Paying for a virus checker?

Recently Norton announced that there was a major hole in one of its Norton products and informed all users to complete an automatic update immediately. A “nasty bug” residing in two ActiveX controls used in Norton’s PC software could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on another user’s machine. A lot us started to pay for full-recommended virus checkers because that was the only way we would get peace of mind. Most companies allow you to have 30 days free use and then make you subscribe. I have found that all this does is cause you issues and slow your computer down.

Update issues and slow processing have made using my machine a nightmare. In my case, Norton would make my machine hang whilst it was updating or warning me that my live status was out of date or that my subscription had finished.

Over a year ago I turned to non commercial products such as AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/). Allows you to have a spy ware checker and a virus checker, all for no charge. Okay, they do not have any technical support team that you can phone or ask for help, but hey, which support company has never told you to reboot or reinstall? We are all pretty clued up and can work most problems out or know someone who can help.

I can only stress how easy this product is to use. If you have a constant internet connection, it will update as your machine automatically and you will not be bothered by alerts etc. It is takes up little space and does not take over the machines memory allocation and therefore, your machine won’t be fighting the process hoggers like Norton.

This virus checker combined with a firewall such as zone alarm – once again free (http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/home.jsp) for about 30 days and then limited but sufficient functionality. If security experts are recommending these products and reviews, show them blocking more virus’s than most commercial products –why should we pay.

Verdict: Highly recommended