Antivirus Programs - Is it better to run just one program or multiple programs

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 Some may think it's a great idea to run two or more antivirus applications on the same PC in order to catch more viruses, right? Wrong. Antivirus applications are like PC guard dogs, sniffing around for suspicious intruders and ripping them to shreds before they can damage your files. Unfortunately, the only thing they hate more than viruses is other antivirus applications. Antivirus software works at a very low level to do its job properly; it snoops in portions of Windows, memory, and other places where high-level programs, such as Web browsers, dare not go.
 
 When two antivirus programs start prowling around, all sorts of problems happen, ranging from program crashes to system lockups. Because these programs typically remain on all the time, they generally load as soon as Windows boots, which means if you install more than one antivirus application on your PC, both programs load automatically and lock up the system before there's a chance to troubleshoot.
 
 Almost all antivirus utilities let you download a free version (and some are free altogether), so if you download a program and don't like it, uninstall it and try another. As previously mentioned, always make sure you're only running one antivirus application at a time, even if you're just testing. Running more than one of these programs simultaneously can cause serious system instability problems. Because some programs run in system memory even after you close all of the program's windows and no indication of the program appears in the System Tray, your best bet is to completely uninstall each program before you install another one. Take your time while testing each program to make sure it handles everything you require and that it does so without interfering too much with your regular computer tasks.