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An old song tells us, “The moon belongs to everyone, the best things in life are free.” According to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the moon really does belong to everyone, but the best things in life aren’t necessarily free, at least not when it comes to antivirus software. Yes, there are quite a few free antivirus apps available, and some of them are very good. But there are some reasons to pony up the cash for a top commercial antivirus. I’ve been covering antivirus software for nearly 40 years, and I’m here to explain what’s different between free and paid antivirus—and when it’s worth laying down the cash.
Free Antivirus Often Comes With a Catch: Non-Commercial Use Only
One big reason an antivirus company might offer protection for free is to gain mindshare. A CISO (chief information security officer) who uses free protection at home will at least pay attention when the associated commercial product comes up in discussions. But that model breaks down if the CISO simply advises using the free antivirus.
It’s not uncommon for an antivirus company to make free protection available only for non-commercial use. Avast One Basic, AVG AntiVirus Free, Avira Free Security, and Panda Free Antivirus are among the apps that only permit non-commercial use of their free antivirus products.
Free Antivirus Usually Means Limited Tech Support
If I choose to hand out free bowls of chili on the street, I’ll lose money, because I paid for meat, beans, spices, and other ingredients but didn’t receive any income in return. But if I give away free antivirus software, I really don’t have any ingredient costs.
However, it costs me—potentially a lot of money—to hire and maintain a team of tech support experts. Avast, AVG, Avira, Comodo Free Antivirus, and TotalAV Free Edition are among the companies that avoid the cash drain by limiting tech support access for non-paying customers. Oh, free users can consult FAQs and manuals, and perhaps join discussion forums. But if you’re not paying, you don’t get direct access to tech support agents by phone, live chat, or even email.
Free Antivirus Covers the Basics—But Key Features May Be Missing
As noted, one benefit an antivirus company gains from offering free protection is good publicity. And one way to kill those good vibes is to cripple the free edition, thinking that will drive consumers to buy a paid version. The company comes across as miserly rather than generous.
One feature that frequently falls victim to this scenario is the ability to steer the user’s browser away from dangerous websites. That includes both sites that host malware and phishing sites that aim to steal login credentials for sensitive websites. The free editions of Panda, TotalAV, and ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus omit protection against dangerous websites.
A typical antivirus scans all or part of your computer on demand and monitors it in real time for malware to prevent attacks. TotalAV strips that real-time protection from its free edition.
In some cases, such as Avast and Avira Free Security, the free edition covers all essential antivirus features and displays additional premium-only features with a lock icon. You get all the expected components for free; you just have to endure the upsell attempts if you accidentally launch a locked feature.
Where Microsoft Defender Fits In
In addition to free and commercial antivirus software, there’s another category that could be called omnipresent antivirus. Right, I’m talking about Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
If your computer has no antivirus protection, Defender steps in and does its best to protect your PC. When you install a third-party antivirus, whether free or paid, Defender goes into a dormant state. And if you uninstall that third-party protection or let your subscription lapse, Defender jumps back into the ring.
The thing is, Defender is awkward to use and doesn’t always shine in testing. It takes very good scores from the independent labs, but does just so-so in my hands on tests. Its protection against malicious and fraudulent URLs only extends to Edge, not to other browsers. You can do better without paying for protection.
Top Free Antivirus Apps Can Rival Paid Protection
We’ve named two Editors’ Choice winners for free antivirus: Avast One Basic and AVG AntiVirus Free. The former is a free version of the Avast One security suite, while the latter is more of a standard antivirus. Both have all the expected features and perform well in testing. But the best commercial antivirus apps do even better.
Norton AntiVirus Plus currently holds perfect scores from all five antivirus testing labs that I follow, for an aggregate lab score of 10.0, the maximum. Avast comes close, with 9.8 points based on five labs. Only two labs include AVG in their latest reports, which combine to yield an aggregate score of 9.5 points. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, tested by four labs, has an aggregate lab score of 9.6. Bitdefender and Norton are our Editors’ Choice winners for commercial antivirus.
Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, and Norton all scored 99% or 100% detection in my antiphishing test. They also scored well in other hands-on tests. The exception was Avast, which scored just 75% in my malicious URL detection test, where Bitdefender and Norton scored 99%.
Both Bitdefender and Norton go well beyond basic antivirus components. For example, both offer a hardened browser, network security scanning, vulnerability scanning, and an active Do Not Track system. Norton adds hosted online backup and a smart firewall, while Bitdefender includes a limited VPN and a secure file shredder. These products both earn the “Plus” in their names.
Free Antivirus Works—But Paid Protection Still Has the Edge
The very best free antivirus apps are more effective than most commercial antivirus utilities. You won’t go wrong with either of our Editors’ Choice winners for free protection: Avast One Basic or AVG AntiVirus Free. But if your budget can stretch to pay for one of the top commercial antivirus apps, you’ll get even better protection with Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Norton AntiVirus Plus.#livingsafeonline, #Antivirus, #FreeVsPaid, #CyberSecurity, #OnlineSafety, #MalwareProtection, #VirusRemoval, #DataSecurity, #PrivacyProtection, #SecurityTools, #TechTips, #DigitalSafety, #InfoSec, #PCSecurity, #InternetSafety, #SecurityAwareness, #SafeBrowsing, #ProtectYourData, #CyberAwareness, #SecurityUpdate
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