General

Technology plays an important role in our 21st-century lives, with the internet being a large part of this. It’s hard to imagine what our lives would be like without it. But with the good, always comes the bad. The internet gives people whose intentions may not be upstanding the opportunity to anonymously steal the information of others.

This has created an entire industry of tech companies offering antivirus software to protect your privacy and information. The various offerings of these companies protect you from the actions of others and using them is safeguarding yourself in the virtual world just like you would lock the doors to your house in the physical world.

Watch out

Technology is developing at the speed of light; but while most of it is beneficial, some with bad intentions work to develop new ways to cheat and steal. Viruses are constantly evolving and the approach their authors use changes frequently. The most common goal of malicious viruses these days is to steal private information, often with the intention of selling it.

Almost everyone knows now to not open an email from a suspicious email address. Most are also aware of the risks associated with public wi-fi hotspots. Though encryption has made them safer, there are still risks associated with them, particularly when using mobile apps that may not encrypt your data. Viruses are ever-evolving, though, and the next large threat is lurking around the corner for the unaware — but if you are protected by updated antivirus software, your information will be as safe as possible.

Helpers

Antivirus software services offer multiple features to help protect your information on the internet. Examples include:

• Online activity scanners;
• File scanners;
• Email scanners;
• USB scanners;
• Script blocking;
• Scheduled scans;
• Instant message scanning;
• Automatic scanning.

How to choose

The market is currently saturated with companies providing antivirus software — how in the world can you choose which one to buy? We’ve put together a list of the best antivirus programs on the market to help you choose.

At the top of this page, you can find the main features offered by these antivirus programs. Before comparing them, you likely want to determine the following:

• how many devices you want to protect,
• how many users will use it,
• and which operating systems you use.

Once you know with you need you can also check the customer support offered and prices. We highly suggest you take advantage of the free trials that most companies offer, though note that some features may be limited during the trial period. 

Apple

It is widely believed that Mac operating systems are less vulnerable to viruses than Windows systems. The main cause of this is likely due to there being fewer Mac users thus causing authors of viruses to focus on Windows. Despite this, Macs are still vulnerable and it is still worth having antivirus software to protect your information if you use one.