Antivirus - Free vs. Paid

Those steeped in the technology world know that antivirus programs aren’t always consistently effective. Experts collect data to keep track of which antivirus programs are reliably turning out good results, which ones are simply “okay,” and which are not a good option. It’s important to know how these programs are rating, because while one will do well for several years in a row sometimes, it’s unusual for an antivirus to turn out quality performance for many years at a time. I personally keep track of how these programs are performing, partly for my own desire to keep my systems running “clean,” but also because I want to make good recommendations for my customers’ virus and malware protection options.

For about the two last years, Avast Antivirus has been a top performer. It was consistently producing great results by catching the majority of viruses that were being circulated. We were using it for our personal computers, as well as offering it and installing it on customer systems. For 2013-2014, it was a great choice.

This changed, however, at the end of 2014 when the new detection engine from Avast started slipping. I noted this change with concern, since Avast had been my favorite for a while. After examining the current situation in which Avast finds itself, I realized I needed to find a new “favorite.”

There are three software companies that offer a free product that have been getting the top reviews lately: BitDefender, Avast and AVG. While these three companies offer good products, they all have issues. BitDefender offers strong protection but virtually no customization or control, and while the protection element is one of the most unobtrusive in existence, the ad window is annoying. Avast offers an excellent interface with a lot of options, but since the 2015 update, detections are down, leaving users more exposed--and this of course is why we decided to make a switch. AVG’s free product is the weakest of the three, and while there are plenty of options, the constant nagging about upgrading to a paid version is aggravating. The other issue I have with these free products is that they are primarily “antivirus” programs meaning they offer little to no protection against other malicious software such as worms, potentially unwanted programs, adware, spyware, (collectively known as malware) etc. To get adequate protection using free software means adding more programs to deal with these additional threats. This in turn hampers computer performance, and in some cases the effectiveness of the programs, as not all of them are compatible with each other.

At the end of the day, a paid antivirus program will give you better protection than a free program.

The question then becomes, which one do you choose? My answer? Emsisoft. Emsisoft actually uses Bit Defender’s detection engine as well as their own anti-malware engine built into Emsisoft’s interface, giving you the controls that BitDefender does not. How does it rate in reviews? It garnered “Top Rated Product 2014” from AV-Comparatives, and continues to score 97-99+% in real-world testing. Here are some features:

“When you purchase Emsisoft Anti-Malware, you purchase 3 layers of malware prevention. Surf Protection: Preventing connection to known dangerous and fraudulent websites. Real-time File Guard: Scanning for malware, in real-time.

Behavior Blocker, The Ultimate Defense: To catch zero-day threats that aren't yet included in the signature database, Emsisoft Anti-Malware continually monitors the behavior of all active programs and raises an alert as soon as something suspicious occurs.” (Quotation from the Emsisoft website.)

Why is it called "Anti-Malware" and not "Antivirus"?
Viruses make up less than half a percent of total computer infections, thus calling Emsisoft an “antivirus” program would be incorrect. Emsisoft protects against far more threats than viruses, including rootkits, password stealers, adware and many others. This is where Emsisoft stands out from the crowd.

Emsisoft is a protection service that we offer, as we are wholesale Emsisoft suppliers. If you would like to upgrade to their service, we would be happy to help you make the upgrade. We are offering a sale through the rest of April. Contact us for details! 

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