Question: What AntiVirus Software Do You Use?

I don't have any virus software on my computer, and I know I should get some. I hear all kinds of recommendations, from AOL to McAfee to Norton, and I don't know what is best. What do you recommend?

Answer

I'm not going to give a specific answer to this question, because the answer I give now might not be the answer I give two years from now. Products are always changing, after all!

I have used both McAfee and Norton Internet Security, and have been happy with both of them.

I've known a few people who say that Norton interferes with other parts of the system, but I've never had that experince. In fact, Norton is the package I'm currently using.

Here are just a few things to look for in an AntiVirus software package:

• What is the subscription price and renewal period? Unlike most software products, your AntiVirus software will require you to pay a yearly or bi-yearly fee in order to keep your virus definitions up to date. So looking for the most inexpensive product is not necessarily a good idea; you also need to find out how much and how often you'll have to keep paying to get new virus defintions.


• Look for the automatic update feature. I remember the good old days when you had to remember to check for virus definition updates; now most every virus package has an "automatic update" feature, so the software and definitions update themselves automatically when you go online. If a package doesn't have that feature, don't even think about it, because you don't want to leave your computer protection up to your faulty human memory!


• Ask your friends for their opinions. And for heaven's sake, ask friends who have about the same level of computer expertise as you do! If you are a computer newbie, and you ask a computer geek, he'll go on and on about all the fantastic features, when all you care about is whether or not it's user friendly!