Free Antivirus Software

Ranked #613 in Computers & Electronics, #8,844 overall

Antivirus software provides a critical layer of protection from a huge number of issues that can arise. Antivirus protection will safe guard you from virus, Trojan, worm, spyware, adware, dialler, key logger and root kit infections. In their early development antivirus programs just detected viruses and spyware remover's just detected spyware but nowadays the boundary between antivirus and spyware removers is unclear. Most current antivirus programs have at least reasonably good detection rates of all forms of malware but it's important to check this as not all antivirus programs have spyware/malware scanners built in.

Malware includes viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, adware, diallers, key loggers and root kit threats that perform malicious activities on a computer without seeking the consent from the user. With the huge increase in malware, antivirus software doesn't always keep up with detecting all of it and can miss programs that might broadcast your personal details and open up your computer to attack. Using more than one antivirus program uses much more system resources and can cause severe conflicts and even reduce protection, so I strongly recommend you only choose one antivirus for real-time protection. Instead, you can increase your protection by using several spyware scanners.

Use the right tool for the right job!

I looked and reviewed several free antivirus programs which are critical in establishing the security and privacy on your computer from virus threats and other types of malware.

These free antivirus programs are excellent software that provides a real alternative to the major commercial antivirus products which cost.

Avast! Free Antivirus

Avast in my opinion is one of the best free antivirus software in light of the recent developments. Avast has steadily been improving its detection rates and effectiveness over the past few years and now ranks near the top of the list. Avast has the most features of all, the free antivirus with full real-time capabilities including web, e-mail, IM, P2P and network shields, boot-time scanning, and a behavioural blocker. The new version 6 brings even more features including an internet site ratings plug-in, script malware protection and a limited (non-configurable) sandboxing feature.
Although the sandbox is a very useful semi-automated security feature, the default settings involves a pop up to ask whether a software should be sandboxed for not - for the typical average user this can be slightly confusing though it can set to sandbox the software automatically.

Lastly Avast is relatively light on system resources so it will not cause a significant drop in system performance on older PC's with fewer resources available.

Great Stuff on Amazon

Loading

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials is an accurate tool with great detection rates, particularly for root kits. What's even more impressive about this product is the fact that Microsoft has spent considerable time in development and detection so that the software has very few false positives, is light on resources and is good at removal of existing malware. MSE is a great choice for average users because of the minimal user interaction required. It automatically updates and removes threats. No registration is required, apart from the validation of Windows certificate, and there are no nag screens or advertisements built into this product.

The main downsides are the slow scan speeds and the lengthy time it takes to quarantine malware, though it does take some time for the software to do a complete scan this can be done overnight to avoid any inconvenience. MSE also is not available in certain countries so users there will have to look elsewhere

Also be aware that Microsoft Security Essentials requires a genuine copy of Windows to install.

Panda Cloud Antivirus

Along with MSE, Panda is an excellent choice for average users with a simple interface and completely automated features with automatic updating and removal of malware. The detection level is generally very high, but according to the latest test data, detection of zero day threats is slightly lower. PCA uses 'cloud' technology to provide for a much quicker release of updates as all definitions are stored in the cloud and thus the moment Panda updates their blacklist all users of PCA with an internet connection are protected from it.

Panda Cloud Antivirus has a behavioural blocker and web protection, which will certainly increase your security. However as you can simply use one of the other free AV's with a separate behavioural blocker to achieve possibly even better protection, this is not necessarily an advantage.

Avira AntiVir Personal Edition

Avira AntiVir Personal Edition is another high quality free antivirus, and formerly a top notch free scanner. Its popularity has dropped over the years since the release of Panda and AVG but it's still a good free application to use. Avira uses complex algorithms to detect and remove viruses and spyware.

However, there are some minor reservations. First, AntiVir does not include web or e-mail scanning capabilities; this is only available in the paid version. The lack of an e-mail scanner is not a disadvantage; it just means that AntiVir won't warn you of infected emails before you open them. But should you open an infected email, AntiVir will still spring into action, so it doesn't mean that you're not protected from email-based infections. Also, AntiVir contains a rather intrusive advertisement every time it updates. Although AntiVir had signature updating problems in the past, this issue seems to be fixed now.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

AVG is a popular choice for a free antivirus that's widely used today. Although this venerable antivirus has had some unreliable results in detection in the recent past, it now offers a high level of protection. Previously AVG was unknown to the larger consumer market but in the following years the developers behind the software have worked together to revolutionise this to improve detection results, reliability and several other useful components that aid to reinforce security and privacy of its users.

The only bad side of AVG is that it's grown considerably in size, has very slow scan speeds and also advertisements (but they can be disabled).

New Guestbook Comments

  • gerritschimpf Apr 5, 2012 @ 6:35 am | delete
    Using AVG since long time and always been happy with it. nice lens
  • leevaith Mar 17, 2012 @ 6:02 am | delete
    I use norton its good software
  • zclevenger Dec 13, 2011 @ 7:41 pm | delete
    I used AVG for a long time but now use MSSE and it tops all the free ones (in my opinion).
  • hershelhahn1966 Dec 13, 2011 @ 7:10 am | delete
    Looking for the best antivirus software just isn't an easy thing to do. There are many kinds of antivirus applications, and computer users have different preferences and needs. In fact, if you ask someone what he thinks is the best antivirus software he may reply he does not know Or he may reply that he is using what he thinks is the best software, even if he has not tried other software before. Indeed, how do you know if your antivirus program is the most excellent. best antivirus software
  • RobHenry Dec 10, 2011 @ 12:12 pm | delete
    Personally, I am a big fan of MSSE as far as free antivirus goes, although you are right that Avira is fairly effective too. You, however, touch on what I think makes it stand out, which is Microsoft's ability to detect rootkits and its, generally, light use of system resources.

Amazon

Loading

YouTube

Social Engineering scene from Hackers
by fpoison | video info

12 ratings | 7,469 views
curated content from YouTube

eBay

Loading

by

snape21

Hi and welcome to my profile page. I am 22 and my intrests / hobbies include Electronics and computers, playing guitar, snooker and a Ham radio enthus... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!