When you use the Windows operating system, you know that there are extra caveats that are involved to make the computer more effective. Over 90% of the people who use a computer, use a Windows machine. This stat makes them an extra large target for black hat hackers. Most of the attacks that are released are aimed at Windows users. Now that Apple’s OS X is becoming more popular, we are starting to see more attacks aimed at it as well. To avoid these kinds of disturbances to your computing experience, you should make sure that you have the right software installed on your computer. This includes having an updated anti virus running at all times while you surf the internet. The problem with installing an anti virus solution on your computer, is that there are so many out there. We will give you three of the best solutions out there right now. This will hopefully help you narrow down which anti virus you would like to choose to protect your computer.

Surprisingly, one of the top anti virus products out there on the market right now, was created by someone who you do not necessarily think of when you think about computer security. This anti virus product is created by Microsoft and it is called Microsoft Security Essentials. Otherwise known as MSE. A version of this product has been around for a while now but they have re-released it so that everyone can download it. It has gotten rave reviews from the security community. That means that it must be really good, since the security community has always been skeptical of Microsoft products. This part is not surprising, since who would know the Windows operating system better than Microsoft themselves. Most people in technology knew that if Microsoft ever seriously decided to build a security product, it would have the inside track. With  MSE, they have shown this to be true. It is now available as a free download. Giving it a shot is definitely worth your time.

If you want to use third party software but you are on a tight budget, then you can not get any better than AVG. AVG has a paid version as well but that is mostly for enterprise uses. Their free version is a fully functional anti virus software solution that will help you protect your computer from all of the latest threats that might be out there. There is no one better when it comes to frequently updating their software to protect your computer from the latest attacks. AVG is always on the top of the list if you go to CNET owned, download.com. This is because the word of mouth on the product over the years, shows that it is highly regarded.

The last product that we would like to talk about, is a premium product. It is one of the most highly regarded anti virus solutions out there. The product is Norton anti virus and you probably saw a demo version of it when you first bought your computer. Even though there is a lot of free anti virus solutions out there, Norton will make you not mind purchasing it. Even though the anti virus scans are par to the products we discussed earlier in the article, it also has a wide array of features that the others do not. So if you want to have a full security suite, then Norton is one of the best out there.

Remember, even if you have one of the anti virus solutions on this list, it doesn’t mean anything unless you keep the product updated. If you do not update the product, you will still be very vulnerable as you surf the internet.