The market for computers is flooded with antivirus software that claim that their software is the best , and promises high-quality detection results and secure browsing on the internet. The problem with this data is that it can be biased.

Reviews are either written by affiliates who earns a fee for every sale, or the company that sells antivirus offers its own information on promotion to persuade you to purchase.

This article will guide you through the necessary steps to the test of any antivirus suites you might be considering purchasing on your computer. The results of the test will give you real-time details about how the antivirus software functions on your computer for, which will allow users to take the correct buying decision the first time.

Preparation

Before you make the leap and begin testing your antivirus suites, it is recommended to provide your PC with a performance check using one of the free tools that are available online.

Advanced System Care a great clean-up and tweak tool that can provide your computer with a thorough clean, using a simple click interface. Before you run any cleaning program ensure that you have a recent backup of your data. After you've completed Advanced System Care, you might want to leave it on as long as it doesn't cause significantly on your computer's resources, or you can simply remove it.

A side note it is possible to improve the performance of your PC by editing your system's startup file with the'msconfig software to turn off any unnecessary auto start applications whenever your computer starts. If you're not familiar about this procedure and are uncertain about what to remove, then you can make use of this Advanced System Care program.

Online Research

While you may get some important information from the reviewer or the site of the vendor but it is always advisable to visit forums online or read reviews from independent sources of the product you're looking into, that don't contain bias prior to purchasing.

One website recommended for an honest review is av-comparatives.org and also provides the results of tests conducted for several antivirus programs.

The two results of significance are the removal and detection results since you'll be conducting your own tests to find out what the various antivirus software suites impact the specific computer within the context of its hardware and software. The results of detection and removal are available by clicking the tab 'comparatives' from the homepage of the the av-comparatives website.

Not Created Equal

The primary reason behind the need to test performance of antivirus products is the fact that not all antivirus products are the same in terms of offering PC and web-based browsing security the speed of background scanning as well as virus removal and detection and removal, etc.

Minimum Requirements

Antivirus suites must include at the very least these modules:

* Antivirus* Antirootkit
* Anti-Phising
* Antispyware
* Antimalware
* Antitrojan
* Antiworm
* Antispam
* Safe Browsing
* Firewall
* Real-time monitoring
* Scheduled scanning
* Automatic definition updating

Create a Short List

You'll need to make an outline of antivirus programs that meet the above requirements for downloads, based upon your internet research.

Online Antivirus Scan

If you don't have any antivirus software installed on your PC , and you've been surfing the internet I highly recommend that you run a scan of your PC with an antivirus scan online prior to installing any of the trial antivirus software.

To start, simply search into"in the Google Search box "free online antivirus scanner" (without the quotes) and choose a reputable scanner like Trend, AVG, Kaspersky, Comodo, McAfee Renew or Eset and follow the on-screen instructions to install the software that allows the online scanner to operate. When the scan is completed and eliminated any malware there are any, you can install, download and begin exploring your trial antivirus suites.

Installed Antivirus Software

If you have antivirus software running on your computer, it is necessary to remove it completely, and then your system rebooted prior to installation of any test antivirus software.

Recommended Uninstaller Program

An excellent uninstaller program for cost-free is called Revo Uninstaller. It is capable clearing the registry of any entries that you have created from your old antivirus program, which its uninstaller itself leaves behind.

To find the uninstaller program, enter in Google "free Revo Uninstaller" (without the quotes) After that, download and install it.

Once you've installed and downloaded Revo Uninstaller Use it to delete your current antivirus software. Go through the pages 6-9 of the Help guide by clicking the help tab in the Revo Uninstaller menu bar. This will take you through the uninstall process.

If for any reason, you try for installing an anti-virus trial it won't start because of some leftover files from your previous antivirus program, then download the antivirus removal software on the website of the vendor and then run it.

N.B. Restart your computer following the time you've uninstalled your antivirus program.

System Resource Usage

The most crucial factor to take into account when evaluating any antivirus suites is what amount of computer memory it consumes while running in the background and/or running scheduled scans, since it will be one of the main elements in your decision to purchase.

So, prior to downloading any software trial,, you must be aware of and record the amount of memory and CPU resources are currently utilized on your system, so that you can compare it with the memory and CPU utilization of the trial antivirus software.

How to Check System Resource Usage

To determine the current memory and CPU utilization on the Windows 7/Vista computer, right-click on the task bar (the task bar is the blue or grey bar that is located at the lower right of the screen) and then left-click on the'start' button. task manager'

To determine the current memory and CPU utilization on a Windows XP/2000 machine you must right-click on the Task bar (the one that appears in the gray area that is located at the lower right on your desktop) then left-click on'start' task manager'

Go to"the "performance" tab within "windows task manager". This will display the how much memory and CPU is used by your PC.

After you've analyzed the amount of memory and CPU use without trial software on your system, you are able to proceed to set up the trial antivirus program.

Once it is installed and restarted your computer, you will need to repeat the test of CPU and memory to determine the amount of memory and CPU resources are being utilized for the free antivirus program.

It is then time to conduct a complete antivirus scan on your system. Repeat the CPU and memory checks when an antivirus scanner is in progress. Note the amount of memory and CPU used.

If the scanning is running, you can open and close some programs and observe what your computer does. Write a notepad entry and then note the response time. The system may be slower than normal because of the file scanning , but it will still function with a respectable delay.

After the scan of your file has completed, you can repeat the process of closing and opening applications and using notepad to type in the text. These tests will function in a normal manner and without delays.

If you notice a significant delay (much greater than usual) If you notice a noticeable delay, it is because your trial program may be consuming excessive computer resources. This could be corrected by installing more memory, but for now it is necessary to conduct further tests before we decide whether to buy additional memory.

After you've completed your tests with the security trial software, remove it following the steps above using the Revo Uninstaller program . Repeat your testing procedure for the additional antivirus trial suites you downloaded.

Results

Once you've completed your test it is now time to make an informed choice about which antivirus suites will work best for your computer. If you're using an antivirus program but it's affecting the performance of your computer, you're left with two options, add more memory (that is if the RAM is able to be upgraded) or opt for a different antivirus program that doesn't interfere with the performance of your PC.