This is because, whilst in general, most people have good intentions with regard to the information they wish to provide on the internet and generally wish to help people. There will always be a nefarious view, who wish to cause people problems, hijack their browsers, or create problems simply because they know more, are more technically able to, and feel an urge to cause mayhem. So, what this means for the average person, is that antivirus software is a must.

Okay, so you are convinced. You've read all the reports about internet security in the newspapers. You've heard all the rumours about people having problems. So you have finally decided to take the plunge and get your computer covered by some antivirus software. What next? Well, the first questions that people ask tends to be. What's the best free antivirus software? This is because although people recognize that they do need the service, they don't want to pay for it! So, what tends to happen is that they drift along for a while and then suddenly there computer becomes infected, and only then do they search for a solution. Because essentially it is not a high enough priority for them, until disaster strikes.

There are a number of different antivirus solutions on the market. Two of the most popular ones are Norton AntiVirus and McAfee. Both of these companies have specialised in antivirus solutions for a number of years, and so have great experience in dealing with the specific problems that need to be dealt with in the area. Neither of these are free, but the problem with free solutions, is that someone has to pay for them! Why? Because quite simply, antivirus software is only as good as its last update, and it needs to be updated a lot, because it's a never ending battle against the virus creators. The antivirus companies plug the holes in software, and as fast as they do so. The virus creators are busily trying to find new ones. So they are very staff and labour intensive operations, because the antivirus companies need to constantly be on their guard to make sure that they are up to date.

This is especially clear, just recently. Personally, I used to use a free antivirus checker, and it worked very effectively… For a few months. Their particular business model depended on businesses pay a subscription, whilst normal users could use it for free. However, just recently, they too have moved over to a subscription model and are now generally asking users to pay for their services. So the question of what's the best free antivirus software is now a bit muddled, because the area is so fast moving.