Do Free Virus Scanners Really Work?

Viruses

Viruses are a curse for anyone who relies on a computer. A virus is quite simply a piece of software which is designed to do something bad to your computer. Viruses have been around for a long time but only started to come to most people's attention after the internet became common.

Viruses and worms are now spread very quickly through the internet. If you own a computer then you need to learn more about computer viruses.

Removing Viruses

If your computer is infected with a virus then you will need to remove it as quickly as possible. This is why you need to get yourself a virus scanner. There are lots of different types of virus scanners including free utilities.

Since there are many varieties of freeware virus scanners, you have no excuse not to protect your computer. But are these freeware virus scanners really as good as the paid versions?

Effective Free Virus Scanners

As long as you are very careful you should be able to find effective virus scanners which don't cost you anything. However, many of the free versions have limited functionality or are missing out on a resident shield.

When downloading software it is very important to be careful. There are lots of fake virus scanner applications which do nothing to help you remove your viruses and will actually, instead, add to them. You must only ever download virus scanners from trustworthy websites.

Paid Software

Although there are lots of free utilities available, there are reasons why you should consider paying for a professional virus scanner. Firstly, with these you know exactly what you are getting and the software will be updated on a regular basis.

Paid software also has better support options which mean if you ever have any problems you can ask for assistance. With freeware versions you cannot often get this support.

Paid software will also include resident shields and extra features. A resident shield is a utility that runs on your computer in the background. This resident shield will protect you in real time, if you ever try to open anything which is infected with a virus then the virus scanner will warn you.

Viruses are particularly nasty and it's important that you do everything you can do to protect your computer from danger. A freeware virus scanner will help to protect your PC although paid utilities will offer extra protection.

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A person\92s identity can be 'borrowed' for the purpose of creating fictional credit cards or a person\92s entire identity can be usurped to the point where they can have difficulty proving that they really are who they claim to be.

Up to 18% of identity theft victims take as long as four years to realize that their identity has been stolen.

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*Never give out unnecessary personal information
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