Below, we’ve highlighted the primary factors you should consider when selecting a program to protect your system and personal information from viruses, spyware, adware and other malware.

Ease of Setup/Use: Can you get it up and running without consulting a book or a tech support person? How easy is the product to use? Can you quickly find the features you are looking for? Are the descriptions easily understood or do they assume you know all the jargon and terminology?

Detection Effectiveness: How well does the product detect malware? Does the product provide real-time protection—preventing its installation—not just removing it afterward? Is the product effective at finding and removing the many different types of malware?

Removal Effectiveness: This gauges the anti virus scan and removal product’s ability to actually remove viruses that it finds, and whether or not the harmful parts are removed.

System Performance: After installation, does the anti-virus software slow the system to a crawl?

Scan Performance – How long do full or “quick” scans take? Is the computer still usable during the scan?

Help / Support: Is there a help section installed with the product? Is it easy to find answers to your questions? Is there someone you can call for support? How quickly does the support staff respond to your email questions?