Will antivirus slow down my PC?

Thanks to the advent of AI, cyber threats are evolving rapidly and some even have the ability to adjust their code on the fly to penetrate a system.

While all of this sounds dystopian and scary, the good guys are equally fast in erecting barriers and protecting user systems.

Enter the best antivirus.

Long gone are the good old days when an antivirus was just a simple piece of software that had one functionality and was mostly optional. Today, antivirus apps are usually bundled with other security tools like password managers, VPN, and numerous other helpful and not-so-helpful additions.

With all of that being said, it’s to be expected that users worry about the performance of their system once an antivirus bundle is installed, and rightfully ask: “Will antivirus slow down my PC?”

The short and easy answer is yes, but it’s a bit more nuanced than that.

Why does an antivirus slow down your PC?

Every program on your computer that you are running in the background or using actively eats up your resources; antiviruses are no different. Most often, an antivirus will eat up your RAM (Random Access Memory) or the quick access part of your PC.

Of course, your CPU will also be taxed, but usually at a lower rate than your RAM, especially for antivirus software that offloads some of the work into the cloud. Once your RAM is depleted, more noticeable slowdowns occur as the system waits for portions of your RAM to free up so it can complete another task.

If you’re worried that your PC will slow down because of an antivirus, you should consider the following:

• How old is your hardware?
• Is the antivirus of choice known as a resource-intensive product?
• Which OS are you running?
• Do you have bloatware on your machine?

If you’re using a newer Chromebook to browse the internet and you have an antivirus in the background, most likely you will not notice or experience any slowdowns. However, if you’re doing heavy video editing, running dozens of Chrome tabs, listening to music, and running a full antivirus system scan - slowdowns should be expected.

How do I know if an antivirus is slowing down my PC?

The simplest way to diagnose this is to fully turn off your antivirus. Make sure it's not set up to boot with your PC, next restart your computer. If you notice that the machine is running smoother without slowdowns, then your antivirus might be at fault. Here are some other tell-tale signs that your antivirus might be causing slowdowns:

• Scans take a long time to complete
• You cannot use your PC during full scans
• Your PC is hot to the touch (or hotter than usual)
• Your PC crashes or freezes

Another way to diagnose what is slowing down your PC is to open up the “Task Manager” on Windows or “Activity Monitor” on Mac and check which programs are eating up your RAM and CPU. If you notice that your antivirus is eating a lot of resources and you’re not running a scan, then it might be time to switch to another antivirus.

How to speed up your PC

Here are some general tips that you can use to ensure that your computer is running a bit smoother. This should also help if you’re running a more resource-intensive antivirus software.

1. Limit the number of startup apps: you can do this easily on both Windows and Mac. Having too many apps starting up along with your OS is usually not a good idea, so leave only those that are necessary for your PC to work properly.
2. Remove unused or dubious programs: make it a habit to audit the apps you have on your computer. Any app that is not being used actively or one that you’re unsure whether you even installed, remove it.
3. Update drivers and OS: make sure you keep your OS and all of your drivers updated.
4. Maintain your device physically: check for clogged fans or dust buildups, which can cause a system to overheat, leading to a computer slowdown.
5. System optimization tools: while you can opt for commercially available solutions here, tools that come with your OS of choice can also be useful. Defragmenting your hard drive, for one, can speed up your PC somewhat.

How to choose the best antivirus

A lot has been said about system optimization, but if you have a bad antivirus, how can you choose a good one? Sure, you can simply focus on a lightweight option, but there are other important factors to consider.

Cloud-based scanning is a great option, where an antivirus offloads some of the work to the cloud, keeping your PC resources free. If you also get a zero-trust or zero-day protection with your antivirus, you can rest assured that every app that comes into contact with your PC will be checked.

Next is the real-time protection, which constantly monitors your PC. Finally, file caching rounds out the must-have features. This, in essence, means that your antivirus remembers which files or areas are good, so it skips over them in the next scan, saving time and resources.

Conclusion

Putting security first is non-negotiable in today's technology-driven world. This means that you will have to find an antivirus solution that is tailored to your needs and to the system on which you plan to run it.

Independent antivirus labs such as av-test.org and others test the influence of an antivirus solution on a computer’s speed.

Usually, these labs post various tests that pit antivirus solutions against each other and against a benchmark for a standard PC. While this can be useful, whether an antivirus will slow down your PC will, in large part, depend on you.

So an antivirus does slow down your PC - but how you maintain your computer, which apps you’re using in parallel, and what kind of hardware you have all play a role in how much the slowdown affects your computer.