Pc Security

[whiskeryron]

I have at the moment Panda Protection which I have bought & also the freebies Super Antispyware & Malwarebytes both of which I run weekly. My question is when the Panda programme comes to an end do I need to renew or do I simply rely on the freebies which of course will save me money ( I am sure that we are all trying to save these days )

[Old_Geezer]

Not bought Panda (thought they did freebies ones but I must be wrong). But if you are purchasing you are effectively purchasing the data updates mainly. So if a subscription runs out the programmes with get progressively less capable of spotting threats.

You can go for a freebie one. Many have good reputations and I know many you use them. I used to. Or you can get one with better customer service (hopefully) by spending a little annually. The choice is yours.

[Buenchico]

Free antivirus programs are exactly the same as the antivirus component of the full 'security suites' that the manufacturers hope that you'll go onto buy. So, as long as you've got the 'extras', such as Malwarebytes, anyway, there's no point paying for an antivirus program.

So the obvious question then is "Which one?". I'll try to answer that for you:

Avoid Microsoft Security Essentials. It failed several independent tests last year and Microsoft subsequently admitted that it's not as good as they'd like it to be.

AVG has plenty of fans (and I've used it myself in the past) but I've found that it slows my elderly computer to a crawl.

Avast! is possibly the most popular freebie among ABers, and it's what I use:
http://www.avast.com/index

Comodo Antivirus is a relative newcomer to the freebie scene. (The company has given away its firewall for many years but it's only fairly recently that they've started giving away their antivirus program as well). I've no experience of it but it seems to be well-reviewed:
http://www.comodo.com/products/free-products.php