What Is The Best Anti-Virus Software.

I get asked this question alot so I thought I'd write a little bit about the subject. Let me start by explaining how anti-virus software works.

Anti-virus programmers use a database to store information on known viruses and many other malware types. As each new threat is discovered it is added to the database and sent to the user as a virus signature update. They also implement a huerisitics signature which is a means of detecting unknown threats by comparing the malware's activity type to that of known viruses or spyware. In theory these signatures should keep your computer safe.

The problem with virus signature detection is how often the vendors signature file is updated and delivered to the client. No single anti-virus software suite detects all threats. Many do not detect spyware and grayware at all.

The problem with naming any one Anti-Virus software company as "The Best" is often realitive to the users perference or the company trying to sell their product. Your local computer repair provider may have a contract with a anti-virus software vendor and recieve a commission of each sale, however that doesn't mean that the software they sell is the best.

In my shop I specialize in virus & spyware removal and often have to use several anti-virus and anti-spyware scanners to remove malware from clients computers, then I have to go back and hand remove any files missed by those scanners and often edit the Windows registry to remove yet more viral information.

Every computer user should be running some type of anti-virus and anti-spyware software and all of them will tell you not to run more than one on your computer. What that really means is that only one program should be running in the background for active protection, however having multiple anti-malware progams installed and run manually is smart computing.

So whether you choose to use Avast, AVG, Nortons, Malwarebytes or some companies anti-virus software be sure to keep it up to date, use the resident scanner and by all means when a file is flagged, carefully read the information from your program and take appropriate action.

I hope this helps some of you when deciding on your anti-virus software.