Free Vs. Paid Anti-Virus
- 14
- Add a Comment
Q: What’s the difference between free anti-virus programs and those that you pay for? Is the protection different or is it just the support? – Matt
A: Now more than ever, we’re all looking for ways to save money, but this area may not be in your best interest, depending upon who and how your computers are used.
Your question is about anti-virus (AV) programs, but the proper reference should really be anti-malware programs. Viruses, Trojans, and worms are dealt with by anti-virus programs, while spyware and adware are generally addressed by programs designed to detect and remove those types of malware, generally referred to as anti-spyware.
A proper defense will always include both of these types of programs, so I’ll address them separately.
With free anti-virus programs, you may notice that most of the companies that offer a free program also sell a commercial version of the same thing. This clearly indicates that there is a difference and you would be correct to assume that support is one of the big differences.
With the free programs, support is limited to FAQs and in some cases e-mail support, but for the most part, you will have to rely on the rest of the Internet community for any detailed help. Free programs are also only free for personal use (not businesses, although a few companies are playing with this concept).
At the core of paid & free AV programs, the basic anti-virus engine is the same; they search for ’signatures’ of known virus code to detect and remove infections. If you are a fairly contentious surfer, don’t engage in activities such as file sharing, warez cracks, adult content, online gambling or other high-risk behaviors, the basic free protection is likely to be adequate.
The ’signature’ updates are generally the same, although some companies offer them less frequently for the free vs the pay versions.
The real difference in most cases is the sophistication level of additional protection against the newest types of exploits. Signature based AV programs can only update signatures once a new strain is discovered. That means, until the new threat has been discovered, a new signature string has been developed and you download it to your computer, you won’t be protected against the new threat.
Most higher-level AV programs incorporate both signature level detection and behavioral analysis to help spot new threats for which there are no signatures because ‘obfuscation’ code (to confuse signature based AV) is a common practice with malware writers. In addition, many free programs don’t have much if any protection against the growing threat of ‘root-kits’.
When it comes to protecting yourself against adware and spyware threats, the parameters are a little different. Unlike AV programs, which you can only have one installed, anti-spyware programs can co-exist and provide a better blanket of protection.
One of the differences that can be significant in the anti-spyware arena is the proactive vs reactive protection. Most pay versions of anti-spyware have a more sophisticated ‘proactive’ component that helps prevent ever getting infected in the first place. Many of the free programs aren’t that good at preventing the spyware from getting into your computer, but they are very good at detecting and removing once you are infected.
Installing a pay version with good prevention capabilities along with a couple of the free programs gives you the best of both worlds. No single anti-spyware program is capable of detecting and removing everything on the Internet, so by periodically running scans from several programs, you will have a better chance of keeping your computer cleaner (there is no way to avoid some of the digital ‘grime’ if you are going to be on the Information Superhighway).
Ken Colburn
Data Doctors Computer Services
Data Doctors Data Recovery Labs
Data Doctors Franchise Systems, Inc.
Weekly video tech contributor to CNN.com
Host of the award-winning “Computer Corner” radio show
- PC Clean Machine Personal PC Concierge Service
- iYogi Online Virus & Spyware Removal
- SanDisk - SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise FIPS with McAfee Malware Protection
- In-home or Office System Diagnosis & Repair
- Spore
- Mass Effect
- Spore Galactic Edition
- Gray Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Reverse Engineers
- HACKING EXPOSED MALWARE AND ROOTKITS
- The Myths of Security: What the Computer Security Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know
14 Comments
Geeks Getting Out and About | Chris Pirillo
July 16th, 2009
at 11:38pm
[...] Do you really need to pay to have a good anti-virus program? [...]
Tracy
July 17th, 2009
at 2:03am
So, you run a free antivirus and then use one of the also free antivirus/antispyware online sweeps every so often to remove the malware. Trendmicro’s Housecall and MS’s free Onecare safety scanner have both done a great job for me.
T
Tetris Potter ~ Windows Fanatics
July 17th, 2009
at 2:15am
[...] Do you really need to pay to have a good anti-virus program? [...]
frank
July 17th, 2009
at 4:42am
avira… say no more.
Bob Ress
July 17th, 2009
at 6:32am
“Unlike AV programs, which you can only have one installed, …”
Actually you can have more than one installed, but only one should be running real-time protection, and only run one scan at a time.
Ger
July 17th, 2009
at 7:54am
When I was paying McAfee I was overwhelmed with viruses.
I used AVG for years and was very pleased, but it wouldn’t install on my Vista machine (though it would on my daughter’s, go figure) so I found Avast. Avast updates itself automatically without user intervention. Perfect for those family members who can’t seem to ever update their signatures.
ZoneAlarm firewall has always worked great for free and without interference from the Windows firewall. I like Sygate also as a supplement because with a single click you can block all traffic while your away or not working online.
Tests have shown that you will probably never stop or remove all mal-ware because they are being created too fast and are too clever, but running MalwareBytes, Spybot and AdAware on a regular basis catches most of them and Spybot’s TeaTimer stops changes to the registry unless you approve them. Win Patrol is supposed to do that even better, but I’ve never used it.
Don’t rely on your anti-spyware and anti-virus software. Use a reputable online scanner like Trend Micro HouseCall on a regular basis as well.
Before running any of these I recommend running CCleaner (This way the other apps won’t have to scan what CCLeaner is going to delete anyway.) and a free registry cleaner (Lockergnome has recommended many of them as well as a number of Rootkit utilites). Comodo has a suite that does many of these things and is highly rated.
On top of that I never, ever browse without WOT, McAfee Site Advisor and NoScript (ALL 3!) on my browser so that I know what kind of site I’m going to and control what scripts are allowed to run, which is none by default.
Always browse while in a user with minimum rights never as an administrator.
And lastly don’t use Internet Explorer. Active X and Direct X are just invitations to evil-doers. Plus, right or wrong, Microsoft remains a target for a lot of these losers.
Sure this seems like a lot and clicking approval messages and allowing scripts can be a bit of work and sometimes tedious, but it’s a vicious world online now and it’s a lot less than the work involved in dealing with a really bad virus infestation or Trojan. It’s sure better than your processor pegging out for no reason, your bandwidth dwindling to zilch, or worse.
Keith Stoneberger
July 17th, 2009
at 11:30am
For most “normal” users, you really don’t need an antivirus program. For those that are visiting porn and piracy sites will need it more than anyone else. If you have children that are on the internet alot then you may need it also.
McDoug
July 17th, 2009
at 3:39pm
Re the updates: “although some companies offer them less frequently for the free vs the pay versions.”
That’s like a car company offering a free version of their model, but the brakes work only most of the time, as an incentive to purchase the full version. Both scenarios can lead to a crash!
Still beats public transportation I guess, too many viruses lurking. Wait, what are we talking about . . .
Geeks Getting Out and About | dv8-designs
July 17th, 2009
at 6:45pm
[...] Do you really need to pay to have a good anti-virus program? [...]
Keith
July 17th, 2009
at 7:28pm
Check out http://www.av-comparatives.org They test AV’s and Avira (free and paid) is usually in the top 3-5.
casino
July 18th, 2009
at 2:35pm
Thanks for the awareness.
Gerald
July 18th, 2009
at 11:05pm
Personally I hate AVG and it doesn’t really do what it suppose to do! My personal favorite anti-virus software is Norton 360! It’s fast and to the point! it searches out my entire PC without me having to do anything extra and it leaves no trace of the virus worm or Trojan that attacks my PC. I say it’s the best. You want great anti-virus protection you pay the money but at least I can say that Norton lets you try them out for 3 months before you decide to get them as your support for your PC.
8han3
July 22nd, 2009
at 7:36am
ESET Smart Security - Anti Virus, Firewall, and Anti Spy ware.
ESET has more virus signature database updates, more frequently, and uses less system resources than any other security system. The only other AV that might compare to ESET is Kaspersky Anti Virus, and while just as good as ESET, in most peoples opinions, uses more system resources and bogs down your computer much more. ESET is to XP as Kaspersky is to Vista. Try it for free, buy it for cheap, or visit wwwdotnod321dotcom.
Timothy Morrison
August 1st, 2009
at 5:23pm
Well let me just say this. .Don’t believe all the crap these people are telling you. You cant really compare one anti-virus to another as all our PC’s have different specs! U may find running Norton doesn’t slow down your machine, at all while others will. Anti-virus programmes like AVG and Avast are perfect for any home user. Sure people may say they are basic and dont offer much protection, but I’d rather not pay £50 a year just to get some extra protection. They can shove it up their ass! For all I care. Anyway if you are still interested in getting Norton full version cough*(Free) send me an email at timothy656@hotmail.co.uk and I’ll reply to u as soon as possible. Thanks! P.S Apple are fags