Everyone has at least one antivirus software on their computer to protect them from virus and what not but all of them usually require a subscription. And the cost of a subscription each year is outrageously expensive for example with Norton:
As much as I can bet that they’ll protect my computer, I don’t have the luxury of paying $50 each year for every 3 computers I have. And I manage far more computers cause most friends I know are too tech illiterate to know what’s the best way to protect their computers and ask me for my opinion on what’s the best free antivirus software. Technically, the best free antivirus is to not go online and never put any flash drives and etc into a computer so nothing ever goes in or out. But we can’t do that so the best way to protect your computer is to have an antivirus software installed.
The thing I hate about the most with free antivirus software is that they take up lots of RAM and this slows down the computer to the point where I don’t even use it anymore. Paid ones claim that this won’t happen when you use it but I’m still not willing to shell out $40 for this. There are people who avidly shop for antivirus renewals that come with rebates and make it essentially free but for an average person, that’s too much time and effort to look on Slickdeals and wait for a rebate deal to happen.
What I really recommend do you!
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Lifetime
- Low cost for lifetime
- Doesn’t take up much RAM and space
- Automatically blocks malware before occurs
- Not very complicated to use!
- RECOMMENDED BY MANY SECURITY PEOPLE
This software isn’t really anti-virus software but to protect your computer from any average usage problems, this will stop shit from happening before you get it in the first place. On retail it costs about $20 but there’s deals sometimes on NewEgg where it costs $10-$15 instead so check Slickdeals like RIGHT NOW where it’s $12.99.
For $13 on a lifetime license, this is better than all the other antivirus software because it’s cheaper and does what you want it to expect. There’s a difference between malware and virus but these terms are pretty convoluted that I just lump them up as one thing to make things easier. If you want to be more safe since it’s not an antivirus software, just use Microsoft Security Essentials since the Malwarebytes software is doing the work you’d pay extra for in an antivirus software. I would un-install any antivirus software and what not so that only Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Microsoft Security Essentials will be the only things running. It’s not the best foolproof idea but it’s great when you don’t want a slow ass computer!
What I love about this software is that it doesn’t slow down my computer as much as other antivirus software does isn’t intrusive and annoying. Updating happens automatically and frequently too. If you want to scan your computer, the three different scans will usually find an remove any malware you have. If you have any computer that you don’t trust doing anything on, INSTALL THE FREE VERSION AND SCAN IT! If you’re too cheap to pay $13, the free version works just fine. You just won’t get the extra real-time benefits which would be useful when you almost let bad shit happen to you.
If you have parents or family members that go online daily and are too tech illiterate to know what’s good from bad, installing this with the paid version will save you a lifetime of complaining and asking for your help to fix their computer. Having been the go-to tech guy in the family, installing this saves the trouble of most problems you expect when shit happens. Seriously, save yourself from trouble and install this!
Now when you buy it, all you really want to keep track of is the Product Key. You could install the free version and then enter the Product Key later when you need to. The CDs that comes with the physical box is almost the exact same thing as the free version until you activate the Product Key. The best about this software is that if you ever need to move to a new computer, just re-enter the Product Key in the new computer and it’ll work! (Just keep in mind that the old one will stop working as the paid version.)
Because of this reasons, I’ve stocked up on many Product Keys so any future computer I have to “fix” in my family won’t become problematic later. Seriously, this is what you pay Best Buy’s Geek Squad to do when you have a problem with it. All they do is install this, update the software, scan the computer, and charge you a shitload of money for something you could do yourself. But if you can’t fix a computer with a shitload of viruses by yourself, find a techie would knows how to troubleshoot or you can always buy the Geek Squad to do it for you.
Beware that this isn’t 100% foolproof and you could have malware secretly hiding. And that there’s always some way for viruses and malware to get in your computer depending on how you use it. But for most people that don’t have spies tracking them down or going on suspicious websites, this is great protection from the most annoying problems that takes a long time to fix. This is one of those BIFL (Buy It For Life) items that I recommend you invest in.
TLDR: Download/Buy MalwareBytes AntiMalware; update and scan computer; uninstall all crappy antivirus software; install Microsoft Security Esssentials to be extra safe; this combination doesn’t lag.
