Malwarebytes Free is a good choice for users looking for a simple antivirus scanner that they can install and forget about. Apart from the scanner, Malwarebytes Free also comes with a browser extension that protects against a wide range of threats, including malware, ads and trackers, scams, and PUPs. Malwarebytes Free is a minimalistic antivirus scanner with good virus detection and removal rates. It also comes with a browser extension that blocks malware, phishing sites, ads, and trackers.
Download Malwarebytes For Free Now. Sophos Home Free offers pretty good free anti-malware protection. It also includes some helpful web protections and covers up to 3 PCs all within its free antivirus package. In addition to multi-device protection and remote management, Sophos is also a decent choice for families because it has free parental controls. Sophos offers pretty good antivirus scanning and remote management for up to 3 devices — which is pretty generous for a free antivirus.
Users looking for coverage on up to 10 devices, advanced malware and ransomware protection, and advanced web safety tools should upgrade to Sophos Home Premium.
Download Sophos Free Now. There is no such thing as a truly free antivirus. Most antivirus companies limit the free version of their software to only offer basic protection. Windows Defender is not a bad antivirus — it even ranks a little bit better than some third-party free antiviruses.
If you choose an antivirus program from a trustworthy company, then yes. All of the brands on this list here are perfectly safe to use — the only difference between their free and paid versions is that the paid software includes additional features, like a VPN, a password manager, and parental controls, as well as better customer support options.
Avira is my 1 pick for the best free antivirus in If you need a free antivirus, take a look at our list of the best free antiviruses in or just download Avira Free. If you want the best protection for all of your devices, you need to pay for a premium antivirus program like Norton or Bitdefender. While there are literally billions of malware attacks reported annually, trojans and adware are consistently the most common types of malware found on Windows computers.
Trojans look like other files with extensions like. If you decide to uninstall your third-party antivirus, your PC will automatically ask you to reactivate the Windows Defender antivirus. Professional Reviews. Affiliate Commissions. Get it for Mac , PC , Android. One of the oldest antivirus companies, Avast has been protecting people since and is trusted by more than million users around the globe.
Essential protection: Avast Free Antivirus consistently ranks extremely high for its core virus protection engine and malware removal tools. Avast continues to support Windows 7, even though Microsoft has stopped updating that operating system. Features: Offering an easy-to-use interface, a secure web browser, a network security scanner, and more, Avast has a wide range of useful bonus features. Lifewire praises its Do Not Disturb Mode, which blocks pop-ups while you watch movies or play games.
Need a second opinion? One of the pioneers of free antivirus software for Windows, AVG has consistently won awards from AV-Comparatives over the past decade — including Top-Rated Product in their most recent test.
It's unlikely anything is getting through this. Avira has been creating antivirus applications for a long time, with the first one dating back to Bitdefender protects millions devices around the world and is consistently recognized by independent test labs like The Independent IT-Security Institute.
Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has faced allegations of inappropriate connections to the Kremlin , prompting the US , the UK , and the Netherlands to ban the use of Kaspersky products across government agencies. Nevertheless, the allegations remain inconclusive, and Kaspersky is consistently a top-rated antivirus product. If this app is already on your PC, you might be wondering why you should even bother with a free third-party antivirus solution.
Its malware detection capabilities have improved, and it performed well in hands-on testing. Still, PCMag gives it a rather lukewarm review:. Many free third-party apps are more effective at keeping you safe.
The company will continue to support the antivirus software for the time being, but their overall support for Windows 7 has ended, and they recommend you upgrade to Windows Essential protection: PCMag reports that Sophos achieved excellent scores in their hands-on tests and excellent protection against malicious websites. But unlike the other major players on this list, Sophos has few independent lab test results to prove its efficacy.
Sophos also received a poor phishing protection score from PCMag. It's extremely short on features, though, and we'd like to see more coverage from the testing labs, too. So here are few more antivirus products to consider:. Essential protection: Adaware Antivirus Free has received mixed scores in past independent tests, and PCMag cautions that Adaware has no recent test scores to show.
And for an antivirus, protection should always be the 1 concern. Check Point ZoneAlarm is a free antivirus-firewall combo that licenses its antivirus engine from security giant Kaspersky. Essential protection: Pairing strong antivirus prevention with a firewall can be good enough for basic computing. Features: Unfortunately, this free cybersecurity solution is missing many features you would expect to see, such as web-based security, protection against malicious websites, and personal data protection.
Essential protection: Qihoo formerly used the same core antivirus as Bitdefender and Avira, but it no longer does. Sadly, its malware protection has suffered for it. Features: Qihoo comes with an impressive suite of bonus features, including cleanup and tuneup utilities, an adblocker , and more. You may have been expecting to see some big-name antivirus players on this list, like Norton, McAfee, or Malwarebytes.
Norton offers only paid antivirus software. And just like Avast, AVG maintains support for Windows 7 computers, despite Microsoft no longer offering security updates to that older operating system OS. Avira is another long-time player in the antivirus game, with their antivirus product in development since Built by Microsoft and included on any computer with Windows 10 is Microsoft Defender.
It offers a variety of malware scanning options and can protect selected folders and files against ransomware and other unwanted access.
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