subject: Antivirus - Deciding How Much Security Is Enough [print this page] Antivirus - Deciding How Much Security Is Enough
I have always been asked just how much antivirus protection or security is considered enough. My answer has always been it depends.
There are quite a number of factors involved before a good answer can be given. For instance, if you have a USD10,000 car, are you prepared to buy a USD20,000 insurance policy to protect it? I am sure your answer is no because the insurance policy cost more than the actual worth of your car!
So the same thing applies to antivirus protection. I remember a friend having a DELL laptop which conked out. She called up the helpline and among other things, the helpline operator asked her "We believe your hard disk is the problem area. Do you have important data on your hard disk?"
So you see, it all actually depends on the worth of your data. If you have nothing of value in your PC because you use it only to check your email and browsing the internet, then probably one of those free antivirus software is sufficient. I mean if they failed to catch a new virus, then basically all that is needed to restore your PC back to health is to reinstall all the programs and you are good to go again.
But if you are into doing critical or important task, such as writing books, creating websites, designing work, or have a mass of important programmes installed which are deemed "priceless" to you, then it is vital that you have good antivirus protection. Yep, they may be a bit pricey, but then again what you have in your PC are worth much more, right?
