When the question of computer protection arises, the variation seen in free antivirus programs is similar to that provided by the paid security programs. System users who are economical and are on the hunt to find antivirus programs that do not add up to their cost have a wide array of options to choose from such as AVG, Avira, and Comodo.  All one requires to do is select the appropriate antivirus program that best suits their requirements of security.

For deciding which among the lot would be the best free antivirus program, tests are conducted on them individually. The entire lot of Trojans and malware are employed to determine the performance, speed and reliability of the antivirus programs. Based on such tests, one can determine as to how reliable and antivirus software can be in preventing the malware and how effortlessly it can carry out its task of protecting the system. However, an individual should understand while making a choice between free antivirus programs and paid antivirus software that the facilities and benefits provided by paid antivirus programs are not the same as those covered under free antivirus programs.

First and foremost, an individual who goes in for a free antivirus software compromises on the future assistance in case there is an untold event or if there is a disinfection required to be done. In that case, the computer system has been affected by Trojans or viruses that have cropped up in the system, breaking through all defense barriers. Online platforms are the only means that the individual can approach to the free antivirus software personal executive for any assistance.

However, there is nothing that exists without exceptions made to it. Avast antivirus offers the facility to reach out to them through emails. The individuals who have taken up their antivirus software can submit their support tickets online. AVG Antivirus provides phone support services; however, these are paid phone services, and the cost charged by AVG antivirus on every call, is more than some of the paid antivirus software that offer phone support service.

Usually, free antivirus users resort to using online sources to seek advice on the best free antivirus. However, there is no definite source to derive that answer from.

Malware signature updates are more frequently seen with paid antivirus as compared to the free version. This opens up prospective tunnels for intruders to run through your system and steal your data. Most of the free antivirus software update their database of signatures once in a day. However, this situation can be solved with a scan using Microsoft Security Essentials; it tags samples that have suspicious traces that do not match a signature that has been installed. This all is done by Microsoft Security Essentials by running the suspicious sample against their recent online signatures.

Until there is a strong internet connection, the Panda Cloud antivirus will scan every bit of data against its own servers. Hence, Panda Cloud antivirus uses the latest signatures. If there is no proper internet connection, then the Panda Cloud antivirus depends on local caches.

The scanning options provided by the paid antivirus is a lot as compared to the ones offered by the free antivirus programs. The free antivirus software programs offer things that are not required, such as toolbars for social networking or browsing. Some free antivirus software programs display advertisements urging the user to upgrade to the paid versions of the free antivirus software. However, the free antivirus software programs offer their users sufficient amount of protection against invaders who crawl into the system. These free antivirus software programs help their users save around $30 each year, and there are several people who prefer this deal.