SEVEN STEPS TO SMART SECURITY
Before you take the plunge on any of the security suites this month, here are the seven most important questions you need to ask yourself
1 Do I really need security software?
You really do. The days are gone when you could protect yourself by simply ensuring you didn’t download dodgy apps. Modern threats exploit invisible vulnerabilities, embed themselves in innocuous-looking websites and use sophisticated phishing techniques that even security experts would struggle to recognise.
Don’t panic, though: even if you haven’t actively installed any sort of security software, you’re probably not completely exposed. Recent versions of Windows include advanced security measures built right into the operating system, which can fend off the majority of attacks. Take a bow, Windows Defender.
Defender certainly isn’t your only choice when it comes to security software, however – indeed, as we discuss on p86, it isn’t necessarily the best one. If you take your safety seriously, you should at least consider whether a different suite might serve your needs better.
2 Won’ t installing extra security software slow down my PC?
Some sort of performance impact is inevitable, but if you’re remembering the bad old days when security software could cause Windows to slow down to a crawl, relax. Today’s packages use efficient techniques such as giving applications a thorough scan at the point of installation, rather than waiting until you want to use them. It also helps that modern computers have multiple CPU cores and fast SSD storage that doesn’t stutter every time your antivirus software wakes up for a scan.
This doesn’t mean that the effect won’t ever be noticeable – as we note in our reviews, a key point of distinction between different security packages is their impact on system performance – but even in the worst case it won’t make your computer unusable. If you’re currently relying on Windows’ built-in defences, you might even find that switching to a third-party security suite makes your PC feel more responsive because Windows Defender is one of the slower options around.
3 Antivirus or security suite?
Many security packages come in a bewildering array of editions, beginning with straightforward antivirus scanners and moving up to more comprehensive packages that might include backup and VPN capabilities. And if you’re looking at a free security product, there’s almost certainly a paid-for version that unlocks extra features.
Which edition should you choose? A mid-tier internet security suite is likely to come with some useful extra features that expand on the basic anti-malware provision, such as safe browsers and parental controls – and that’s the sort of package we’ve focused on in this month’s Labs. You will find a breakdown of what’s included in each suite in our feature table overleaf, and in each review we discuss exactly how useful these extra features are.
While you might be tempted to move up to a premium suite, these often include make-weight additions such as secure deletion utilities and tune-up tools that do little or nothing to protect you from real threats. However, each publisher offers a different spread of features at various price points, so if the standard internet security suite doesn’t tick all your boxes it’s well worth checking out the alternatives.
4 Do false positives matter?
This month’s security products have all been tested against a huge variety of real-world threats – but that’s only half the story. After all, you could achieve a 100% protection rating by never allowing anything to run, regardless of whether it was safe or not.
That’s where the false-positive test comes in. Both of the testing organisations featured in this Labs
( see below) also scan a large number of harmless programs and websites to check that the security software correctly gives the green light. It’s rare for a product to get a perfect score here and that’s understandable. If there’s any doubt as to whether an app or website is safe, developers will naturally err on the side of caution.
There’s not much point insisting on a perfect false positive record, therefore, but what we will say is this: if you have to repeatedly override warnings from your security software then, sooner or later, you’re in danger of mistakenly unblocking something that should have remained blocked. For technically advanced users, that might not be much of a concern, but if you’re not so experienced then we would recommend you look for a security product with a low falsepositive rate.
5 How do I get the best deal?
If you want to save money then obviously one option is to go for a free security solution – although prepare yourself for an advertisement avalanche, as the publishers will seek to persuade you to upgrade to one of their paid-for products.
If you opt for a commercial suite, it can pay to shop around. Sometimes a publisher’s website will show one price, while third-party retailers offer the same product for less: the prices shown on our feature table overleaf represent the best deals we’ve been able to find at the time of writing. (And, for transparency, we should say that the PC Pro store is often that choice due to the deals we can negotiate.)
Remember, though, that the up-front price normally only covers your first year of service. When that runs out, it may be automatically renewed for a second year at a higher rate. Keep an eye out for an option to disable auto-renewal when you make the initial purchase, or cancel it as soon as you have the opportunity. If you want to stick with the same product for another year, you can simply allow your existing licence to expire and buy a new one when the time comes. Also consider buying a two-year deal, as this can save money.
6 Should I look for a “2020” suite?
It used to be standard practice for security vendors to release a new edition of their software every year and to brand it accordingly. Nowadays most have switched to the Windows 10 model, whereby the base product receives periodic updates but keeps a consistent name.
This means you don’t need to worry about seeking out the latest version of your chosen security suite. Indeed, it opens up a potential way to save money: shop around and you can often find retailers selling off boxed copies from a year or two ago at reduced prices. As soon as you launch the installer, you’ll find that the latest features and signatures are downloaded, just as if you’d bought the current edition.
7 Are my passwords safe?
Hackers love to steal usernames and passwords from online services. If you’re using the same passwords across multiple sites, a single breach could leave you massively exposed.
Unfortunately, security software can’t help you here, because it all happens remotely. Consequently, your best defence is to set a different password for every site you use – but it’s hardly feasible to remember unique credentials for each site.
The solution is to use a password manager, and many suites include a browser extension that will store and enter your login details for each site. Be wary, though: such tools may require an additional subscription, or they may only remain fully functional for as long as the security suite itself is licensed. After that, extracting your passwords and importing them into a different manager can be a tiresome and fiddly process.
Your best solution, therefore, might turn out to be to ignore the password manager that’s included with your security suite, and instead use the one that’s built into your browser. Alternatively, check out a third-party option such as LastPass ( lastpass.com), whose cross-platform service is free for a single user.
“Sometimes a publisher’s website will show one price, while third-party retailers offer the same product for less”