WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE BUYING OR INSTALLING ANTIVIRUS?

Whenever we surf the net we run the risk of being the victim of some kind of security attack. There are many types of malware that can compromise our system and, ultimately, also affect our security and privacy. Luckily we can also count on multiple tools to help us protect ourselves. There are many types, both free and paid. Without a doubt, something very important is to have a good antivirus. In this article we are going to talk about it. We are going to explain everything that must be taken into account when installing or buying an antivirus.

The importance of having an antivirus

Having an antivirus is essential to protect our systems. It is a very useful tool for detecting possible malware that tries to enter our computer, as well as analyzing and eliminating any that may already exist.

It must be borne in mind that no operating system is exempt from suffering from some of the many threats that exist on the network. The type of device we are using does not matter either. You always have to have security software and, in this case, a good antivirus. Only then can we improve security and avoid problems.

We can make use of both free and paid tools. However, whenever we are going to install an antivirus, certain important factors must be taken into account. This way we can make the most of its functionality and not have problems that beyond not serving to protect our equipment can even harm our security.

What to keep in mind when using an antivirus?

We cannot trust our security to the first antivirus we find. It is convenient to analyze its operation, see what it really offers, how it treats our privacy, if it consumes a lot of resources, etc.

Antivirus there are many on the Internet. As we have mentioned, there are both paid and free. Now, by no means all of them are good and really serve to protect us online. There are some that can even make our security worse and facilitate the entry of threats or distribute adware.

We are going to explain a series of points that must be taken into account when using an antivirus.

How it treats our data and privacy?

Something fundamental is to consult the privacy policies of that antivirus. We want the software we install not to use our data for advertising purposes, for example. Sometimes we can come across free antivirus that what they are looking for is to make a profit through our data. We already know that today our data on the Internet is highly valued.

It is important that we really know how our data is going to be used and if it may be a problem for our privacy. Reading the privacy policy of the software carefully is a good idea to avoid problems in the future.

What kind of analysis and detection does it perform?

Logically something very important and that we must bear in mind is that a good antivirus must have real-time scanning. Only then can we really protect ourselves from possible threats that try to access our system.

The fact of having real-time analysis means that it will scan every file that we try to download or that we access from the computer. It works in the background. It is, in short, a very important factor when choosing this type of security program.

Resource consumption

We have seen that, for example, when performing real-time analysis, they will have to work in the background. This means that they will consume computer resources.

Sometimes an antivirus can significantly slow down our computer. It is not optimized, it has functions that are very heavy and depending on the resources that our system has, it can cause it to work very badly.

Therefore, we must also observe the specifications of this type of program and see what resources it requires and its consumption. Perhaps for our team, especially if it is an old or limited device, another option is better.

If it is installed on a mobile device, it should also be noted that it does not drain the battery. We can run into a program that consumes a lot of battery and that is a problem.

Possible extra functions of an antivirus

An antivirus is designed to detect and remove malware. Avoid the entry of malicious software on our computer. However, there are many other threats that do not act like files. Phishing attacks, for example.

Many security tools offer additional measures. For example, what we mentioned about being able to detect possible Phishing attacks, notify us if a web page may be a fraud, protect our equipment against ransomware.

When we are going to choose an antivirus, something to consider is if it offers additional functions. They can be very interesting to make our security even greater. Protection against spyware, that has an integrated firewall or that it is even multiplatform and we can use it on several devices, are some options to consider.

Make it the latest version and be up to date

Of course this is very important. We always need to install the latest version of the antivirus that is available, but also that it is up to date. It is useless to have security tools that are outdated and are not trained to deal with the latest threats.

In short, these are some important points that must be taken into account. In this way we can protect ourselves as much as possible and not make mistakes.