Paid or free AV?

We are all told to install an anti-virus program on our computers, but a lot of people ask “Do we need to buy an anti-virus program or will a free one be ok?” 

When considering this, it’s important to remember that the free versions simply will not have as much protection as the paid versions 

The free versions may work fine for your situation, and of course, they offer basic cover, which overall is better than none.  

It is important to remember that the paid versions offer extra features to better protect your computer from the newest threats out there. 

They may also have additional features like specific banking protection, extra firewall features, parental control, identity theft control and less pop-ups or advertising offers. 

One free Anti-Virus that you might be using is Microsoft Security Essentials. Unfortunately, of all the free ones, this is now the least recommended due to lack of updates from Microsoft. If you are still using it, we strongly recommend changing to something else. 

Really you need to evaluate what you use your computer for.  The more you rely on the internet the more you need to review your level of virus/malware protection.  Ultimately the most important thing is that you have some form of anti-virus protection on your computer if you are connecting to the internet. 

As always speak to your local computer specialist and don’t hesitate to bring your computer in for a full check-up and consult for suitable cover for you.