Best Free AntiVirus Programs?

[reapersivan]

Hello I have been using MalWareBytes for a while until I noticed that it was a trial version. Is it only a trial and then it's gone, or will it still work after the trial expires. Recommend me other great antivirus programs that are free and not trials. The Windows one is crap so i need a reliable one. thank you.

[Goldensapling]

Avast, AVG, stay away from Norton, don't look up free games or free porn, you'll be fine.

[pants18]

I use avast but I've also heard good things about avg and microsoft security essentials

[d3sl91]

INB4 "dont need one" - Better safe than sorry. 

 

AVG, Avast for realtime

 

and then malwarebytes for weekly scans The free version is fine - but malwarebytes is best for manual scans, not realtime protection. 

[reapersivan]

I use avast but I've also heard good things about avg and microsoft security essentials

Microsoft security essentials said my dad's PC was fine and fully protected yet it had pop ups. I used Malware bytes and it got rid of them and it works perfectly now. 

[reapersivan]

INB4 "dont need one"

 

AVG, Avast for realtime

 

and then malwarebytes for weekly scans The free version is fine - but malwarebytes is best for manual scans, not realtime protection. 

is the free version only a trial?

[d3sl91]

is the free version only a trial?

Nope. It just lacks the "always running" type features. 

[pants18]

Microsoft security essentials said my dad's PC was fine and fully protected yet it had pop ups. I used Malware bytes and it got rid of them and it works perfectly now. 

mbam still is the king in terms of scanners, but for real-time security it's ranked up with avg and avast

[ComradeBunny]

I just use malwarebytes and microsoft security essentials + an occassional cleaning routine with CCleaner.  Other than that I use common sense while browsing and I rarely ever get an infection.

[paprikman]

Brains.

Works like a charm.

[Kiyuubi]

I think we really need a sticky on this, or recommend software in general.  I feel like this question is asked too much.

 

That aside:

 

For free AV you should either get Avira or Bitdefender.  Bitdefender is more lightweight, but it doesn't give you many options in terms of control or how it works.

 

If you want a paid one then either Bitdefender or Kaspersky.  I would probably go with Kaspersky just for the fact that their team has found a lot of security issues in the past.  You can also check out AVTEST, a third-party company that rates AVs.  (Bitdefender and Kaspersky are the top 2)

 

You will also want to scan your computer weekly, or whatever amount of time you are comfortable with,  with Malwarebytes.  Just to be clear, Malwarebytes is NOT an AV, nor should it be used like one.  So do not run it along side your AV, only use it is a scanner.  Make sure to not accept the trial it offers, and to disable it on startup.

[Oresandmetals]

I've been using avast for a while. It works great.

[Mightyinvader]

avast... avg

[Ryoku]

Hello I have been using MalWareBytes for a while until I noticed that it was a trial version. Is it only a trial and then it's gone, or will it still work after the trial expires. Recommend me other great antivirus programs that are free and not trials. The Windows one is crap so i need a reliable one. thank you.

 

I used AVG Free for quite awhile in till I got Lifetime Subscription for MalwareBytes for $20 (or maybe it was 30 either ware well worth the money), but AVG worked fine never had any issues while using it.

[ThE_MarD]

Heyyo,

Avast or Bitdefender Free Edition.

AVG's had some terrible crap in the past so I dislike it... stuff like causing blue screen errors on Windows Vista back when SP1 was released... but meh, that's just something I had to deal with as a computer tech. I don't think they'd make that bad mistake again.

As others said, Microsoft Security Essentials is the worst free antivirus these days.

[d3sl91]

I think we really need a sticky on this, or recommend software in general.  I feel like this question is asked too much.

 

That aside:

 

For free AV you should either get Avira or Bitdefender.  Bitdefender is more lightweight, but it doesn't give you many options in terms of control or how it works.

 

If you want a paid one then either Bitdefender or Kaspersky.  I would probably go with Kaspersky just for the fact that their team has found a lot of security issues in the past.  You can also check out AVTEST, a third-party company that rates AVs.  (Bitdefender and Kaspersky are the top 2)

 

You will also want to scan your computer weekly, or whatever amount of time you are comfortable with,  with Malwarebytes.  Just to be clear, Malwarebytes is NOT an AV, nor should it be used like one.  So do not run it along side your AV, only use it is a scanner.  Make sure to not accept the trial it offers, and to disable it on startup.

Ta da. Thanks for the push for me to actually finish it...

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/360072-guide-getting-started-with-viruses-antivirus-and-best-practices/

[Hero7750]

I use avast and it is a nice free antivirus.

[flowalex]

I use Avira for my real time protection with malware bytes as a weekly scanner.  I don't use Microsoft Security Essentials because it takes up too many resources on my computers

[TheModMonster]

Antivirus slow down my pc so much!