Virus protection is very important for everyone so it is important to choose the right software to keep you protected.

If you’ve had a look online or at your local computer store you will have noticed an overwhelming number of options. As a result one of the questions I get asked a lot is which virus protection I would recommend.

Personally I prefer AVG AntiVirus Free Edition. Initially I avoided using it under the common assumption that you get what you pay for… in this case nothing. Eventually I started hearing about it so much from other colleagues that I couldn’t avoid it any longer and decided to start out with some research and test it for myself.

The Results

After looking at the results of quite a number of tests I noticed that AVG AntiVirus Free Edition always ranked exceptionally well with other heavyweights like Norton and McAfee, if not actually rating above them overall.

In my personal experience since then I’ve found it much lighter on system resources (uses less Processor and Memory) meaning its safe to use on old computers as well as new - something that cannot be said for it’s expensive rivals.

More importantly, I have found on many occasions that it’s able to pick up viruses and other nasties that the competing applications don’t seem to. Time and time again I have people coming in with the latest version of their paid applications complaining of a slow computer and possible virus activity. I disable it temporarily and install AVG Free… within seconds I have a handful of trojans etc pop up and AVG asks me what I would like to do with them. So simple.

Not only does it do its job very well without slowing your system down too much, its also very easy to use for even the most novice PC user. If you have a broadband Internet connection it will automatically update daily and then minimize itself when it’s done to ensure you’re always protected against the latest viruses. When it does find a virus it tells you what it found, where and what type of virus it is, follow by very simple options for you to choose from like ‘Heal’. Again something not always so simple with similar applications.

Considering all of these positives and - so far - no real negatives, you really do have nothing lose in trying it. I always recommend it to my clients with total confidence and use it on my own computers as well.

The final compelling factor for AVG AntiVirus Free Edition? The price fits everyone’s budget.