An antivirus is computer security software that protects the computer from all types of malware by continuously monitoring the execution of programs and files and preventing or removing any malicious programs using its various techniques. It monitors Internet surfing to scan network traffic and protect computers from harmful websites, and phishing attempts.
Data coming from the Internet or on removable storage devices such as compact discs or USB flash drives is scanned to prevent any kind of malware attack on the computer. An antivirus is the first software that should be downloaded and installed on a Windows PC. Here, we take a detailed look at the 10 best free antivirus software available for computers today.
Avast Free Antivirus protects against viruses and other malware using its well-known antivirus engine and other technologies. The program has various security-related tools, and settings for everything. You can customize this program to your liking. Avast is a crowd-pleaser, and consistently tops antivirus lists.
All types of scans are here – Smart Scan, Full Virus Scan, and an option called Other Scan which links to other advanced and optimized scans. Four protection shields are included in the free version – File Shield, Behavior Shield, Web Shield and Mail Shield.
Since the ownership of AVG, Avast's detection ratio has gotten even better as AVG's signatures are now in their database as well. Avast Free includes a cloud scanning technology called CyberCacher, which helps them keep their antivirus light on user system resources. Avast now includes AVG's Behavior Shield inside its product, which means better malware detection. Remember dedicated ransomware protection component is not available in the free version.
Additional security tools include Rescue Disc, Password, and Game Mode. Sandbox feature is only available in their Paid software.
There are various messages about their paid products at the bottom of the main window and on the sidebars of other windows. They constantly remind you to consider buying their premium products.
If you are looking for a strong and light protection for your computer then Avast Free Antivirus can be the best free antivirus for you.
AVG Antivirus provides protection against viruses, spyware and other types of malware using its well-known antivirus engine. It blocks unsafe web links, downloads and email attachments. You get web and email protection in your antivirus. AVG Antivirus Free includes their powerful Behavior Shield, which detects new and unknown malware.
AVG offers the most types of scans in a free antivirus software. You get six scan options – Computer Scan, Deep Scan, USB/DVD Scan, File or Folder Scan, Performance Scan, Boot-time Scan. Automatic removable media scan is not available. A secure data wipe tool called File Shredder is included in the free version.
Along with basic protection against viruses and malware, AVG scans incoming and outgoing email and automatically uses red, yellow, or green warnings in your browser to rate the security of the results. Is.
Since the acquisition of AVG by Avast, the signatures of the two companies have been merged. The merging of signatures makes the AVG detection ratio even better. As with all of its technologies, AVG now also includes Avast's CyberCapture technology, a cloud malware scanner engine. Dedicated ransomware protection component is not available in the free version.
The downside of AVG Antivirus software is that it constantly advertises expensive updates, with a permanent bar at the bottom of the window reminding you to upgrade to full protection by unlocking all the features of AVG Antivirus.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition protects its users by using its renowned intelligent antivirus engine that blocks all types of malware. Along with the power of signatures, you also get Bitdefender's behavior-blocking called proactive threat control. The free version also includes Bitdefender's advanced threat defense technology that uses advanced heuristic methods to protect against ransomware and other advanced threats.
Along with anti-phishing and anti-fraud modules, a web-filtering component called Safe Browsing provides protection against harmful websites and web-based threats. You can enhance web security by installing the free web browser add-on/extension by Bitdefender called Trafficlight. Bit defender Traffic Light has the following features – advanced malware filter, protection against phishing attacks, trackers identifier and link scanner. Bitdefender Photon is not available in the free version of their antivirus.
Overall, it is a great product but if you want to play with some settings then look elsewhere as you will not find any here. Only two scan modes are available for free users. One is System Scan, which is a full computer scan. The other scan mode is like a custom scan. You can drag and drop selected files or folders into the program window to start scanning. A very capable program yet very light with a minimalist design and full of award winning technologies.
In a press release, CIA hackers noted that Bitdefender security software is the most difficult to hack.
No Ads – Neither during the install nor after.
If you want a lightweight, minimal yet fierce protection for your computer, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition may be the best free antivirus for you.
Avira Free Antivirus includes their famous antivirus engine called Macrovirus which protects against different types of malware like Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Ransomware etc. Avira Protection Cloud technology uses its cloud engine to protect files even better in real time against malware. Security. A heuristic technology called AHeAD (Advanced Heuristic Analysis and Detection) protects against new and unknown malware. PUA Shield detects potentially unwanted applications. Ransomware protection is also included in the free version.
Avira Browser Security provides protection against trackers and harmful websites. With Avira Free Antivirus, you get both components – a real-time antivirus and a firewall; The firewall listed in Avira is just the Windows Firewall that's integrated into Avira's Control Panel.
Four types of scans supported by this program. These are – Full Scan, Quick Scan, Custom Scan and Scheduler. Four security modules are available to users of Avira – Real-time Protection, Firewall, Web Protection and Mail Protection.
Avira is a very lightweight program, so downloading it doesn't have much impact on the speed or functionality of your laptop. Easy to use with a fresh, modern interface. But, it's worth noting that a lot of upgrade ads. Large upgrade messages will be found at the top, and options inside.
If you want an antivirus for yourself that has one of the best detection rates in the industry, and also integrates Window Firewall to give you an overview of your computer security, then Avira Free Antivirus is the best free antivirus for you. Could be antivirus.
Today's Panda Dome has its roots in a product called Cloud Antivirus, first released in 2009 as Panda Security. Panda was the first free cloud-based antivirus for Windows. The unique selling point of that product was the cloud scanning and analytics feature which made the security software provider's infrastructure heavy and the product super light on the user's system. In 2014, Panda relaunched Cloud Antivirus with Offline Protection as Panda Free Antivirus.
Combined with offline malware cache like Behavioral Blocker, Heuristic Analysis, Process Monitor and USB Vaccination provides a strong protection against all types of malware while at the same time shedding light on the system. Three types of scans are supported – critical areas, full scan and custom scan.
One more time reminds us that this is free protection, and we need to upgrade to full (paid) protection. Panda displays news and promotions of its own products. Panda Safely downloads and installs the Panda Safe web program even if you don't agree to it, and once installed it doesn't uninstall with antivirus removed.
If you want a strong and lightweight cloud antivirus product for your computer backed by a customizable interface then Panda Dome Free Antivirus might be the best free antivirus for you.
Nano Antivirus protects user computers in real time from all types of malware using its signature, heuristic analysis, web security and cloud technologies.
Under the System Guard component, there are two real-time anti-malware shields to protect the user's computer from malware attacks, namely - File Guard and Web Guard. Nano Antivirus supports six types of scans, these are boot sector scan, main memory scan, express scan, custom scan, scheduled scan, and automatic removable media scan.
Most free antivirus products are a lighter or stripped down version of the main paid product. Some of them are more like a promotion rather than a free version. However, this is not the case with Nano Antivirus, which is a full-featured antivirus program.
There's a small non-intrusive banner image at the bottom of the program's home screen, and the Upgrade to Pro tab contains a comparison table between the Free and Pro versions. Both of these serve as promotions for their Pro version.
If you are looking for a feature-rich and ad-free robust antivirus product for your computer, Nano Antivirus Free might be the best free antivirus for you.
FortiClient is a free antivirus product by Fortinet. Fortinet is known for manufacturing network security hardware products. FortiClient is a cross-platform program, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android.
Very little product. It includes Antivirus, Application Firewall, Web Filtering, Anti-Exploit, Vulnerability Scan, SSL-VPN, IPSC VPN, and a few other tools. Web filtering is their trademark feature. FortiClient brings enterprise-grade web filtering firewall to home users for free. FortiClient also includes a very powerful Parental Control feature.
Every major scan type is available in FortiClient. You can run Custom Scan, Full Scan, Quick Scan and Automatic Removable Media Scan. Along with these common scan types, FortiClient also has a vulnerability scan option. There are no ads in this program.
If you want an antivirus for your computer that has great malware detection ratio, an industry-grade web filtering technology, and a great parental control feature implementation then Fortlicent Free Antivirus might be the best free antivirus for you.
Sophos Home Free provides basic protection to your PC against all kinds of malware. Real-time antivirus provides protection against viruses, worms, Trojans and other types of malware. The Parental Web Filtering component lets you allow or block different types of websites on your computer. Web protection technology protects against known malicious, phishing and other harmful websites. The unique Remote Management feature helps you manage security settings from an online dashboard provided by Sophos. The free version protects computers by using two protections called Antivirus Protection and Web Protection.
In terms of features, the current Sophos Home doesn't have much, with most features only available on the online dashboard. On a locally installed product, you only get two options – one starts the scan, and the other takes you to your online account dashboard aka The Sophos Home Dashboard.
Sophos Home Free only supports full system scans, and doesn't allow you to perform a quick scan or setup a custom scan. However, you scan your files and folders using the Sophos scan option in the right-click context menu of files and folders. If only they combined all those options in the online dashboard into a local product, life would be a lot easier for users.
This is heavy on the system, with a lot of processes running at the same time in the background. About ads and PUP, it's completely clean, there are no sponsored programs or services in the installer or antivirus.
If you are looking for the remote management feature in an antivirus that lets you manage the security on your devices through a web interface then Sophos Home Free Antivirus might be the best free antivirus for you.
Comodo Antivirus protects you by using more antivirus technologies than any other free or paid antivirus product. If you use their Free Internet Security then you add another layer to your security, which is firewall.
Comodo Antivirus uses the following technologies to protect your computer from malware.
Comodo offers a full set of scan options – Quick Scan, Full Scan, Rating Scan and Custom Scan. There is an inbuilt tool to create a bootable Comodo Rescue Disk. Comodo is the only free antivirus that supports multiple themes; You have four different themes to choose from. Another cool feature is password protection which locks and protects itself from errant settings and programs.
Comodo Antivirus is the most polarizing antivirus product in the computer security industry. It is loved by enthusiasts for its multiple levels of security, the configuration options supported by this program, the HIPS feature called Defense+ which intercepts files and every action performed by programs, a virtualization feature called Sandbox that automatically Suspicious application runs. In a virtualized environment, and cloud security.
But, these advanced technologies also bring some downsides. HIPS makes the program a lot more impressive, something that most users don't like. Sandboxing can automatically run a valid program in a container, and can have problems with false positives. Anyway, these are secondary issues. The defense provided by Komodo is almost impenetrable.
Its installer includes some third-party services that make changes to the default configuration of your web browsers. Make sure you clear those checkboxes when you install Comodo.
If you are looking for the best free multi-layer protection for your computer then Comodo Free Antivirus might be the best free antivirus for you.
Kaspersky Free includes core security features protecting your computer from viruses, spyware, ransomware, phishing and dangerous websites and more nasty stuff.
Kaspersky Free has all the six protections that Kaspersky Lab offers in its paid products – File Anti-Virus, Web Anti-Virus, Network Attack Blocker, System Watcher, IM Anti-Virus and Mail Anti-Virus. You get all four scan options – Full Scan, Quick Scan, Selective Scan and External Device Scan. Full and quick scans can be scheduled to run automatically. External devices can be scanned automatically when connected. Kaspersky Security Web Browser Plugin / Add-on / Extension adds another layer of protection against web-based threats. It includes the following modules – Safe Money, Virtual Keyboard and Block Dangerous Website.
A password-protection feature is also included in the free version, which ensures that no malware can stop or eliminate Kaspersky. No need to worry about updates as it supports automatic updates as well. Cloud scanning is also available in Kaspersky Free, which lets the user access the KSN network.
Kaspersky unearths NSA hacking tools. What a software can do is certainly good enough to protect your computer.
No Ads – Neither during the install nor after. It has some promotions and news.
If you are looking for the most feature-rich free protection for your computer, then Kaspersky Free Antivirus might be the best free antivirus for you.
Out of these ten software, you can choose any software according to you. And if you want to do more research, my advice is to keep in mind when searching online for free antivirus software, (ironically) some of these antiviruses may be viruses.
To protect your computer from malware, phishing and dangerous viruses, definitely install a good antivirus software on your computer.