Free AntiVirus Protection
Free anti-viruses are decently enough capable of detecting malicious threats provided that they are regularly updated by the user. Absolutely the same applies to spyware removers. Some of the free anti-viruses also support real time protection which is paramount. With real time protection, the risk of getting infected is greatly diminished.
Before you install a free anti-virus application, you should review all of it's features and search for comprehensive user reviews. Getting answers to common sense questions is very important.
How does the application perform? Is it highly effective or does it fail to detect a lot of malicious threats? How stable and fast is it? What about user support? Automatic updates?
These are just some of the questions that you should ask yourself before proceeding with installation.
The Engine
A free version of a high quality anti-virus should utilize the same engine that is used to scan and eliminate threats from the computer in the paid version. Although some of the advanced features are most likely to be disabled, if the core of the original anti-virus is exactly the same, it makes for a great candidate.
To know this, users will have to compare the editions on the company's official website.
Scanning Features
Protection against viruses alone is far from enough. A good anti-virus application, regardless of being free or not should scan the system for all types malicious threats such as spyware, adware, keyloggers, trojans and worms.
Internet active users are more likely to get infected by a spyware application than a virus. Information hijacking and phishing is much more common these days than virus distribution. Most of the malicious applications are created and promoted primarily for their author's financial gain.
Anti-virus software that is unable to pick up and remove different types of malware is completely useless.
Avast! Free AntiVirus
Avast is probably one of the best free anti-viruses on the market. With a user base of over 100 million people, it has a proven track record of successfully protecting it's users against all types of malicious threats.
The tool is able to scan your system for infected files, different forms of malware, automatically update itself as well as provide real time protection and scan services. It is completely customizable and user friendly.
Official Website | Download
BitDefender Free Edition
BitDefender is currently ranked as the top security solutions provider. Their internet security suite is probably the most effective one available today. The free edition of the anti-virus uses the same engines as their paid versions. Scans can be done on-demand but also scheduled.
You will need to create a free account directly from the application in order to update it.
Official Website | Download
AVG AntiVirus - Free Edition
Founded in 1991, the AVG corporation has grown into a leading player within the security software market. It's free version of the AVG anti-virus is widely distributed and used by everyday people around the world.
The company offers more solutions such as PC tuneup, online backup and smart phone protection.
The free version of AVG is capable of providing real time protection, scheduled updates, various anti-malware scans and even basic internet protection such as email and link scanning.
Scans are fast, effective and do not require much computer resources to perform. The program is reliable and easy to use.
Official Website | Download
Panda Cloud AntiVirus
Using a completely different approach of scanning for malicious threats, the free version of the Panda Cloud anti-virus has quickly become extremely popular. The installer is very compact and the user interface is quite minimalistic. Scans are fast, and the application does not require much computing power.
Panda Cloud is a lightweight anti-virus software with decent features like real time protection, minimal false positives and almost none negative impact on the computer's performance levels.
Official Website | Download
Avira Free AntiVirus
Another great alternative is the Avira's Free AntiVirus. This tool offers both free anti-malware and real time protection. It does a great job of preventing malicious threats entering your system and it is completely free. It has a built in scheduler to allow automatic updates and also full system scans.
The user interface has been re-designed and it is now very easy to follow. You can upgrade and enable the firewall option as well as email and web protection.
Avira requires at least Windows XP with service pack 2 installed.
Official Website | Download
