A free antivirus is an option sought after by most people as compared to paid software. There are a plethora of free antivirus software that one can acquire on the Internet, which are easily accessible. With new viruses developing each day, the importance of using an antivirus software to protect our systems has increased drastically. The question that now arises is whether one should pay for antivirus software despite easy access to free versions to help protect our system and serve our needs.

If you are confused regarding terms such as virus, trojan, worms, and malware, it might be difficult for you to understand how antivirus software work, thereby making it essential for you to buy a paid version of a given antivirus software.

In a home-based setting, an antivirus is one component of the computer’s security system as it is part of the layered defense. Some laptops also come with a default antivirus program, such as Windows Defender.

Each paid antivirus also has its free version. These free versions lag in some features in terms of to sensitive activities and functions as compared to the paid version. The need for paid antivirus software compared to its free version mostly depends on the type of usage. If you have limited work with your laptop and are only accessing sites that are well known, the free version would serve your purpose. Whereas, if you access many sites that are questionable in terms of safety and download a lot, then a paid version may suit your needs.

A free version of an antivirus software has the same basic performance in catching the different viruses by testing. The virus tests that are conducted by the free version are mostly the same in comparison to the paid version. The paid products have the benefit of staying updated, i.e., they keep an updated list of viruses that may be detected; however, this does not imply that free antivirus products may not bear the updating as a paid product.

Ease of use is mostly much more associated to a paid product in comparison to a free one. There might be no telephone support in a free product and a lot of advertising and pop ups that pester you for signing up to the paid version. Free products may also carry a browser, which may be annoying to some.

In a home-based setting, parents may prefer to buy a full-fledged security system to avoid their children from wandering to adult sites. This is mostly where the paid version may seem helpful.

A free antivirus software can also resolve various issues that one may get with the paid version, but this may require one to be a bit tech savvy. A Google search for a free product may cause some to download a malware in the system, duping the person by offering free antivirus protection.