Have you checked your antivirus software lately?

Most of the infected computers we see have antivirus software that is wildly out of date.

When your antivirus manufacturer starts nagging you to update your subscription–and I know it’s a nag–you really need to. Without the updated subscription, your antivirus software will not know how to protect you from new viruses.

Most antivirus companies belong to a consortium that tests and rates the major AV products. These ratings are updated quarterly. Many products we once recommended, including several free products, have fallen off the bottom of the charts and are no longer on our approved list.

We currently recommend Norton antivirus 2012. It has ranked very high in three primary areas: minimal impact on your system, protection against viruses, and ability to clean infected systems.

Other programs that used to rank fairly high, including Microsoft security essentials and McAfee Internet security, fail miserably in real-world tests. A number of free products have similar results and if it doesn’t protect you, free is too high a price.

Cordially,

Steven