Paid Anti-Virus is a Stupid Idea

You've heard for years that you should always run Windows with some type of anti-virus. Should you? Yes. Windows is the #1 target for most virus and malware programmers, so you should run some type of security suite to protect your computer.

However I'm of the belief that paying for any anti-virus/malware suite is a dumb idea, because the free options do just as good of a job (and sometimes better) than the paid ones do.

For a long while now, paid anti-virus suites have getting worse as far as actually helping protect your computer. Instead what you're treated to is something that will slow your Windows down to a crawl, all in the name of safety. It doesn't matter how fast your processor is, how much RAM you have installed or how lean you run your operating system. A paid AV suite will make it slow as molasses.

The free options on the other hand are very speedy, stay out of your way and let you get on with your digital life with minimal fuss.

A huge problem with the paid AV suites is how deep they put their meat hooks into your Windows. First you have the anti-virus portion, but then comes the anti-malware, "suggested" sites nonsense and of course the software firewall. These all put together take up a ton of system memory and will slow down your Windows so much you'd think you're running a computer built 10 years ago!

My recommendation? Dump the paid AV suite and go with a freebie. Here are my suggestions:

1. Microsoft Security Essentials

A fantastic offering by Microsoft themselves that is without question the fastest protection suite you can use. Once loaded, it stays out of your way, auto-updates itself with no annoying pop-up windows and you can scan any file or folder easily with a right click.

2. AVG

The free version of AVG is a power suite that keeps getting better from release to release. It is true that for a while this suite was a bit clunky in its operation, but since version 9 it now runs smoothly and has a much friendlier interface.

3. Avast

The free version of Avast only covers anti-virus and anti-malware, but to be honest, that's all you need protection from. The paid version does offer extra features such as "Sandbox", however if you use common sense when web surfing, having the paid edition isn't necessary.

Any one of the above is a darn fine choice for an AV suite and will protect your computer just as well as the paid offerings. Go with a freebie, save your money and don't look back.