BEST FREE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
INTRODUCTION
An antivirus is a must have for your device, be it a PC, mobile phone or tablet. Virus is a malicious computer program replicates itself and modifies the codes of other computer programs by inserting its own code, which in result can delete your data and even damage your device hardware. To control the spread of such viruses, and to repair the damage caused by malware on your device, antivirus programs were designed, which detects and removes the virus from your device and cleans the malware content. This antivirus (AV) programs also prevents your device from getting infected by imported malicious content through emails, attached documents, web browsing, spyware, adware, browser hijackers, fraud tools etc.
HOW DOES ANTIVIRUS WORK?
An antivirus program continuously runs in the background and keeps scanning your device, issues a warning to the user about any expected malware threats, compares the set of codes with the information stored in its database. If it finds out that the specific code is identical to some malware present in data base, antivirus removes it. Some antivirus programs ask for user’s permission before removing a file, but you can do some settings and set your antivirus on auto mode, after which the antivirus can automatically remove such content from the device.
Antivirus programs are mostly paid software. When you buy or set up a new device, it often has a pre-installed free trial version of any antivirus, but after a certain trial period, you have to pay for the software for either to buy it or upgrade it. Almost all the AV software are paid, but they provide 30 days or 60 days free trial versions. Some of them also come with the money back offer, so that you can run the software into your device and test it. if it suits you, you can buy it, or otherwise you can switch to some other software. Following is the short list of top 10 free antivirus programs for all types of windows.
- BITEDEFENDER ANTIVIRUS FREE EDITION
The Bitdefender is one of the best antivirus programs. It provides an effective protection to your computer with its simple and easy to run features.
- It is best for the beginners, executes automatically in the background and fights malware and phishing.
- It provides a helpful support forum for users.
- it is available for Windows, Mac and Android.
Along with these features, it has some drawbacks.
- It contains a feature named as VIP tech support, which costs some extra bucks to user.
- Also, the installation process of Bite Defender takes longer than it is expected.
Overall, Bite Defender is a good choice for the users who are looking for a simple and easy antivirus program.
2. AVG FREE ANTIVIRUS
- AVG is another good choice for your device.
- It fights against malware, spyware and ransomware.
- It stops the spread of virus in your device.
- It blocks unsafe email attachments, links and downloads.
- AVG constantly scan PC for problems that affects the performance of your device.
- It also protects hackers with enhanced firewall feature. In short it offers a real time protection.
- It is available for Windows, mac, Android and iPhone/iPad.
- While it is running constantly in the background, it slows down the device.
- It allows only email and phone support for the customers for any queries, it doesn’t offer live chat facility.
But if you need your device to be thoroughly scanned and checked, then you really need AVG antivirus program.
3. Avast free Antivirus
Avast is one of the best free antivirus programs. It is considered to be the long-time champion as it gives excellent protection against viruses. This software comes with added built-in software such as
- a secure browser, which makes internet surfing safe and secure.
- It stops spying through webcam, safely runs suspicious apps, locks hackers, and automatically update apps.
- This software features network security scanner and also password manager and many more security features which makes it the best choice for your Windows, Android, iOS and Mac devices.
It also has few disadvantages like
- it has limited password management.
- it is difficult to opt out of data sharing.
Apart from these drawbacks, it is still a best choice for protecting your device.
4. McAfee Antivirus
It is an all-in-one protection of your privacy and identity. McAfee is believed to be the best antivirus program, both by security experts and users. It is an award-winning antivirus. Its quick and scheduled scanning feature identifies the threat and risk of expected virus in minutes. It has following pro features
- It has a very good virus detection rate
- It is very user friendly and supports multi-users
- It also provides VPN and password manager
- It has encrypted storage
Now let’s have look on some of it cons
- It is now available for iOS
- Its app booster doesn’t work efficiently
- It has very confusing price plans.
As it is considered to be the best antivirus, it provides very advanced security features, such as it protects the device from malware, ransomware and hacking, by constantly running in the background. Apart from this, it boosts your web browsing speed, and protects your online data, documents and passwords.
5. Kaspersky Security Cloud
Kaspersky antivirus provides excellent security features to your mobiles, PC and tablets. It provides complete malware protection with top-rated security technologies.
- It does not slow down your device
- It is updates automatically, which means your software is always up-to-date
- It supports different scanning options like full scans, scanning of external devices.
- It has the ability of scheduled scans.
- Provides secure VPN connection and password manager.
Some of the cons of Kaspersky Security cloud are
- It does not provide privacy protection for preventing the unauthorized use of webcam
- It has no option of PC cleaner for cleaning old files
- Doesn’t not offer Safe Money feature, a certain browser for financial transactions.
But overall, Kaspersky is a good antivirus, which provides effective protection to your device.
6. Windows Defender Antivirus
As the name shows, this is an in-built antivirus in Windows. It is comparatively new antivirus software and does not compete with the other top-rated programs, but it has proved to be one of the best ones in the market. It doesn’t contain a lot of features, but some important ones are as follows
- It provides parental control.
- It has a special gaming mode
- It also provides protection for Edge and Internet Explorer browsers.
- It allows a 24/7 call and email support service for the customers.
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Windows defender is a good and relatively cheaper alternative of the Bite-defender or Kaspersky antivirus software.
7. Zone Alarm Free antivirus
Last but not the least, Zone Alarm is added in the list of free antiviruses available. It comes with few advanced features, which we are unable to find in the other antivirus programs. For example:
- It provides a tool named as “credit education specialist” which offers various credit monitoring tools.
- It provides Cloud backup service and encryption.
- It is an antivirus, anti-phishing and anti-spyware engine
- Advanced firewall
- Identity protection.
But what this Zone Alarm setup misses is
- It does not provide real-time cloud protection
- It does not block threats from different web browsers
In short, it is said that zone alarm is a good option if our want to protect your identity and data completely.
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CONCLUSION
As we know that there are countless antivirus programs present in the market, it is very hard to decide that which one is best suitable for your device. The criterion of selecting the best option is to take a deep look on the features of different antivirus software and analyze that which antivirus software provides the complete protection to your device without slowing down your device and without interrupting the overall performance of your device. An antivirus is an important feature, and you always need a good antivirus for your device for it to perform well.
