BENEFITS OF ANTIVIRUS
The fundamental reason for the existence of internet security software is to stop malware from infecting your system. It does this with an antivirus engine, which is regularly updated with definitions of emerging malware, and also incorporates heuristics that can spot malware simply by its behavior - stopping something that's so fresh, it’s not covered by the aforementioned definitions.
In a similar vein, some free apps come with an integrated password manager, although admittedly this functionality is reserved for the premium product in many cases. Not always, though, and Avira Free Antivirus is an example of a freebie program that carries useful extra functionality in the form of a built-in manager that will create strong passwords for you, and automatically enter them
Phishing is the practice of baiting someone to click a link – generally in an email, or on social media – in order to propagate malware or for some other nefarious purpose
Often an anti-ransomware layer will be territory only covered by a premium app, but again, if you hunt carefully among freebie antivirus offerings, you can find protection from this particularly nasty family of malware
