional virus scanners. SafeZone and AutoSandbox is what I like in Avast! Pro as it isolates suspicious applications in virtual sandbox so it’ll never hit your pc when avast fails to detect it. A code emulator is used on risky executable files and run it in a test environment. If the file behaves like a malware, it can detect it and block it accordingly.

Another useful tool worth highlighting is Avast WebRep browser plugin. The reputation ratings which are displayed on search engine results are color coded so you can immediately avoid clicking on risky sites. The WebRep rating is determined by combining anonymous data gathered and collected by Avast users.

McAfee Anti-virus

McAffee Anti-virus is equipped to protect your computer against viruses, worms, Trojas, and can detect and avoid attacks from dialers, hackers, adware, malicious scripts, and phishing scams. McAffee Anti-virus finds and eliminates threats as it installs which is a nifty feature you won’t find in most anti-virus software. This also ensures a speedy install without getting blocked by malware in case your computer has one. It is the only anti-virus solution that has a two-way firewall.

McAfee Anti-virus should be no trouble for most users. It doesn’t need constant maintenance but it is built to protect your computer in real time. SiteAdvisor, is a plugin for your browsers that rates individual website so you’ll know what is a threat, and what isn’t. It is a perfect tool to have specially if you shop online. McAfee Anti-virus doesn’t intrude with your day-to-day task. It has popup alerts, but you can turn it on or off depending on your liking. Also, the software includes a digital file shredder so you can permanently remove sensitive files without leaving a trace.