PC gaming appeals to a specific type of person, the kind who loves to get the best performing hard disk, RAM, and graphics card, keep track of critical driver updates, and tinker with the settings to get the maximum performance out of their gaming rig because any stutter or lag can result in losing instead of winning.
YouTubers may not need performance to win, but they need (a lot of) computing performance to render their videos before they upload them. Not only do the videos include filters and special effects, the video specifications are also increasing, with 4K 60 FPS videos becoming popular (YouTube even supports 8K HDR 60 FPS video for those who need it), resulting in heavy computing workloads.
With both gaming and video rendering requiring ultra-fast computing, it isn’t surprising to see that gamers and YouTubers (and gamers who are also YouTubers) invest in very expensive computers to gain the maximum in computing performance. They hate to see that performance impaired by any software that slows down their computer, and may turn off unnecessary software that runs in the background.
But what about antivirus? Antivirus software does run in the background, and has a reputation for slowing down computers. Should gamers and YouTubers turn off their antivirus to preserve computer performance?
Do Gamers and YouTubers Need Antivirus?
Absolutely, yes! Every computing user needs antivirus, but gamers and YouTubers may be specifically targeted by threat actors for several reasons, including
- Coin Mining – Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that require mining (proof of work) use a great deal of computational power and are very energy intensive. The cost of mining can therefore be very expensive, and threat actors avoid this cost by created cryptojacking malware that can mine coins, without the user’s knowledge, on powerful computers such as those used by gamers and YouTubers
- Theft of Digital Assets – Many games allow players to earn or purchase digital assets such as skins or weapons. These assets have great value to gamers and therefore theft of such digital assets is a growing problem. Such theft can be accomplished through phishing (by creating a fake site for the gamer to log into) or through keyloggers (malware that steals credentials)
- Account Takeover – Taking over accounts of gamers and YouTubers can be profitable for threat actors. Gamers’ accounts can be compromised to steal digital assets, use payment information to make purchases, and to scam other players. YouTubers’ accounts, including the social media accounts they use to promote their channels, may be similarly compromised to access their audience and promote scams like Bitcoin giveaways
Modern antivirus solutions don’t just fight viruses. They also include other features such as a firewall which is critical for gamers and YouTubers as both spend a lot of time online and need to stay safe against hacker attacks.
Active and updated antivirus is a must-have for gamers and YouTubers, but what about the performance impact? Do they just have to accept a poor return on their investment in computing performance because they might experience a cyberattack? No.
Gamers and YouTubers Must Choose Highly Efficient Antivirus
It is true that antivirus products, in general, have a reputation for slowing down computers. Fortunately, this is not true for all antivirus and some are much better than others. The performance impact of antivirus is a well-known problem and antivirus testing agencies include performance impact as a critical criterion when evaluating antivirus. AV-TEST includes Performance as one of the three factors they consider for their Top Product award for Windows antivirus (Protection and Usability are the other two factors) and AV-Comparatives conducts separate tests for performance impact.
Gamers and YouTubers can check these test scores to identify antivirus that will have the least impact on the performance of their devices.
Why K7 Antivirus is the Best Choice for Gamers and YouTubers
K7 Antivirus provides protection against phishing, ransomware, keyloggers, infected email attachments, and many other cyberthreats. But what about its impact on performance? Let us consider the results from both the AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives evaluation mentioned above.
AV-TEST
K7 Antivirus has been awarded the Top Product rating in multiple tests by AV-TEST. The performance test module evaluates the impact of an antivirus solution on computer speed, paying special attention to
- Slowing down when launching popular websites
- Slower download of frequently used programs
- Slower launch of standard software programs
- Slower installation of frequently used programs
- Slower copying of files (locally and in a network)
K7 Antivirus achieved the maximum possible score of 6 (higher scores indicate lower performance impact), indicating that K7 Antivirus protects devices without slowing them down.
AV-Comparatives
The AV-Comparatives Performance Test evaluates the impact of antivirus on device speed when carrying out everyday tasks, with emphasis on
- File copying
- Archiving and unarchiving
- Installing applications
- Launching applications
- Downloading files
- Browsing websites
PC Mark Professional is also run to provide a comprehensive evaluation of impact on device speed.
K7 Antivirus has achieved the World #1 rank in this dedicated performance evaluation 3 times in a row (April 2023, October 2022, April 2022) indicating that K7 consistently delivers antivirus that has the least impact on computer performance.
Conclusion
The results from the performance evaluation conducted by both AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives clearly indicate that K7 Antivirus is the best choice for gamers and YouTubers due its highly efficient protection.
K7 Ultimate Security provides comprehensive, AI-enhanced antivirus for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, ensuring protection for gamers, YouTubers, influencers, and other content creators who require high performance computing and are targeted by cyberattackers.
