Are you tired of paying for commercial antivirus software? Antivirus software providers are savvy about turning the cost into a required annual financial outlay to allow you to continue to receive current antivirus signatures. I always anted up the cash because I was not willing to go unprotected and increase my risk of picking up a nasty system damaging worm or virus.I was also skeptical about free antivirus solutions dismissing them as inferior without ever giving them a fair shot. I give Norton and McAfee a lot of credit they convinced me that I should not consider free alternatives without direct marketing campaigns saying so.
My epiphany came when the 3 month free Norton subscription ran out for my new Gateway laptop. I decided I no longer wanted to continually pay for antivirus software and committed to giving free alternatives a real chance. After doing some research I narrowed down my list of contenders to AVG and Avast Free Antivirus. After completing my research I decided to go with Avast and have been delighted with my experience using their free antivirus product. Avast free antivirus seems to update itself as frequently as its commercial competition and has an easy to use user interface as well. I use the Avast product in an identical manner that I used to use Norton and have had no negative effects to my pc in over 6 months of use. I have been converted from a free antivirus skeptic and will never go back to using a commercial offering as long as quality free options like this exist. Consider your own antivirus needs and consider if the commercial product you are using is worth the 30-50$ a year per machine fee when you can get equivalent protection by using Avast.
Quick summary:
Who should be using free antivirus?
Individuals who need protection for their personal systems and balk at the recurring fees commercial offerings charge
Who should continue using commercial products?
Businesses that require more central control and administration of their antivirus solution
Be sure to check out our review of the top 5 free security tools.
