We've highlighted its long list of features below, together with information on how well it performs at independent testing labs. A very impressive freebie. That's pretty good for a freebie, and why we have no qualms at all in naming it as our 1 best free antivirus download.
As well as the essential security smarts, we also love the clean, friendly interface and the fact it has a track record of throwing up minimal false positives. In fact, the list of features reads more like a fully paid premium package. It throws in identity protection, a password manager, anti-scam protection to prevent phishing attempts, and even a PC cleaner to keep your system spick and span.
If there's one thing we'd change then it's the tad overeager badgering - although popups and advertisements are very common to free products, and that doesn;t prevent us from wholeheartedly recommending Avira Free Antivirus. Review and where to download: Avira Free Antivirus. Avast and AVG haven't yet fully merged, despite the former formally acquiring the latter in mid The newly combined company says the two free antivirus products will remain separate, although there's apparently a joint AV package on the way soon.
Obviously, though, Avast now has a lot more data to work with, having expanded its effective userbase and, therefore, its threat detection network to a whopping million users. The latest edition of Avast's free antivirus - now branded Avast One Essential - adds an automatic gaming mode to mute popups and reduce system load when you're firing up a processor-hungry game, which is very handy indeed, and the interface has been given a clean new overhaul.
There's a password manager, too, which is an undeniably good addition to your security portfolio. It scores well on AV-TEST's widespread malware benchmark and continues a clean sweep against 0-day attacks — presumably that expanded detection network is really helping. Less impressive is the slight negative effect Avast has on software launch times, and its slightly popup-heavy attitude.
Review and where to download: Avast Free Antivirus. Microsoft Defender formerly Windows Defender was generally seen as a bit of a joke in the not-too-distant past. It performed terribly by most measures and was a good advert for why you should really pay for antivirus. But as we explain further up this article, Microsoft Defender has come on leaps and bounds and can now legitimately be mentioned in the same company as Bitdefender, Norton and Kaspersky.
As well as very solid virus protection, Defender has extra bits and bobs like a ransomware shield, webcam protection, privacy tools and even basic parental controls and cloud backup. And the best bit No need to download a thing, just find it in your menu and get protected straight away.
Read more and see how to use: Microsoft Defender review. The paid-for version of Kaspersky's Windows security software frequently tops charts of best virus prevention solutions and AV-TEST once again gave it full marks across the board in its latest round of testing.
As you would expect, Kaspersky Free is a scaled down version of the full program - a tool that we really like more on which below. The free version ditches additional features such as privacy protection and safe payment sandboxes to concentrate on powerful, no-frills and - most importantly - free protection for your PC. The result is a tremendously easy to use and navigate bit of software that does an effective job of keeping you protected from viruses.
Using the nuts and bolts real-world scanning engine of the paid-for suite, Kaspersky Free is fiendishly hard for viruses and trojan horses to break down.
And we love that it doesn't constantly pester you with nudges to upgrade to the full version. But, ironically, we will just for a moment, because Kasperksy Anti-Virus isn't expensive to buy and yet affords much better protection to your PC or PCs.
Review and where to download: Kaspersky Free. Marketing itself as "business-grade security", Sophos Home does a little more than most free antivirus software, and actually seems better suited to families. You get standard virus protection and anti-malware protection, along with browser tools like anti-phishing and, most importantly, content control. Combined with central management of up to 10 PCs, this means you can effectively lock down your kids' browsing options.
Although Sophos Home has always had desktop notifications, there was no premium version of the software for it to encourage an upgrade to. That changed in February with the launch of Sophos Home Premium. Review and where to download: Sophos Home. Each entry in this list has been carefully chosen for its business features, such as remote installation and central management. The best business antivirus software will have enterprise-level protection against threats, but that doesn't mean they have to cost a lot of money, either.
The price per installation can sometimes be cheaper than even our recommended best antivirus packages. Avast Business Antivirus Pro An excellent business antivirus suite, giving you various tools such as virus protection, Firewall, email protection, anti-spam and the ability to sandbox applications for complete security.
Avast Business Antivirus Pro as opposed to the standard Avast Business Antivirus also includes Sharepoint and Exchange protection, as well as a number of tools for your servers. Bitdefender products are loved by the independent testing labs, highly rated for malware detection, removal, performance and usability. Most of the features work automatically — anti-malware, firewall, web advisor, URL filtering — but you can also customise the product to control user actions.
Symantec Endpoint Protection Symantec's first benefit is the company's Insight file reputation technology, an effective way to detect and block even the very latest undiscovered threats. Other layers of protection include virus protection, behaviour monitoring, intrusion protection, a firewall, and the 'Power Eraser' to remove stubborn threats and repair your system.
Avira Antivirus for Endpoint This is Avira's main small business product. It takes all the core features you'd expect — antivirus, baseline network protection, web filtering — and extends them with file server protection and optimisation, along with application whitelisting and blacklisting. The desktop side of the package has all the usual quality Kaspersky modules — antivirus, antispam, a firewall, more — but the mobile security technologies are even more impressive.
Mike began his career as a lead software developer in the engineering world, where his creations were used by big-name companies from Rolls Royce to British Nuclear Fuels and British Aerospace. He now covers VPNs, antivirus and all things security for TechRadar, although he still has a secret love of quirky open-source and freeware apps which find brand new ways to solve common problems. North America. If you're looking for the best possible protection for your online devices in , then you've come to the right place - we've tested all of the best antivirus providers out there to come up with a definitive list of the absolute greatest.
Today's best antivirus software is Bitdefender. View Deal. Bitdefender Antivirus. Maximum devices covered: Stand out features: Safepay banking protection, privacy tools, multi-layered anti-ransomware, VPN. Reasons to avoid - Room for improvement on detection. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 1 year. Norton AntiVirus. Stand out features: Intelligent firewall, PC maintenance features, bundled backup tool with online storage.
Reasons to avoid - Mixed results from the testing labs. Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Stand out features: Highly configurable virus scans, anti-ransomware, drive-by cryptomining infection prevention. Reasons to avoid - Not a huge amount of features. Trend Micro Antivirus. Reasons to avoid - Not as many features as key rivals. Avast One. Reasons to avoid - Not a huge upgrade from free version.
Microsoft Defender. Keep updating for more period. Please cancel the Norton Security I took out for my new computer for Xfinity will furnish Norton to me for being their customer. Thank you very much I still have 28 days Free with you. Nice Article liked it a lot, you could use my trick which let allow you to crack kaspersky antivirus with serial key.
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Secure me With Norton Inertionternet security 90 days free version. Margy [ Reply ]. Smart Security Premium does provide some interesting extras, including the aforementioned password manager, and a secure file vault to protect any sensitive data on your PC, which some folks will doubtless find very useful additions.
For not much more money — or indeed Multi-Device is sometimes even cheaper, with the deals McAfee offers periodically — you get a sound security suite which protects up to five Windows or Mac computers, and Android or iOS devices. US customers also benefit from a useful additional extra in the form of identity theft protection. The UI also suffers from some annoying quirks, but nothing too frustrating. Independent test lab reports suggest McAfee Total Protection offers solid enough defenses, if not class-leading.
Another security suite worth considering is one from BullGuard , which offers multi-layered defenses backed by advanced machine learning to stop current and future malware threats. BullGuard Premium Protection also gives gamers a treat with its Game Booster optimization feature, which is designed to improve performance while gaming and it works well enough, by all accounts. Furthermore, BullGuard Premium Protection represents a solid value proposition for those looking to cover many devices.
So, while a firewall and parental controls might be missing from Avira Prime — and any kind of backup facility for that matter — you do get some nifty stuff instead.
That includes a decent VPN — with full unrestricted access — and some seriously high-quality PC maintenance tools. In fact, in the latter case, Avira Prime works out as storming value for money, providing a solid engine to keep you safe, and that Avira VPN on top to keep you safer still online. Others, however, may miss the aforementioned core suite features like parental controls, of course. Whereas antivirus software provides a basic level of protection for your system, full internet security expands on capabilities such as scanning files and software, activity monitoring and vulnerability search with features tailored for Internet use.
These might include a firewall, anti-spam controls, ad blockers, webcam protection, keylogger protection, parental controls and credit card safeguards. There might also be additional protection against web-specific types of malware such as spyware and adware.
However running so many different types of program might mean that internet security suites use more of your system resources than conventional AV. There are many advantages to purchasing a premium internet security suite from a trusted vendor, but it is perfectly possible to create your own modular suite by picking the most suitable free products. While this might mean you save money, it does mean you have to do much of the work yourself. You will have to identify the best components, whether its virus protection, firewall or backup software, and fix any problems yourself.
The more components you introduce will increase complexity and system resource use. You will also suffer from the pitfalls of using free services such as frequent adverts urging you to upgrade.
Using a premium internet security suite means the vendor integrates several services into a single package that can be managed from a single interface. If you do want to build out your own suite, then you can pick the best of individual components in the following advice guides:. All of the products on this list offer effective capabilities, so the difference is in additional capabilities. If there is a particular type of threat that concerns you, such as ransomware or phishing, check to see if there are specific protections included.
Banking safeguards, firewalls and parental controls are also areas you should consider — especially if there are multiple users on your computer.
And of course, you should consider whether you need protection across multiple devices, such as smartphones. Finally, think about usability and the impact on system performance. Do you want a high level of customization or do you want an easy-to-use interface and do you want a program that is capable of fast scans or one that requires minimal system resources?
He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in North America. If you're looking for an antivirus that goes above and beyond simply protecting your computer from malware, Trojans and scammers, then a full-on internet security suite may be a better choice. Bitdefender Total Security.
Beefy protection across all fronts with great protection and features.
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