It goes without saying that since we live in the age of the Internet, antivirus software is a necessary precaution for our PC's protection. A system infection may vary in significance, from a small, innocent nuisance, to a massive frustrating file destruction, passwords and credit card theft, and so on. No matter how careful we are, a good antivirus software is vital for our Windows protection. In this guide, we are about to evaluate the best free antivirus programs on the market.
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Scientific antivirus ranking
In order to distinguish the best free antivirus software currently on the market, we turned to the latest trustworthy measurements made by the following individual laboratories:
The best Free Antivirus Software of 2018
The following free antivirus software managed to stand out throughout the year and get awarded for their performance.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
Bitdefender came first in all the lab reports. For yet another year, it is on the top of our preferences.
AV-Comparatives
Bitdefender scored Advanced+, which is the highest score for AV-Comparatives. It received a top score in all 2017 tests and received the largest number of awards of all the other antivirus in various categories.
Bitdefender received the title of ''Product of the Year,'' the highest distinction by AV-Comparatives. Kaspersky Lab received the title of ''Outstanding Product,'' the new distinction AV-Comparatives introduced.
In fact, Bitdefender and Kaspersky tied for first place. However, it was not possible to have two products claiming ''Product of the Year.'' Therefore, AV-Comparatives added ''Outstanding Product'' in order to give some credit to Kaspersky, which got the same number of awards, minus one in one of the categories.
Apart from this, Bitdefender came first in other categories, getting a Gold award for Real-World Protection for providing protection in real-life conditions.
At the same time, it received other awards, presented here briefly:
- Gold award for ''Real-World Protection.''
- Silver award for ''Malware Protection.''
- Silver award for ''Overall Performance'' (how light the antivirus is, low resource-consumption).
AV-Test
During the AV-Test trials, Bitdefender received top scores, 6/6, with 100% score for all Windows 10 protection tests...
...6/6 for Windows 8.1...
...and 6/6 for Windows 7.
In other tests associated with the system performance, which measures how light on resources the Antivirus is, it got 6/6 for Windows 10 and 5.5/6 for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.
In terms of Usability, for the avoidance of false positives, the product came first with 6/6 for Windows 8.1 and 5.5/6 for Windows 10 and Windows 7.
Finally, the professional version Endpoint Security came first in all the categories, also winning the title of '' Top product'' of the year by AV-Test for its performance.
It is worth mentioning that Bitdefender mobile edition for Android also came first.
Conclusion
For one more year, Bitdefender turns out to be the top Antivirus for all operating systems, according to the tests conducted by individual labs.
Note that the tests from the individual laboratories took place with Bitdefender Internet Security. The free edition uses the exact same virus detection system.
The only way that the free edition is inferior to the paid one, is that Internet Security provides additional options, such as a firewall, safe navigation and avoiding scam websites, password manager, and a WiFi safety control.
The basic protection against viruses is identical between the two, without any compromise. It is worth mentioning that Bitdefender Free Edition has been redesigned from within.
Now, it is more contemporary and usable than ever, while we can also see the Quarantine easily and add exceptions, something that was not possible with the previous edition.
Download the free antivirus Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
Kaspersky Lab
One of the most well-known free antivirus software on the market, Kaspersky tied with Bitdefender in the tests, and as we said earlier, it was awarded the title of ''Outstanding Product.''
AV-Comparatives
Kaspersky scored Advanced+ in all the 2017 AV-Comparatives tests, just like Bitdefender.
It also won three more awards:
- Gold award for ''Malware Protection.''
- Silver award for ''Real-World Protection.''
- Bronze award for ''Malware Removal.''
AV-Test
Kaspersky got top scores of 6/6 in AV-Tests, by achieving 100% in all the tests for Windows 10 protection...
... 6/6 for Windows 8.1...
...and 6/6 for Windows 7.
In terms of not burdening the system and avoiding false positives, it had an excellent performance.
Conclusion
The Russian free antivirus service is undoubtedly a good solution. However, the advanced features are naturally found only in the paid edition.
Download Kaspersky Free Antivirus
Avira Free
Having obtained fewer distinctions this year, Avira still remains one of the top antivirus proposals. However, it is inferior to the above as far as technical support goes, which is available only upon payment.
AV-Comparatives
Avira did not manage to get a clean Advanced+ in AV-Comparatives' tests.
Still, it is placed among the Top Rated products of the tests, and it also won one more silver award for Real-World Protection.
AV-Test
In AV-Test, Avira scored 5.5/6 for Windows 10 protection...
...6/6 for Windows 8.1...
...and 6/6 for Windows 7.
In terms of not burdening the system and avoiding false positives, it had a very good performance.
Conclusion
Avira's advantage is that we can have the free protection suite with the basic features, which includes the free antivirus.
The big disadvantage is that the user is not allowed any technical support by the company if the system crashes or is affected while cleaning.
More precisely, Avira offers an ''Experts Market'', for which the users have to pay in order to receive technical support from the ''Experts.''
Download Avira Free Security Suite
Get Avira Internet Security with 35% discount
Avast! Free Antivirus
One of the most well-known antivirus software on the market, Avast, had a slightly lower performance than last year.
AV-Comparatives
In 2015, Avast scored Advanced+ in five AV-Comparatives tests. In 2017, it was nowhere near as successful since it did not manage to obtain such good scores in all the tests.
As far as the awards are concerned, it is among the Top Rated products of the tests, and it also received one more bronze award for Real-World Protection.
AV-Test
Avast achieved top scores in AV-Test with 6/6 for Windows 10 protection...
...6/6 for Windows 8.1...
...and 6/6 for Windows 7.
Despite getting good scores in AV-Comparatives, Avast received much more mediocre reviews in AV-Tests, with scores ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 for these three Windows editions.
However, it had good scores as far as avoiding false positives goes, with 5.5 for Windows 10, and a score of 6 for Windows 8/8.1.
Conclusion
As it turned out from the tests, Avast did not exceed expectations for 2017; in fact, quite the opposite.
It still remains a decent free antivirus as far as protecting our computer goes. If you prefer it over its alternatives, it will meet your internet security needs to a great extent.
Download Avast Free Antivirus
AVG Antivirus Free
AVG had an ascending course in 2017, in comparison to 2016.
AV-Comparatives
In AV-Comparatives, AVG got Advanced+ in four of the tests in 2017. In 2016, it had one less Advanced+.
However, over the past year, AVG received the exact same awards as Avast.
It is placed among the Top Rated products of the test and it also received one more bronze award for Real-World Protection.
AV-Test
In AV-Test, AVG scored 6/6 for Windows 10 protection...
...4.5/6 for Windows 8.1...
...and 6/6 for Windows 7.
For its performance, it scored 5.5/6 in all the operating systems, while false positives detection earned it a 5.5/6 for Windows 10 and 5/6 for previous Windows editions.
Conclusion
Like Avast, AVG did not impress with its 2017 performance. But if you prefer it as an environment, it is still a decent free antivirus.
Download AVG Antivirus Free
Get AVG Antivirus Internet Security with 20% discount
Windows Defender- Is the free antivirus worth it?
As you have probably noticed, Microsoft Security Essentials - which we can find as ''Windows Defender'' on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 - has indeed improved in recent years, but it has yet to achieve a good score in AV-Comparatives.
It has better AV-Test scores, where it has obtained a bronze award for false positives. However, the overall scoring is inferior to other free antivirus software.
Which is the best antivirus software in your opinion?
If you use a different free antivirus or you have any positive or negative experience with the ones presented, you can share it with us in the comments below.
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