Just about everyone that owns a PC knows the value of a good antivirus program. There are so many programs out there at such a varying price point, it is sometimes very difficult to determine which programs offers the most value for your dollar. Every program out there will tell you it is a superior technology with leading-edge antivirus capabilities. These buzz words mean nothing when it comes down to actual testing and benchmarking. Let me begin by stating that NO program is 100% accurate. Antivirus systems are designed as a second level of protection behind the user’s own habits and practices. The best antivirus out there is yourself. Everything else is backup.

So which backup is a cut above the rest? This depends on which benchmark you’re looking at. I found this one to be quite useful when preparing for this article. It compares the features and utilities available with the different programs, and rates them on overall usefulness. There are so many things to look for when choosing and antivirus program that I won’t go in detail about here. This article will point out some of the cheaper antivirus options.

When the average consumer thinks about antivirus programs, the first brand that comes to mind is Norton. Norton has been a staple in the security industry for a number of years, and has a large amount of market share. Unfortunately, the only reason for this market share is the fact that Norton is forced on users as part of a package of shareware lumped into a new PC. Norton pays PC builders to include a trial version of their software on every system manufactured. This keeps the system price low for end users at the cost of having to uninstall all this junk software. Norton antivirus is just that, junk. In the world of antivirus, Norton is the vicious dictator that demands control over every function of a system. This drags a system down considerably, and does so for very little benefit. Many users will tell you that Norton is a bigger problem for their system than viruses would be. This is why the vast majority of security experts give uninstalling Norton as their first and chief piece of advice.

Now that the obvious eight-hundred pound gorilla is out of the way, I have two recommendations for users on a budget. Grisoft has an antivirus called AVG Free that is available to users at no charge. It comes with no adware, and no annoying pop ups asking you to buy the pro version. It’s a simple and effective antivirus that uses minimal system resources. Many industry leaders swear by this program, and I use it myself on all of my systems. It even runs efficiently on an old Dell that sports a whopping 128mb of RAM. If you’re a home user that just wants a clean and easy solution, AVG Free is my humble recommendation.

Avast by Alwil Software is also a free antivirus with much to brag about. It’s received top rankings from many leading tech review groups, and has many useful features available to home users at the splendid price tag of $0.00. For users that are looking for a free alternative to AVG Free, or are simply scouting around for a program that has features Avast carries, it is a great program. The system does come in a Linux edition for Linux users, and a U3 edition for lovers of portability via flash drives. PDA users will also find Avast to be a good solution for protecting their mobile systems.

Whatever antivirus you decide on, the most important level of protection is the user. Once you activate virii, the only true way to remove it is format and reinstall. There isn’t an antivirus on the market that can give you absolute defense. Some benchmarks out there will demonstrate that the maximum level of effectiveness is around 85%-90%.

If you have any suggestions or additions to make to this article, please make a comment below.

Matt Ryan of MattRyan.TV

Tags: antivirus, virus, virii, frugal geek, matt ryan, free, avg, norton, avast