6 Best Free Antivirus for Windows 10 (Really Free, Not Trial)
Though Microsoft&#;s free security software &#;Windows Defender&#; bundled with Windows, but that is not much effective to protect you from all kind of cyber threats. So a reputed third party antivirus software is required to protect Windows PC from all kind of threats. In market there are many paid and free antivirus software options are available. But we are here only providing you the best and reputed Windows 10 antivirus for home users.
Best free antivirus software
- Avast
- Avira
- Bitdefender
- Sophos
- AVG
- Panda
- ZoneAlarm
Recommending a particular software to be the best is not possible, But we have listed them priority wise according to their experience, user interface, and user reviews etc. All software listed here are almost equally effective but features may vary. Please share your experience as well. In different countries different antivirus may be the best as per their technical support availability.
Best Antivirus for Windows 10 (Free)
Below is a list of free antivirus software suitable for Windows 10 / 8 / 7. We are providing a short review for each. Refer for detailed feature comparison of these antivirus software.
1. Avast Free Antivirus
Avast is a cloud light antivirus which take very less resources of the system. Due to its trust, review and features we are putting it on first position.
Download Avast free antivirus
Features
- Antivirus, Antimalware
- Anti-ransomware (basic protection)
- Password manager
- Wi Fi Security
- Full screen mode which disables notifications and reduces system load when play games or watch movies.
- Smart Scan to scan the system for unsafe settings and software which require to update.
Avast does not need an introduction these days. Avast continues to be among the best antivirus software available in the market. It provide some great features for safe online banking and shopping in its free version, so we marked it the number one choice for your new Windows 10 PC.
Avast free is fully compatible with Windows It is multi-platform compatible for Mac, Android and iOS as well. Its latest version includes home network security and password management features for free. It may show you some ads in free version. I think that is acceptable for a quality software without cost.
Note: Recently avast
2. Avira Free Security Suite
This year we put it on second position as it is providing extra features as compared to other free software. It also uses cloud based scanning which makes it light weight antivirus.
Download Avira free antivirus
Features
- Antivirus, anti-malware
- Anti-ransomware (basic protection)
- Phishing protection.
- Password manager
- Avira protected Opera browser
- Access to Free Avira Phantom VPN (1GB/month)
- System speed optimization tool.
- Avira privacy pal (personal assistant to safeguard your privacy).
Avira offers free security suite. Actually it is bundle of free software provided by Avira. It includes antivirus, system speedup and Phantom VPN, free password manager etc.
Avira have refined its security products to a high quality and its free antivirus looks very committed. It has a cloud detection technology to give zero day protection. Avira also offers a free browser safety extension to protect your browser from PUA and unwanted extensions.
It also scans malicious urls while you browse. Avira community is growing rapidly and it is the next strong competitor of Avast in free antivirus industry.
3. Bitdefender Free Antivirus
Next is Bitdefender&#;s free antivirus. Very less people know that Bitdefender has its free antivirus product.
Download Bitdefender antivirus free edition
Features
- Antivirus, antimalware
- Anti-ransomware (basic protection)
- Phishing protection
- Safe website filter
Bitdefender offers the best protection against cyber threats. It’s no surprise therefore, that the free version of Bitdefender is among the best free to download Security software.
It’s not only compact, but also runs in the background protecting your computer without troubling you. It is an install and forget type light weight free antivirus solution. There is not much option to configure in it, just install and forget it. Bitdefender free antivirus also includes Free Phishing protection and fraud protection. So it could be your best option to protect the PC for free.
4. Sophos Home Free
Unique thing of Sophos is that it is providing parental control in its free version. No other software in the list is providing this feature for free.
Download Sophos home free
Features
Below are the features Sophos provide in its free version.
- Antivirus, Antimalware
- Anti ransomware (basic protection)
- Parental website filtering.
- Web protection to block dangerous websites.
As other free antivirus it also provide a free basic protection from viruses and malware. Extra feature that it provide is a cloud based device management dashboard. website filtering for parental control and browsing protection from malicious websites. Sophos also provides 30 days of free premium features for free. After 30 days you can continue using its free features. But for premium features you need to purchase a subscription.
5. AVG Antivirus Free
AVG is offering almost same things which avast is offering except its user interface. Avast & avg are now a single company.
Download AVG free antivirus
AVG antivirus is yet a good choice for the protection of your computer. The free AVG antivirus has earned good ratings from independent labs as a good free protection software for common computer threats. AVG free is available for Mac, Android and PC.
It has features like link scanning for malicious links, downloads and emails. You can also scans for PC performance problems with this free antivirus. Recently AVG was acquired by Avast but still all AVG products are continuing. So it is your choice now you either you choose Avast or AVG.
6. Panda Dome Free
Download Panda free antivirus
Panda has revamped user interface and introduced new Dome. It comes with a user-friendly, modern design, USB protection, process monitoring, scan statistics. Now free panda security comes with a free firewall and free vpn.
But it is also lacking some features in its free version. Panda is providing some features with a paid subscription whereas others are providing for free like Password manager, wifi security etc.
- Improved protection against Phishing, Spyware, Trojan and Rootkits.
- USB protection.
- Real time protection.
- Improved protection against both known and unknown viruses.
- Rescue disk option to create a bootable rescue to scan any infected PC.
7. Check Point ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall
Download free ZoneAlarm antivirus
Features
- Antivirus, anti-malware scanner.
- Built in personal firewall.
- Identity protection.
- WiFi Security
- Game Mode
ZoneAlarm by checkpoint is the only company offering firewall as free. It has two separate products free antivirus and free firewall. You need to install them separately.
Its antivirus includes features like antispyware, personal firewall, identity protection, wireless network protection, gamer mode and online backups etc. So it looks a nice package as your free protection.
Comparison of top 7 free antivirus programs
We have given a brief features comparison apart from antivirus, malware and ransomware protection as all of them have these capabilities. Today mostly all software have integrated the cloud based technology which make these software light weight and little impact on system.
Comparison of Free Antivirus Software
| Antivirus | Extra features | |
| 1 | Avast | Password manager, wifi security, game mode |
| 2 | Avira | Password manager, speed optimization, free vpn, privacy protection |
| 3 | Bitdefender | Phishing protection, safe website filter |
| 4 | Sophos | Parental control, web protection |
| 5 | AVG | Password manager, wifi security, game mode |
| 6 | Panda | Firewall, USB protection, usb rescue disk,free vpn |
| 7 | ZoneAlarm | Wifi security, identity protection, free firewall, game mode |
Above free antivirus program are suitable for home users. For a complete business grade security go for best paid antivirus option
Which Antivirus should I choose?
This is the common question came into everyone&#;s mind after seeing many option or a list of good free antivirus. First thing is that we have already make the list short to choose the best one and now it depends on your choice and requirement. Please share your experience and reviews. It will help other users to make the perfect choice to choose the best antivirus.
Windows defender comes inbuilt in windows 10 and is much better then its previous release. But still we recommend you to install a third party antivirus solution as they provide better level of protection with variety of tools. With these lots of best free antivirus software options for your PC in , now you have no excuse for going without protection this year!
FAQs:
Q: Are these lifetime free or is there any time limitation?
A: These are really free forever and are not time bounded limitation. But some companies require you to register a free account to get the free lifetime license key.
Q: If these are free does they show ads to us?
A: Yes they may show you occasional ads or offers to you. Mostly these offers are to upgrade their own software to a paid subscription. But some of these software are not showing any ads.
Q: Is paid and free antivirus have same level of protection.
A: Actually to stop threats they are equally effective they lacks some advance level of protection like parental control, advanced ransomware protection, data backup, firewall, USB protection etc. Every company have different criteria so compare them and consider the best one for you. Read : best paid antivirus software for windows.
Q: Malwarebytes is free can we use it instead of free antivirus?
A: Malwarebytes premium subscription can be replaced with antivirus but its free version can not be as its free version does not include real time protection. Without real time protection antivirus is almost of no use.
Also check :
Best Free Antimalware Software
Antivirus coupon codes
Please post your experience, review or suggestions using the below comment box.
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