SafeGuard is a program that adds a key to your PC. It works by creating a 'SafeGuard Key' on a removable drive. Each time the user account boots, it will check for your key. If the key is correct, the user is greeted by a prompt. If it is incorrect, the security log is updated and the pc is shutdown. Featured Posts. 360 SafeGuard is a Reliable and Excellent Information Security Program Qihoo 360 SafeGuard was designed to stop Trojan horses, malware, []; Clean Up your PC & Improve Performance with 360 Total Security 2017 360 Total Security is free antivirus application that provides total []; Browse the Web Faster and Securely with 360 Secure Browser 360 Secure Browser is a web.

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If you're buying a computer, the salesperson is likely to ask if you'd also like to buy some anti-virus software. And even if they don't, your PC could well have anti-virus software pre-installed, available to use for a free trial period. With so many computer nasties around it makes sense to protect your computer. But should you pay for this protection? Free software is widely available, but would you be compromising security to save money?

Not surprisingly, some vendors of commercial anti-virus software think so. Speaking on the Tech Blorge website, David Hall, a product manager at Symantec (whose Norton AntiVirus 2010 costs £39.99), warned: 'If you are only relying on free anti-virus in this modern age, you are not getting the protection you need to be able to stay clean and have a reasonable chance of avoiding identity theft … free anti-virus is not enough: you need in-depth layered technologies, which only come from the more mature paid suites.'

But other anti-virus software vendors take a contrary view, including AVG, which offers both free and paid-for products. Tony Anscombe, AVG's ambassador of free products, says its Anti-virus Free Edition has been downloaded more than 100m times. So why opt for the paid-for version? 'If you are using a computer for email and some light [web] surfing, then you probably don't need some of the features found on the paid version,' he says. 'But if you use online banking or have your home finances on your PC, you'll probably want more features and something that is more integrated.'

Both free and paid-for anti-virus products have the same basic software components, and offer the same level of core protection. In other words, the free version is not a weaker version of the commercial offering. But paid-for versions do offer additional features, which can include protection against potentially harmful websites, email protection, anti-spam, a firewall and phishing protection. There can be other bonuses too, such as automatic updates and free technical support.

Most of these features are useful but not essential, or can be found for free.

What you need, what's on offer and where to find it

Most computer protection programs are designed for Windows PCs, because the vast majority of malware is aimed at this platform rather than Apple and Linux computers.

Anti-virus software The Security Essentials package from Microsoft is a free anti-virus package for Windows PCs. Avast! offer free anti-virus package. You can also upgrade to Avast! Pro (£34.95, all prices stated are for one year's protection) which includes website protection, and Avast! Internet Security (£54.95), which also throws in a firewall, anti-spam and a licence for three computers. AVG Free Edition can be upgraded to a full version which includes email protection, anti-spam and technical support for £21.60. AVG Internet Security (£30.39) adds more extras including a firewall. Avira's Antivir Personal Free also includes free support, while the premium version (€19.95) has phishing protection and email protection. Antivir Security Suite (€39.95) also offers anti-spam, firewall protection and a parental filter.

Firewall A firewall is like a protective filter, and is designed to stop unauthorised traffic between your PC and the internet – for example, some spyware can send personal information from your computer to a hacker's website. Windows PCs come with a built-in firewall, which can be switched on via the computer's control panel (if you're not sure how to do this, check your PC's instruction manual). If you use a router for internet access, it may also have a firewall installed – the instruction manual will tell you how to activate it. Free firewalls are available from Comodo, Outpost and Zone Alarm.

More free malware protection software The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft's scans your Windows PC for malware and removes it. Spybot Search and Destroy also checks for and removes malware. Malwarebytes performs a similar function (there is a paid-for version, too).

Top 10 safety tips

1. Use the latest version of your web browser.

2. Make sure your Windows security updates are up-to-date – the best way is to switch on the automatic update function.

3. Keep your software up-to-date – many updates include security fixes.

4. If you have online banking your bank may offer free anti-virus software.

5. Make sure you only download software from the vendor's website or a reputable website like download.com.

6. Most free software doesn't include technical support, but there are lots of support forums online.

7. Make sure your computer protection software is regularly updated.

8. Scan your computer regularly for malware, at least once a week.

9. Your PC can also be infected by malware hidden on plug-in devices like memory sticks, so scan them too.

10. Don't click on emailed weblinks to banks or other commercial companies – type the company web address into the browser window.

What the jargon means

Adware This displays annoying adverts on your computer, such as pop-ups.

Malware A general term for malicious software, which can harm your computer.

Driver restore product key free. Phishing Criminals attempt to obtain personal information, such as passwords or credit card details, usually by directing victims to fake websites.

Rogueware Software designed to force you to pay for fake anti-virus software, by falsely stating that your computer has multiple infections.

Rootkit Malware that hides deep inside your computer; it can be hard for antivirus software to detect.

Spam Junk email that can clog up your mail inbox.

Spyware Collects personal information from your computer.

Trojan horse Harmless-looking software that can give hackers access to your computer.

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Virus A rogue program that infects computers.

Worm A program designed to automatically infect lots of computers.

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Antivirus software is nearly as crucial as a PC’s operating system. Even if you’re well aware of potential threats and practice extreme caution, some threats just can’t be prevented without the extra help of an AV program—or a full antivirus suite.

Antivirus suite cheat sheet

Our quick-hit recommendations:

• Best overall antivirus suite:Norton Security Premium[symantec.com]
• Best budget antivirus suite:AVG Internet Security[avg.com]
• Best antivirus suite for newcomers:Trend Micro Maximum Security[trendmicro.com]

Read on to learn why these products rank best.

You could, for example, visit a website that unintentionally displays malicious ads. Or accidentally click on a phishing email (it happens!). Or get stung by a zero-day threat, where an undisclosed bug in Windows, your browser, or an installed program gives hackers entry to your system.

We’re not suggesting that PC security software is fool-proof. Antivirus software often can’t do much to stop zero-day exploits, for example. But it can detect when the undisclosed vulnerability is used to install other nasty bits, like ransomware, on your machine. Anyone who actively uses email, clicks on links, and downloads programs will benefit from an antivirus suite.

Our recommendations strike a balance between excellent protection, a worthwhile selection of features, and minimal impact on your PC’s performance. You can read about how we test antivirus suites below.

Updated 1/02/19 to include our review of Norton Security Premium (2019), which offers just minor revisions to the previous version but remains our top pick for AV nonetheless. Scroll to the end of the article to find links for all of our antivirus software reviews.

Best overall antivirus suite

Norton Security Premium still does an excellent job of protecting your PCs, doesn't bother you too much, and has a very easy-to-use interface. Norton protection doesn't come cheap, however, at $110 per year for up to 10 devices.

Norton Security Premium is an old name in security, but it has an easy-to-use interface, highly rated protection, and a number of helpful extra features. It’s on the higher end of the price spectrum at $110 per year (your first year is discounted to $55), but you can install it on up to 10 devices. (Read our full review.)

Best budget antivirus suite

AVG does an excellent job of protecting your PC. Its interface is not great, but for $70 you can protect all the Mac and Windows PCs in your household, as well as your Android devices.

AVG Internet Security does an excellent job of protecting your PC, but it’s interface could be a lot better. Nevertheless, with unlimited installs for $70 per year, it’s hard to beat this popular security solution. (Read our full review.)

Best antivirus suite for beginners

Trend Micro Maximum Security has an easily navigable interface, great protection, and the price is right. Some of its privacy features didn't work reliably in our tests, but the cloud protection scanning is an interesting feature, and Mute Mode is a great take on the usual gaming mode feature. Overall, Maximum Security is a good choice for antivirus on Windows.

Many antivirus suites create an interface that’s as simple as possible for users to understand—but sometimes the software becomes too stripped down. That’s why our recommendation for novices is Trend Micro Maximum Security.

This antivirus suite, which provides highly rated protection, strikes a nice balance between complexity and simplicity: Four category icons at the top let you dive deeper into the suite, but if all you need to do is a scan, that option is right there in the center of interface. You can’t miss it.

Overall, no matter what you need to get done in Maximum Security, the interface doesn’t leave you with any guesswork.

What to look for in an antivirus suite

There are three basic requirements that an antivirus suite needs:

• High detection rate for malware and other threats
• Low impact on system resources
• An easy-to-use interface

That’s not all to consider, however. These days, many security suites come with extras such as a backup service for your most essential files, Android apps for mobile security, a more advanced firewall, family protection (read: child restriction) features, and the right to use the program on multiple PCs. Whether you need those extras depends on your personal situation.

How we test

First, we take a look at the interface to determine how easy or complicated it is. Does the interface make it easy to get at essential tools like PC scans and password managers, for example, or is everything buried under multiple clicks? Are there elements that look like they should be clickable but aren’t? Are alerts interactive or purely informational, and does that make sense in context?

We also examine the features on offer. Every good antivirus suite should have the basics like scanning and real-time protection, but many vendors offer elements that go beyond basic security like password managers or firewalls. We try to discern whether any of these extra features are particularly useful, or just frills that look nice but don’t serve a practical purpose.

To test the suite’s demand on system resources, we run two benchmarks. The first is PCMark 8’s Work Conventional test, which simulates a variety of workloads including editing spreadsheets, browsing the web, and running video chat.

We run the benchmark before the security suite is installed. Then we install the software, have it run a full scan on our Windows 10 test machine, and start a second run of the benchmark at the same time. Then we compare the overall scores to see if the decline between the two benchmarks is significant.

As a harsher stress test, we also use Handbrake to transcode a video before and after installing the A/V. On most home PCs, this encoding task utilizes 100 percent of the CPU. We then compare transcoding times to see if there’s any significant decline.

Our test machine is an Acer Aspire E15 with an Intel Core i3-7100U, 4GB RAM, and a 1TB hard drive. Each security suite is tested on a clean install of Windows 10 Home.

As for the antivirus suite’s detection capabilities, we’ll rely on the opinions of security researchers dedicated to this task. We’ll take into consideration reports from outlets such as A-V Comparatives, A-V Test and SE Labs.

We’ll also take pricing into account and what you get for it.

Whenever possible we’ll review security suites using a free trial to get a sense of what consumers see when they first try out a new product.

Best antivirus: All of our reviews

Looking for a cheaper option or something with more flexibility? Or perhaps you just want to see what else is out there? Below is a list of all the antivirus suites we’ve reviewed. We’ll keep evaluating new ones and adding them here, so be sure to come back to see what else we’ve tested.