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Paid Antivirus vs Free Antivirus

Antivirus software is the requirement of every computer, tablet, or android phone, which is often are risk of virus attacks. Such virus attacks can corrupt your important files even in some cases; this can also result in the loss of your device’s entire data entirely.

Virus attacks may be of many kinds. It is not easy to identify the right type of virus sometimes, as it can run unknowingly in a computer’s background too. Many reliable & authentic companies have developed antivirus software such as AVG, Avira, AVAST antivirus, Kaspersky security cloud, and all the rest in the online market space.

Cost Estimation For Antivirus Software

This antivirus software comes in variant versions such as paid or free. The average cost of premium antivirus software ranges between $50 to $150 per year. The companies introduce many flexible yearly or a monthly payment plan for their developed respective antivirus software.

Often companies give a choice between single-device & multi-device premium plans. Single-device means that the software can only be used on one device, either a computer or an android phone. Multi-device implies that the same software can be used on up to 10 different devices (either computer or phone) on the same subscription.

People often get confused about paid vs free antivirus. They cannot decide it on their own, whether they should invest in an antivirus app or not, and in which condition they must go for paid versions. Here, we have gathered detailed content on free vs paid antivirus and have covered all the grounds on which you can easily decide your needed version of antivirus software.

Paid Antivirus Software

It is a fact that you would have to pay for something to get worthful things. The need for a premium version of any antivirus software mainly depends on the usage-way of the computer. If you spend your maximum time using the internet, you are at high risk of getting exposed to tons of online scams, and inevitable malicious things.

One can experience many malicious attacks in terms of annoying ads & pop-up windows on websites, phishing emails & freeware. Phishing emails represent some specific spam mails containing few links, which you can receive. 

These links are often capable enough to breach your device’s security instantly and easily access your credential information even with a single click. The internet users who download free software or freeware more often may also experience security breach issues, as mostly freeware is integrated with many malicious things that can harm the computer badly.

Free Antivirus Software

Many companies provide the free version of their developed antivirus software also with limited features, or we can say, features with their basic functionalities only, in the online marketplace.

The services being offered in the free version of antivirus software are also genuine in terms of working & performance but come with limited access. That’s why such free software keeps on notifying to upgrade to premium versions.

Computers often come with a built-in Windows defender app by Microsoft corporation also, but as we have stated earlier, being a free service package that is only effective as far as you are using your computer for general purposes such as basic browsing or using offline Microsoft office applications only.

Basic Features Of Free Antivirus Software

The antivirus software in the free plan offers many features for the security of your device & data. The basic features which are common in all free versions of antivirus software may include the examination of unverified files before their opening to identify their state.

Any form of antivirus immediately gets activated at detecting & blocking malicious activities, breaching security standards. Some free antivirus also supports the blockage of ads to restrict them from getting displayed on particular websites & apps.

Scanning is quite a common feature of antivirus, available in free versions also. Built-in Windows defender by Microsoft also offers this instant scanning feature to scan all local files to identify threats & viruses.

Some free versions also integrate a backup technique in the form of one drive to store a copy of specific files or entire data. You can restore this data any time if the original data get damaged due to any ransomware attacks, later on.

Extended Features of Paid Antivirus Software

Paid versions of antivirus software offer many new features also, besides improving the features that exist in free versions. The extra features common in all paid versions may include parental control, firewall security, recovery of lost data, and improved protection mechanisms.
Firewalls act as a security window on the data you download on your device to maintain a high-security level. It limits the device on receiving unauthorized data from unknown sources.

When any virus attacks a computer, it mainly targets the data of devices and restricts the device from functioning properly. In several situations, it may result in the loss of data entirely. In such cases, premium antivirus software enables the user to retrieve his lost or damaged data successfully.

Parents can control the internet usage activities of their children with the help of the parental control feature. You also can set a limit on their access & block certain websites & content to get displayed on devices by enabling the parental control feature. You can also block specific features or apps; the kids more frequently use. It keeps a record of all the activities kids perform in a specified duration.

You can enable or disable any of these features quite easily from your antivirus software’s settings.

Conclusion

Hence, we conclude from the above-stated discussion that you need to identify your requirement first. If you have important & highly confidential data stored in your device, and also you utilize internet service more often, then you must go for premium versions of antivirus software. Otherwise, relying on free versions is reasonable for general-purpose computer users.

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