virus protection

Technology has made our lives easier in many different ways. You now use technology every day, and it’s as reflexive as turning on the television or getting a bite to eat when you are hungry.

You use technology so often that it is hard to imagine what life would be like if technology failed. But at some point in your life, technology will sometimes be compromised by people who believe that they can make quick money off of your suffering.

Cybercrime is on the rise in the world, and as our lives are filled with more and more technology, so too will the number of crimes occur.

Thankfully, you are not helpless in the face of growing technology threats.

Experts have devised solutions to the problem to combat problems before they even occur. A lot of crimes can be prevented with simple education and the right software.

One of the most common software to fight back against online threats is anti-virus software. It is software designed to catch threats and heal computers so that your technology remains safe.

Anti-virus software is a basic step of computer security, and while not all technology might have anti-virus software, it is worth getting if you can.

Some people might think “Well, I don’t need something to prevent something that won’t happen to me” but the fact is that there are many different ways your technology could be compromised.

Anti-virus is free software, and the protection you require doesn’t have to be large and intensive if it is just for personal use. Wouldn’t you prefer to sleep at night with no worries that your technology is at risk or being used for purposes you didn’t approve of?

The right way to deal with problems isn’t to think “It won’t happen to me and I can’t see it happening”, but “How can this problem affect me and what can I do about it?”

Anti-Virus Is Effective

One of the ways criminals try to get into your computer is to use files known as viruses. They are programs that are designed to do a specific purpose on your computer, but you don’t know what that purpose is.

Viruses can do a lot of things, from annoying pop-ups to stealing or deleting important files. Depending on the actions of the virus, they can have many different names. You might have heard of some of them: Trojan, malware, spyware and other such names are widespread in the industry.

Anti-virus programs can regularly scan your computer, making sure that any malicious files are removed before too much damage is done and building in protections so that viruses are unable to do any harm to your computer in the future.

Virus types and definitions are stored on a database, which allows anti-virus programs to detect the files and remove them. It’s helpful as people are constantly creating new files to hack into your computer, so a living database is a comfort to many people.

You may have heard stories that anti-virus doesn’t work or that companies are charging a lot of money to rip you off.

It’s true that anti-virus isn’t perfect. There are many different kinds of anti-virus software, and some anti-virus software is fake. But for the most part, reliable brands, as well as those that you see in computer blogs and websites are generally a good bet.

Anti-virus can’t prevent attacks that you bring on yourself. If you unintentionally bring a virus through an external medium such as a hard drive, no prevention program is going to stop that.

It also takes smart computer management on your part to stop the viruses. If anti-virus quarantines a file, but you continue to use it, you’re still allowing the virus to work. You can’t blame that on a program.

To be fair, every software has concerns that need to be fixed, and it is true some software programmers have not been as reliable when it comes to anti-virus as they should be.

But for most people, it’s very effective in keeping threats out. If you scan your computer every now and then, you are protected. If any threats may compromise your computer, programs will notify you and you should listen.

People worked around the clock to build a program that keeps you safe. The reason many people are adopting it is because it works. The benefits outweigh the costs.

Anti-Virus Is Free

Business owners and home owners might see that anti-virus comes at a cost. That’s no surprise to anyone who has walked into a technology store and seen the anti-virus section. Programs such as Norton and McAfee are not always cheap.

The companies will argue that they are certainly worth every cent, and some users agree with that statement as well. But not everyone has the money or the desire for top class anti-virus protection.

While it would be nice, you wouldn’t require the most pristine hammer for hammering a nail into a wall. Just a simple hammer would do. That’s the attitude many people take for anti-virus.

Thankfully, companies noted that as well. That’s why some companies have released programs that are free of charge. There are many of them available right now, and many will continue to be free of charge.

You might already have a few programs installed, which give you basic protection but require you to pay for advanced protection.

Now some people might say that these companies are trying to gouge money out of you, and that’s why they should provide everything for free.

Others might say that they are a company, they have to make money, and a free program is never going to have all of the features that a paid program does. Computer programmers are people too, and they have to put food on their table.

Thankfully, larger software companies have stepped up, such as Microsoft, to provide free anti-virus programs that are quite good at their job (Windows Defender is a good anti-virus program that’s free).

Most home users can get all the protection they need with free anti-virus. But if you are working with more important information, or you are planning to run a business, then it might not be advisable to work with free software.

You might need the greater amount of security that only a paid program can provide. And at that point, you’d be more than happy to pay.

A few dollars will not be worth the loss/compromise of the information, and you certainly don’t want anything bad to happen on the devices that use it.

But most users don’t need such a powerful solution. They just need basic protection and simple monitoring to make sure that everything is okay. That is just what free anti-virus provides.

Anti-Virus Is A Good Thing

It’s hard to argue with free software that protects you. It’s almost like a win-win situation.

It should take some research, and if you need anything more complex than what free software can provide, you should definitely be talking to technology experts about more advanced security.

But for the most part, there is no reason for you, a home user to not get it. There is no reason for a business owner and his/her employees to not get it.

Anti-virus keeps you safe, and it costs virtually nothing. It’s protection that’s common sense and easy on your wallet.

So take safety into your own hands, and protect yourself today. You’ll be glad that you did.