Everybody needs some sort of antivirus software, especially if you’re running Microsoft Windows. There are many choices out there to choose from and some of them are quite expensive. I knew someone who brought his computer into one of the big box stores because of a virus and he ended up paying several hundred dollars for virus removal and installation of an antivirus software.
We wouldn’t want to see anyone fall into this situation and therefore, we’d like to share some of the best free antivirus for Windows and they won’t cost you a dime. These free antivirus choices make the list because they are free, easy to use, effective and hopefully won’t slow your system down.
As a disclaimer, we would be remiss to think that our choices reflect every other person’s opinion so realize others may have other favorite free antivirus software alternatives and it may even be the case that they would put this list into a different order. Just realize that what follows is a list of top rated, free antivirus software for Windows.
Microsoft Security Essentials
The first on the list of top rated free antivirus software is Microsoft Security Essentials. A few years ago, Microsoft began to come up with some free solutions for those Windows users struggling with the battle against virus and spyware removal. Some of their solutions were good and some were bad but nothing was really the right fix. Now, Microsoft offers Microsoft Security Essentials as a free antivirus for Windows XP through Windows 7 and is actually offering a real solution.
We are willing to suggest this as a top solution not only because of its superb ability to get the job done, but also the ability to lay low in the background without effecting your system’s performance much, staying relatively unnoticed.
Avast
If Avast has anything going for it, it’s speed. According to reports, Avast beats even commercial antivirus software for speed and detection. Test it out yourself and let us know. Also, it comes with Webshield which scans Internet traffic which may or may not affect connection speed. What’s been your experience?
Comodo
Comodo comes highly recommended for keeping your system extremely safe while having a relatively low system impact, including booting and startup. With a good firewall and an auto-sandbox feature, Comodo may just be the right free antivirus software for you.
AVG Free
AVG Free has been a favorite for quite some time and while some would switch to a “lighter” solution today, AVG Free is still one of the front-runners in the free antivirus software game. Not only is it’s virus detection very adequate, it also offers something called Linkscanner which visits links before you do and rates them according to safety.
All in all, these are some of the very best, top rated free antivirus software at your disposal. We understand that there are other very good solutions out there but we just can’t cover every single free antivirus software that was ever made. That being said, we would like to ask you: What are the best, top rated free antivirus software for Windows?
bongos
June 7, 2011
Yeah, right. This must be some kind of a joke.
Microsoft security Essentials is the worst shit ever made.
Nonetheless many people promote it, because Microsoft made it :]
And where is Avira Personal Antivirus?
It’s deletion rate is higher than any of those programs and it doesn’t bring false positives like Microsoft security Essentials does.
tim
June 7, 2011
I haven’t had as bad as an experience with MSE as you must have. I used to install other free antivirus programs for family and friends but MSE has been more user friendly, less bothersome and lighter on system resources than earlier Microsoft products… nothing to do with being from Microsoft.
That being said, I’ve also heard good things about Avira. Like the article says, these are just a few of the top choices. Thank you for taking the time to point out another great solution.
Dominic
June 7, 2011
MSE is like internet explorer, comes pre-loaded with windows and is convenient and easy to use for the casual home user. It has all the basic essentials and may be quite bothersome at times, but it’s user-friendliness certainly is enough for most non-power users.
I’ve used all the above mentioned Anti-virus softwares before, and i was also tad disappointed that Avira was not mentioned. AVG’s performance and viral detection has dropped over the years. Avira is now one of the best when it comes to detecting malware. That being said, however, Avira is quite slow and quite hinder performance when running scheduled full system scans.
Just my 2 cents worth
Bruce
June 12, 2011
Since when is MSE a preload with Windows? It does not come on any Windows media edition, including OEM. If you get a machine preloaded with Windows and blindly select everything during the initial runs of Windows Update, you will end up installing it since it will show up as a recommended or important update if no other AV software is detected on the system. That does not make it a preloaded application since you installed it, not the manufacturer.
tim
June 8, 2011
I’ve noticed some of the same things about AVG. It has been popular though and still does a good job for the most part. Thanks for your comments.
Mayank
June 8, 2011
I too dislike MSE just because of its poor detection. MSE is a good product if compared to False Alarms(really low FA) and Real-Time Protection(Very Active).
I generally like Avira & Avast….
Avira because of it’s high detection rate. It sure has lower score in terms of FA and Real-Time protection but that’s just a bit low..
&
Avast because it has got great features speedy scanning, good detection rate. It also gives FA just equivalent to Avira and real time protection is also good.
Tim Lenahan
June 8, 2011
Which do you think is more user-friendly?
Mayank
June 12, 2011
If you are talking btw Avira & Avast, then I would go for Avira in User-Friendliness. It’s simple to operate Avira when compared to Avast.
And, if it’s btw all those above mentioned then i would say MSE is best in User-Friendliness..
Pranit
June 8, 2011
you can get the purchased version of avg for free
just download the trial version and you can get the purchase key
on pirate bay
*comment moderated*
Jackson Chung
June 9, 2011
Pranit,
Your comment has been edited. We do not condone piracy at TheDailyBuggle.
Pranit
June 13, 2011
hey jack
even i felt guilty for promoting piracy
won’t do it again
i like makeuseof very much
the guides on that website are just amazing,
sorry again
and good luck for ur future ventures. doing a gr8 job, tc.
Leo Bien Durana
June 12, 2011
All of these caters different users, and I think every antivirus in this article is great. I’m an Avira Free Edition user though.
Troy
June 12, 2011
I use MSE. I used to have McAffee, Norton that I paid for, but then got talked into free. McAffee slowed my computer down way too much. Norton was ok, but too costly. Panda was on sale, but really took control of my computer and sometimes wouldn’t let me even put on stuff I wanted on. Panda free just didn’t seem to ever catch anything. A friend of mine told me he used MSE and it caught stuff the others mentioned didn’t. He also said to stay away from AVG. I also read in one of the PC mags, can’t remember which one that MSE scored higher than most pay for software and highest among freebies.
It has worked quite well for me and I highly recommend it. Just because it is Microsoft is not a good reason to dismiss it.
Alex Smith
June 14, 2011
The best antivirus software are those, that have extra layer of protection for your PC like “Immunet” antivirus software. Try Immunet antivirus software, it has all the advance features that gives your PC overall protection.
Antivirus
November 2, 2011
Keep on posting these types of articles. I like your blog design as well. Cheers!!!
Monster
January 5, 2012
MSE, REALLY!
You have to be kidding right, or maybe just paid off?
I deal with this stuff day in, and day out; I can’t tell you how many times I see client’s computer s that have been infected with malware that has just simply… disabled MSE.
AVG has become bloated and untrustworthy in my opinion; I would never trust McAfee or Norton; Comodo is okay.
When it comes down to it, for the average user- I have to recommend Avast over Avira for its ease of use (at least from my experience with my clients), informative and well laid out GUI, notifications, smaller footprint, few false positives, and not last… but the constant updates are great, and can really put a clients mind at ease (I did mention notifications right?).
Overall it’s Avast for the win here, but I must caution that one should put all of their eggs in one basket. Have a good firewall (recommend and use Comodo), Spybot Search & Destroy, and always keep your Malwarebytes updated.
Oh yeah, it’s a good thing to learn how to tweak whatever Antivirus solution you have, and to become comfortable with it’s various settings, it can only help you in the long run.
Sam
January 5, 2012
I personally prefer MSE, it has an easier interface to navigate and doesn’t clog up my machine. Have recommended it to and installed it on some friends and families PC’s.
tom michaels
February 7, 2012
this is a good article my friend
,but i dont use anyone of that , i use Zenok Free Antivirus and is really good my computer works perfect also have a feature online backup http://www.zenok.com/en/free-antivirus/
dailytut
January 5, 2013
Microsoft essentials does a great job when we need a free security solution. I have seen it in my friends computer where it fights against maximum known threats and attacks very well.
Great write up.
Robin.