PC Security Programs- 50% off McAfee

With the massive amount of security programs out there, how can you figure out which is the right one for you???  Whether you want to pay for added benefits or you want a free program that works well, I have something for you... Keep reading :)


Free Protection


AVG has a free anti-virus program available that, for the most part, works great.  It blocks viruses and troublesome programs from being downloaded, in real time- i.e. you don't have to run a search every time you download something because AVG checks it automatically; which is a great feature for a free program!  This program also allows you to set the priority of system scans, so if you are on your computer, you can run scan at low priority so that, in theory, it doesn't slow you down.  However, my experience with AVG is that even if you run the scans at a low priority it takes away some of the speed from whatever you are doing.  I mainly notice when using video hosting sites (hulu, netflix, etc). This problem also occurs when AVG is updating, which it does frequently.


Malwarebytes is a decent anti-malware software.  It is free and generally does an adequate job finding and removing all the malware on your PC (i.e. computer viruses, trojan horses, worms, adware, spyware, etc) that aren't eliminated by your primary virus software. My favorite feature of this program is that you can choose to do a full computer scan or you can just scan certain files/ folders, which saves time. The full scan takes quite a while, but it is thorough. The biggest downside to Malwarebytes is that it doesn't run in real-time (or at least the free version doesn't, I'm not sure about the "full version").


Spybot Search and Destroy is another free anti-malware program.  It works just as well as Malwarebytes, maybe even better, but it doesn't work in real time, you have to start the scan yourself, just like the free version of Malwarebytes.


Paid Protection


Previously mentioned, AVG and Malwarebytes, both have pay versions, which have extra features (I wouldn't know exactly how different they are because I'm not going to pay for something I can get for free, but, of course, the websites say there are advantages to the pay version ;)

McAfee has a great all-in-one security program available, McAfee Total Protection 2012.  It is not only an anti-virus software, but it's also a two way firewall, offers email and web security, encryption, spyware protection, malware protection, etc (see everything Total Protection has to offer here). Also, from what I understand, you can use this program on multiple devices for one price, which is great because if you have a PC, tablet, and smartphone, the last thing you want to do is pay for the same thing three times, and this program can be used on up to three devices for one, moderately low, price. Plus for a limited time, you can get 50% off McAfee programs by clicking the banner below!