I’ve reviewed antivirus apps for PCMag on and off for nearly 40 years, and security has been my main focus for more than 20 years. Counting both Windows antivirus programs and macOS antivirus apps, I track well over 50 of them, updating their reviews about once a year. It doesn’t take a math whiz to calculate that I’ve installed more than a thousand antivirus apps over time. Along the way, I’ve developed some pro tips for getting the most out of an antivirus installation—tips I’m ready to share with you.
1. Make Sure You’re Aware of All the Features You Paid For
Some antivirus apps put all their energy into the basics—scouring out existing malware, preventing new infestations, and steering the unsuspecting user away from malicious or fraudulent websites. Others integrate a range of additional security features directly into the antivirus, such as parental controls, firewall protection, secure deletion, and so on. You paid for all the features, so you really should get the benefit.
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When the bonuses are integrated, they’re easy to see. Sometimes, though, your subscription gets you security add-ons that aren’t emphasized in the main antivirus and may not be visible at all. That’s why I always explore the app’s associated online console. After all, if I’m evaluating the antivirus, I need to examine every bit and piece.
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These days, almost every antivirus or suite comes with an online console. Typically, you register your purchase on the dashboard, then download the antivirus. To install on another device, you just log in to the console and grab the appropriate installer. Dig a little deeper, and you may find that this control panel is where you go to install VPN protection, a password manager, or a third-party bonus app. Take a good look and grab all the security components you deserve.
2. Avoid Installing the Features You Don’t Want
When I have an antivirus up on the rack for examination, I naturally install and analyze every little feature. But you don’t have to do that. You’re not required to install apps that come bundled with your antivirus unless you want them. Maybe you already have a password manager that you prefer, for example. Maybe you’ve evaluated the benefits of using a VPN and decided you just don’t need one. There’s no law that says you must install components you don’t actually want.
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Pay special attention to browser extensions. Your protection against malware-hosting websites and phishing scams often depends on a browser extension, so be sure to install it. But you may not want or need an extension that finds shopping deals or clips coupons for you. If you’re happy with the way you’ve got your browser set up, watch out for extensions that put your home page, new tab page, and search engine under the control of your new antivirus.
(Credit: AVG/PCMag)
Quite a few antivirus apps offer a proprietary browser as a bonus feature. For example, all the apps from companies owned by Gen Digital do—that’s Avast, AVG, Avira, and Norton. If you’ve been using your browser of choice forever, you may not be inspired to switch to something unfamiliar. And these proprietary browsers often don’t add much in terms of security. When you hit an installer page that offers to install a new browser and set it as your default, think carefully before you accept.
3. Keep Everything Up to Date
The very first antivirus apps I examined, back in the ’80s, detected malware by looking inside programs to find known data sequences, called signatures. Keeping these signatures up to date was essential for these antique antivirus programs.
These days, many malware attacks are polymorphic, meaning each instance is a little different, so there’s no consistent signature. Techniques like behavior-based detection and heuristic analysis have evolved to catch this kind of mighty morphing malware.
(Credit: Total Defense/PCMag)
That doesn’t mean antivirus signatures are obsolete, though. They still serve as one layer of protection, alongside more modern techniques. And of course, if there are any updates to your antivirus app that improve its efficacy, you want to install them right away. Most antiviruses check for updates as part of the installation process, but the process isn’t always perfect. Many times, I’ve found that manually checking for updates turns up something even when the app itself claims it’s totally up to date. Always dig into the update system and click the option to check for all available updates.
While you’re there in the update settings, double-check that your new antivirus is configured to check for updates frequently.
4. Always Run a Full Scan After Installing
Next step: Make sure your PC doesn’t already have malware lurking in its depths. Once you’ve finished the software installation and checked for updates, you need to run the most comprehensive scan available. Sure, it might take a couple of hours. That’s important to me because I record how much time the initial full scan takes. But you can just go ahead and use your computer while the scan crunches away in the background.
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You may find that the installation process finishes with an offer to run your first scan. Go ahead and accept; the antivirus will probably nag you until you do. But make sure you read the fine print. All too often, I find that the touted initial scan is some kind of quick scan or “smart scan,” not a full look-see of the entire computer. Let it do its thing, but then run that all-important full scan.
5. Get Your Scans Scheduled
OK, you’ve installed your antivirus, made sure it’s fully updated, and launched a full scan to clean up any entrenched malware. At this point, your computer is squeaky-clean. Real-time protection should theoretically fend off any new malware attacks, whether they come from the internet or that shiny USB drive you found in the parking lot. Full scan? Who needs it!
(Credit: F-Secure/PCMag)
That’s the theory. In practice, I’ve found that for some antivirus apps, the full scan and real-time protection don’t handle malware in the same way. When scheduled scanning is available, you might as well make use of it. Look for your app’s scheduling option and set it to run a full scan at least every month. If there’s support for multiple scans, consider scheduling a quick scan to run every day.
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6. Sign Up for Automatic Renewal
You’ve just installed a new antivirus, and you’re not yet sure whether it’s your Forever App. Signing up for automatic renewal may seem like a stretch, but you should do it anyway. You’ll get an email before renewal, and you can cancel then or at any time before the renewal date.
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Quite a few antivirus companies tie useful and important features to automatic renewal. For example, choosing the option activates a guarantee from Avast, McAfee, Norton, and ZoneAlarm: If a virus or other malware gets past the antivirus app’s protection, the company will have a team of experts remote in to your computer and wipe out the infestation. In the very unlikely event they can’t defeat the malware, they’ll at least give your money back.
7. Use All the Components
Some antivirus apps come with a lot more than the basics. Take a moment to step through all the screens and menus and launch any components that look interesting.
Does your antivirus include a VPN? Give it a once-over—you may find it useful. If you’re paying separately for a password manager, consider saving money by switching to the password manager that comes with your antivirus. Meanwhile, be sure to check whether your plan includes hosted storage for online backup; you won’t benefit if you don’t enable it.
8. Learn What the Features Actually Do
When I review an antivirus, I necessarily step through all of its settings. I need to know how it behaves out of the box as well as what improvements are possible by switching from the defaults. You should do the same to make sure you’re getting the most from your antivirus.
With some antivirus apps, you simply choose “Settings” from a menu. Others keep it subtle, displaying only a gear icon to access settings. Make a point of finding and exploring the available options. You’ll learn some things about how your antivirus works, and you may even want to make some changes. For example, some antivirus apps ignore less-risky PUAs (potentially unwanted apps) by default. I’d rather have the antivirus tell me it found something and let me decide if it’s unwanted.
As you can see, there’s more to installing a new antivirus than clicking Next until the installer finishes. Spending a little time to install it correctly ensures you get the full value from your antivirus investment. Trust me, I’ve done it a thousand times.
About Our Expert
Neil J. Rubenking
Principal Writer, Security
Experience
When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.
Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my “User to User” and “Ask Neil” columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.
In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.
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