![]() ![]() It scans only when you tell it to, and it won’t automatically run a safety check when you save or run a file. ClamWin Free Antivirus represents the open-source entry in the free-antivirus competition. It can work in tandem with any of the free antivirus apps we tested. It can capably spot a nasty intruder based solely on what the file tries to do on the computer, without the need for signatures. PC Tools Threatfire proved a real winner with its excellent, proactive malware detection. PC Tools Threatfire can map malware outbreaks.We also tried two free products that are designed to supplement existing security. PC Tools says that its program purposely leaves out antispyware protection and thus shouldn’t be compared with other security apps but when every other company has left distinctions such as “spyware” and “virus” behind in favor of keeping everything bad off your PC, the artificial separation of categories seems tired. We did rank the PC Tools and Comodo apps, but both fell flat in detecting malware. Its unfinished-beta state and its unique approach, however, prevented us from giving it a full score and ranking. Panda’s use of online servers to analyze potential malware holds promise, and the app did better than any other in malware detection. Rounding out your primary-care options are PC Tools Antivirus, Comodo Internet Security, and the new Panda Cloud Antivirus. But since it promises to shake up the world of free antivirus, we ran tests on the current beta to give you an idea of how well the final version might work. It isn’t yet publicly available as of this writing, and won’t be done until the end of the year. Microsoft Security Essentials is effective and easy to use.And then there’s Microsoft Security Essentials, which uses the same antivirus engine as the company’s canceled OneCare paid suite. Meanwhile, AVG 8.5 Free is a good deal easier to use, but its protection lags a bit behind the other two programs’. For example, if you dislike Avira’s daily pop-up ad, you might opt for Avast Antivirus Home Edition‘s Web traffic scanning and less-intrusive ads–but then you’ll have to deal with an even worse interface. As such, our detection, disinfection, and speed tests account for the lion’s share of each app’s final score.Īvast’s scanning interface resembles a music player.Despite Avira’s number one finish, some of the other free programs still merit consideration. Even the shiniest security tool wouldn’t be worth a darn if it couldn’t keep a PC safe. We weren’t big fans of its interface, but function matters more than form here. It excelled in the essential malware-detection tests and also boasted the top scan speed. Which Free Antivirus Software Is Best for You?Īvira AntiVir Personal is a great defender, but its interface is not novice-friendly.When the results came in, Avira AntiVir Personal claimed the top spot in our rankings. Avira’s daily pop-up ads are the most intrusive, but Avast, AVG, and PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition all display ads in some form as well. The AVG app and Comodo Internet Security both default to installing unnecessary search or social networking browser toolbars (you can opt out during program installation), and many free apps display ads urging you to buy the paid versions. And AVG’s paid app ties in to IM programs for additional security, while its AVG 8.5 Free doesn’t.įinally, some free programs give you stuff you don’t want. For example, Avira’s paid antivirus program will scan http traffic to catch Web-borne malware before it hits your hard drive, but the company’s free AntiVir Personal version won’t. Some free utilities have fewer scanning options than paid apps from the same company do. (If you don’t have an Internet connection, the Panda program falls back on local caches.) And as long as you have an Internet connection, Panda Cloud Antivirus checks everything against Panda’s servers, so it will always use the newest signatures. Microsoft Security Essentials, however, will also check suspicious samples that don’t match a particular installed signature, by running the sample against Microsoft’s latest online signatures. Most of the free apps we tried update their signature databases only once daily. Generally, free apps have less-frequent malware-signature updates than paid products do, which can leave a window of opportunity for brand-new baddies to evade detection. ![]() (Unless you can bribe a techie friend, that is.) Do-it-yourselfers can often find good advice at helpful sites like Wilders Security Forums, but even there you shouldn’t expect to talk to anyone for help with a free antivirus app. ![]()
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