How to Choose Antivirus Software?

How to Choose Antivirus Software?

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5 min read

Antivirus has become one of the most essential programs for the device. Today we all use laptops and phones for our work. Living without these gadgets seems impossible. To keep your gadgets safe, you need a good antivirus program. Earlier, the only threat to devices was viruses. But now, securing devices from viruses is not the only concern. Several other types of threats like Trojan Horses, worms, spyware, etc. can harm your device. The major concern is internet threats.

Simple malware can enter the device and can cause various harm. There is no tool, no service that offers foolproof security. However, you can use a good antivirus to minimize the threats. To secure your device from these threats, you should install a good program that can detect all threats and remove them immediately. Several antivirus programs are available on the internet. Choosing an antivirus is not easy as you have to check various details. Before purchasing any software program, you should check all features, services, and other factors.

Check your security requirements

Before buying an antivirus, you should check what security features you need. In antivirus, you can find various tools like real-time scans, firewalls, data shredder, VPNs, etc. But do you really need all these tools? The cost of your antivirus depends on the features. You should check your device and its use. Now start looking for a program that fulfills your requirements.

Set a budget

Once you find your security requirements, you should set a budget. Numbers of programs are available that range from a few dollars to hundreds. You must set a budget and then look for programs under the budget. If you do not use your device for any important job like online banking or securing important devices then you don’t require advanced security tools. You can buy any program that offers malware scans and other basic tools. Meanwhile, if you use your system for all crucial jobs then you need norton 360 activation. Get a program that offers advanced security. Check all programs that offer the required tools under your budget.

Essential features to check on your antivirus

Real-time scanning feature

This is one of the essential tools to check before purchasing antivirus. When malware enters, it can cause various harm to your data and device. Sometimes, malware enters and corrupts all files before the user runs a system scan. To prevent these issues, you need a real-time scanning tool. This tool runs in the background and secures your device in real time. When malware tries to enter the system; the antivirus scans it in real-time and immediately removes it before it causes any harm.

Behavior-detect feature

New threats appear every day and the number is increasing day by day. When new malware appears, antivirus companies provide updates that can protect the device from the new threats. However, if your antivirus is not updated and new malware appears, it can’t detect it. Meanwhile, the behavior-detect feature of antivirus can help you to secure your device from new threats. It detects the malware from its behavior. If the file or incoming data behaves maliciously it will immediately block it whether it is available on the virus chart or not.

Browser security

For every internet user, this is a very important tool. The Internet is not a safe place for anyone. A simple wrong click can cause you a lot of harm. If you surf the internet a lot then you need a good program that offers browser security. This tool keeps your browsing secure. On a web browser, when you search for a query; this tool checks all the result pages before loading them. It filters all the unsecured pages. You can easily access the “secure” marked pages on the web browser. If you click on an unsecured page mistakenly, the browser security tool will show a warning and block the page. This tool is crucial to secure from phishing sites and various other threats.

Additional security tools to check on antivirus

Firewall

Firewall has become a crucial tool for network security. Today, most new devices have inbuilt firewalls. But the inbuilt firewall is not very powerful. To secure your network from new internet threats, you need a personal firewall. This firewall is like an extra layer of protection to your network. When you enable a firewall, it will immediately start checking all your incoming data packets. If any packet is malicious, the firewall will block it in the network. Some powerful firewalls also check the outgoing traffic.

Password manager

If you are not good at remembering passwords then you should use a password manager. People often use the same password for various accounts. Using one password for all accounts is not recommended. If anyone finds your password, he can easily access all accounts. To prevent this issue, you should use different and unique passwords for all accounts. However, remembering multiple passwords is difficult. For this, use a password manager that can secure all your passwords. Once you save the password on the password manager, you can easily access them with a master key. Your passwords are fully encrypted and secure.

VPN

VPN is one of the favorite tools for gamers. This tool is good to keep your network safe on the public network. If you connect the device to an open network; hackers can easily send an attack. To prevent your device, you can use the VPN. This tool creates a virtual private network for your device. It masks the IP of your device so the hacker can’t find it on the open network. You can also send data securely on VPN.

It encrypts the outgoing data and sends it via a secure channel. Another major use of a VPN is to stream content that is not available on your device. If any series or movie is not available at your location, you can use a VPN and set it to another geographical location and then access the content. If you travel a lot then you must get a good VPN for your device.

Some other features to check while purchasing antivirus as parental control, data shredder, email protection, etc.