When online security breaches are becoming a commonplace event, you should ideally be equipped with Antivirus to protect yourself at all times.
This is why antivirus has become such a pivotal entity in this age when work, school, and play are shifting online entirely.
Choosing an appropriate antivirus can be an arduous task. Not only do you have to keep prices and terms in mind, but also calculate their effectiveness too. You basically need a set of features that you should look for in antivirus, and here are some (most) of them.
1. Price
This is a no-brainer. In an age where customers are ever-so ‘price conscious’, the most appropriate antivirus for you is one which does not burn a hole in your pocket. In this regard, you will come across a plethora of antivirus software at various prices.
You also have the choice to go for something like a free antivirus for Windows or Mac, and to be fair, oftentimes this will suffice.
However, sometimes you may want to try out some premium features to get the full experience of having a cybersecurity suite.
Either way, the consumer always wins. Ideally, you should look for an antivirus that provides maximum features at an accessible price. Value-for-money should be the greatest proposition when it comes to your antivirus.
2. e-Mail Scanning
As you move to a more professional sphere, you will realize how important emails are. Not only do they carry a lot of information back and forth, but might hold sensitive data too. This is why it becomes important to ensure the most appropriate protection for your emails.
Email scams and related issues are becoming ubiquitous now, and the need for good security has never been more important.
Your antivirus should be fully equipped to handle email scanning for malicious items, phishing, scams, or dangerous-looking spam.
As a rule of thumb, your antivirus should always be on your email traffic, to detect any suspicious items. It should warn you in case of any breaches, or if any attachment has an opportunity to be malicious, long before you decide to click on something you should not.
3. VPNs
To some, this might sound like an accessory rather than a necessity. To others, this might seem unnecessary too, but we are here to imply—VPNs have become an absolute must. Sure, while a lot of antivirus offerings do not provide VPNs too, but the market is making them catch up.
While you can get free VPNs elsewhere, having them provided by your antivirus provider makes it a better proposition. Not only does it mean that you get a risk-free browsing experience on public networks (owing to the VPN), but also get it as an integrated package along with other security measures.
It makes more sense for your antivirus provider to have VPN settings too. After all, this would make your experience all the more integrated, and your safety all the more promising.
4. Customer Support and Deals
The other aspect of a good antivirus software goes beyond its immediate functionality. Sure, all antivirus providers will cover your regular ‘Malware Protection’ and ‘System Scans’. However, there is only a handful that has decent factors beyond its immediate functionality.
A good antivirus offering will have great customer support that is always available to the user. You are bound to expect issues and technical concerns, or at least queries of any kind. This is why you should ideally choose an offering that has always available customer support.
The other aspect is a good deal. Who doesn’t like a little treat, after all? When it comes to choosing a good antivirus provider, ensure to look for good deals and discounts.
For instance, Bitdefender deals are attractive and definitely worthy of checking out (as if their security solutions weren’t a great deal already). Just like with other goods and services, it’s a great idea to always be on the lookout for good deals in software.
5. Speed
Your antivirus app should also be able to detect malware at impeccable speeds too. There should be a ‘Quick Scan’ feature of sorts that should, as the name suggests, allow you to quickly identify any security issues.
Not just that, but it should do so at lightning speeds. This comes in handy in two ways.
First, it is expected that you will be downloading a lot of content, and your antivirus should be able to scan and deliver long before the file is in your local system. Second, this would spare you the additional time for doing a periodic ‘System Scan’.
Final Word
As a customer, your contentment should be your most significant aspect. Ensure to always look for greater value when it comes to your software choices.
Security solutions are a must these days and choosing the best option will not be any more difficult if you follow the aforementioned ideas.