Rajan Patel considered himself a tech-savvy dad. He worked from home as a financial consultant, his wife Priya ran an online boutique from her tablet, their teenage twins Aanya and Arjun lived on social media and gaming, and Rajan’s elderly mother, Sita, used a laptop to video-call relatives in India.

Rajan now says: “A 1-device license is for a college student. A 5-device license is for a small family. A 10-device license is for real life—where devices multiply, parents get scammed, kids take risks, and guests show up with infected gadgets.”

They had six devices: two laptops, two phones, one family tablet, and a desktop PC. Rajan thought they were safe with free antivirus.

If you have more than 3 people in your home or more than 5 devices, buy the 10-device license. It costs only a little more than the 5-device version, but it saves you from the “Oh no, I’ve run out of slots” nightmare at the worst possible moment.