Today, antivirus programs are so extensive that they can protect us from virtually anything. This is also because there are so many different threats out there. It would be lovely, of course, to get a program that will protect you from all of these threats. Those programs do exist, but they have some significant drawbacks. They are expensive, require extensive knowledge to run, and will slow your computer down unless you have a huge network. This means that you will have to choose a program that is right for your particular needs, which can be complex in itself because there are so many different options to choose from.  Luckily, you can turn to antivirus reviews to help you narrow down your options. Unfortunately, this is not without its difficulties either.

The Problem with Reviews

There are a number of particular issue with reviews that you must be aware of. Luckily, by being aware of these, you can avoid falling victim to a poor review. As such:

  1. Reviews should be truly independent, otherwise the reviewers will encourage you to purchase the program they get money for, not the one that is actually the best.
  2. Different reviews look at different features to determine whether something is good or not. They may, for instance, call a program “outstanding” because it is very user friendly, even though it slows your computer down. If you don’t need user friendliness, then you wouldn’t class that program as outstanding at all. This means that you need to think about which features are important for you.

What to Look for

So what makes a good antivirus program? Some of the things to look for include:

  1. That it is easy to install. If any type of advanced knowledge is required, or if you have to work to install it when you have already paid for it, then go elsewhere. The best antivirus programs take seconds to install, even by those who have never used a computer before.
  2. It should be able to scan in many different ways, with real time being one of the most important ones. This means that, the minute a piece of malware gets on your machine, they will spot it and quarantine it.
  3. It should update automatically in real time. There is a constant cat and mouse game of virus developers and antivirus tools, so if your program only updates once per week, it is likely that you will have already been infected with multiple new threats.
  4. It should provide you with excellent customer support. If something does happen that you do not understand, you should be able to contact somebody and get the help you need. Not everybody is an expert on computers, after all. This customer support should be available through various channels, such as telephone, email, online chats, and forum questions.

Once you start reading through antivirus reviews – and you know they are independent – these are the four key features you should look into.