Understanding Virus Protection in 2025 (and recommended anti-virus software)

In the dynamic digital environment, being aware of online security and virus protection is pivotal. With the increasing number of hidden viruses waiting to be transferred to your computer, if you don’t have an anti-virus software installed, your system is unprotected.

One major caveat that we have seen for a couple of years now. The crooks aren’t hacking the machines, they are hacking the people. Email scams, popups with CALL NOW numbers, telephone scams; these are what are currently causing the vast majority of breaches on Small Business and Domestic machines, not Trojans, Viruses or Malware. That said, it could and probably will all change again within the next year or two.

At Little Computer People, the quality of anti-virus is a hot topic within our office. Within our daily operations, we are constantly dealing with virus removal and protection. There are a few websites that provide reliable advice on understanding online security and what to do if your computer is infected. However, be aware that there are so-called “fake sites” and scammers that will pose a threat to your online security.

Here is some of our advice for virus protection:

# Never give your information to anyone that wants access to your computer

Unless you have approached someone to help you with your computer, do not allow anyone who wants access to your computer in. There is a possibility that they are a scammer who may input a virus in your system which will put your personal details at risk. The Australian Government website Scamwatch describes how scammers can install malware on your computer remotely.

# Avoid installing multiple anti-viruses

We have come across many computers with multiple anti-viruses installed, which usually is the cause of the problem they are brought in for. This is because it is very common for different anti-virus software to negatively affect each other’s performance.

# Always keep up with Windows updates

If you don’t update your computer, you will be more vulnerable to getting infected with a virus. Want to check for the latest Windows updates? Head over to the official Microsoft site.

Recommended anti-virus software

For domestic users and small to medium businesses, we recommend  Bitdefender as top of the line anti-virus software for Small Business or Domestic users. It’s as good as it currently gets in terms of false positives, intrusiveness and positive identification and removal of threats, at least for now.

Other good software includes Sophos and Eset.

Panda Anti-virus is also a good option if you are looking for a cloud-based antivirus which means that it is located on the cloud, not on your computer.

# Take online security to the next level

Using an encrypted virtual machine backup like Macrium and Shadow Protect for your computer allows you to separate any dangerous activity you may encounter from other parts of your system. Although this can be an expensive option, it all comes down to how much you value the data on your computer and how well you manage risk.