IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I bought and installed a Norton anti-virus package when I got my computer and it has just expired.  My ISP offered me two months free trial of their security package so I downloaded and installed it, so I’m good (touch wood) for a few weeks, giving me time to investigate options.

My geeky friends tell me it’s okay to download free security packs and in fact, a couple say they have never paid for anti-virus software in years of owning a computer.

How can this be so?

I can understand that they offer this free in the hope that over time they’ll convince me to buy (with $$) some of their other products, but am I really going to get something that works as well for (decidedly non-geeky) me, as a package that I pay for?

Are these companies legit?  Is the software legit?  Am I opening myself up to problems I don’t have the skills to handle. How safe can it be to depend on free virus protection? 

I just keep asking myself:  would I give my address to someone I don’t know who’s offering to come around and install free locks!

There’s nothing wrong with free software. In fact, there’s an active group of programmers who believe all software should be free and there is no shortage of free applications available for budget conscious computer users.

The software your friends are talking about are the free antivirus packages. The most common are AVG, AntiVir and Avast. All three of them are good although we’ve had a few hiccups recently with AVG.

These are slightly different to free software, they are more like “teaser” products, where the vendors offer a free version with no support and slightly fewer features than their paid versions to encourage people to use their software.

Despite the slightly limited features and occasional hiccups, these three are as good, if not better, than the popular commercial anti-virus and security products and we’d highly recommend all three of them over the better know brand names.

One thing to watch though are some scams posing as free anti virus programs. If a message pops up on a website saying “you are infected with a virus, download our free scan” be warned that this is almost certainly a rip off that probably has spyware built into it.

Before downloading anything from the Internet, do a quick web search to make sure it is safe and it will do what it promises.

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