You know antivirus programs are of two types; both free and paid. The evergreen question in the minds of computer users is ‘Is it good to use free security suites over paid ones?
Truth be told, premium antivirus has the best malware defensive ability than a free tool. But we can’t always spend bucks for a computer program. On such a scenario, you need to satisfy yourself with available free choices. You don’t have to be ashamed of it because they have some unique features that you can’t find even on the expensive security software.We already written about risk of using free antivirus programs that you may want to check with this.
Advantages of Free Antivirus Programs
So here, you are going to read benefits of free antivirus software over the paid ones.
#1. Free of Charges
The very first benefit I want to mark out is the freely accessible nature. You don’t have to search for your wallet or enter the banking credentials to get your hands on a free antivirus program. For a premium antivirus, you need to spend at least half a hundred bucks for one year. But for a free program, you pay nothing and enjoy being safe. A downside is you may have to install third-party ad blockers to hinder advertisements and adware.
Read: Is Free Antivirus Program Really Worth?
#2. No Limitations
Most of the antivirus programs don’t offer a lifetime subscription. And those offering it charges you a considerable amount of money. They give you an annual subscription of their product usable only on one or two (varies according to product) devices. The higher the number of devices, the greater the price will be. But in free antivirus, they seldom impose any such constraints.
#3. Near-to-Premium Detection
We install antivirus for the fundamental purpose of catching the malicious files and malware threats. PC World’s comparison of different (both free and premium) antivirus programs rendered the detection result as almost the same. So, you don’t have to worry about the protection level of free antivirus software. They keep your computer away from threats as a paid one does. Though both free and paid programs’ detection level is the same, some extra features are not available in the free version.
#4. Can be Uninstalled Anytime
If you find a free antivirus tool to be sluggish or subpar, you can uninstall it right away. No strings attached!! But it is not the case with a premium one. As you got it after making payment, uninstalling it will make your subscription invalid. So, you should read reviews and research well before purchasing anything, let alone antivirus.
#5. Can be Used to Test a Product
Say you are about to buy a paid antivirus. But you want to have a look at it before hitting the Pay button. On such a scenario, you should check whether a free or trial version of the same product is available or not. You can find its availability from the product website. If a free version is available, you can test the product using it. Apparently, accessing all the features will not be possible.
#6. Easy-to-Use Interface
A free security program does not drive you nuts with a cluttered user interface. Their interface is as good as a paid program. In order to understand this, you have to use the free and premium versions of a single antivirus. It may be a revelation for you that the UI of both does not vary much.
#7. No Speed Compromise
You may think that paid antivirus programs have the least impact on the system performance. But you are wrong!
There are no free or premium criteria for antivirus’s system impact. AV-Test’s performance test in 2016 April contains a mixed result with both the versions. A slight edge of premium ones is not in oblivion though
Read:
Bottom Line
You have got seven reasons to use free antivirus now. It is true that these are unique to free version only. But we can’t forget the extra features and impeccable performance of paid programs. Whenever you are tied to budget constraint or want to test a security program, you must consider the free counterparts. Something is better than nothing, isn’t it?
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