I've Installed 1,000+ Antivirus Apps in 40 Years. Don't Make These 8 Mistakes

PCMag Principal Writer Neil J. Rubenking, who has reviewed antivirus software for nearly 40 years and installed well over a thousand apps, shares eight mistakes people make when installing antivirus and how to avoid them. The advice: be aware of all the features you paid for, including add-ons like VPNs, password managers, and bonus apps that only appear in the app's online console; skip installing features you don't want, especially browser extensions that hijack your homepage, new tab page, or search engine, and proprietary browsers offered during install; keep everything up to date, since manual update checks often surface updates the app claims don't exist, and confirm frequent update checks are configured; always run a full scan after installing, because the "initial scan" offered at the end of setup is often a quick or smart scan rather than a full look; schedule scans, since full scans and real-time protection don't always handle malware the same way, so set a monthly full scan and optionally a daily quick scan; sign up for automatic renewal, because several vendors tie guarantees to it—Avast, McAfee, Norton, and ZoneAlarm will remote in to clean an infection or refund you; use all the components, including bundled VPN, password manager, and online backup storage; and learn what the features actually do by exploring settings, for example changing defaults so potentially unwanted apps are reported rather than silently ignored. He closes by noting there's more to installing antivirus than clicking Next. 

https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/ive-installed-1000-antiviruses-in-40-years-dont-make-these-8-mistakes