Free Computer Virus Protection

Free computer virus protection How can it be that even some advanced computer professionals rely on a free computer virus protection program rather than a paid, commercial internet security package?

If a highly trained computer professional can get away with free security software, why in the world would a typical home or hobby computer user have to pay for good computer security software? And how can free software be any good? You will find answers to these and other questions here.

One of the most important reasons that you have to be very careful in selecting your free computer protection package is that there are a lot of scams out there. And you have to be careful, because the designers are after your money! In the old days, virus makers were just out to harm your computer by deleting files or by drawing a big Christmas tree with blinking lights on your computer screen, but nowadays there are viruses out there that are even more dangerous.

Some of the most popular free computer protection programs are

• Avast Antivirus
• AVG Antivirus (Grisoft)
• Antivir (Free-av)

Most free computer virus protection software is totally free for home and non-commercial use, but also comes in a paid version with slightly elevated features and functionality. As long as you use it on your home computer and not in a commercial organization, it's perfectly o.k. to use the software with a free license. Some of the advantages that paying customers have over free users are for instance the availability of technical support or priority downloads.

In our experience the downloads are more than sufficient even with the free versions and the installation or setup procedures are so easy that technical support is seldom required. And I can assure you: should you ever run into a computer virus infection, chances are that you will probably need to call someone with advanced computer skills anyway, rather than depend on the technical support of the antivirus software provider.

Some specialists say that one of the reasons that antivirus providers offer free computer virus protection for home users is that this is the best way to get their products widely distributed and spread over a large user base. If you are using a free computer virus protection product at home and you are happy with it, then you may recommend the product in your working (commercial) environment where a paid license would be necessary.There is one important issue you have to keep in mind though. Free virus protection is just that it is free so still you have not to forget that you always get what you pay for sometimes. So if your computer does not seem to be functioning smoothly even after you get some free virus protection, you may need to get a paid version.

Conclusion: Judging by the great success that the most popular free antivirus products have, the distribution of free versions for non-commercial use seems like a viable business model and you as a home computer user can clearly benefit from it. Especially since the slightly limited features of the free versions don't impose a higher risk level on your computer than the paid products.

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