Free Best Antivirus Download

Going without antivirus protection isn't an option. Even if you don't care about your own computer, leaving it unprotected could let cyber-crooks turn it into a zombie minion and force it to participate in DDoS attacks. If you have any computers without an antivirus, you need to install protection, Right now. Don't worry; it won't cost you a penny.

Limited Lab Results:

Most of the independent antivirus testing labs charge a fee to the vendors they include in their evaluations. That may seem a bit counterintuitive, but someone has to pay the bills. Vendors who publish only a free product often can't afford to participate in testing. Those with a spectrum of security solutions from free antivirus to high-end suite definitely can afford it, but the free product isn't always what they submit for testing.

Malware bytes in particular haven’t participated in testing until recently. Dennis Labs tossed Malware bytes into a test with other products all of which included real-time protection; not surprisingly, Malware bytes didn't do so well. However, it earned top honors in a test specifically measuring malware cleanup abilities, which, after all, is the product's forte.

The Best Free Antivirus Lab Tests Chart:

The chart above summarizes recent lab results for vendors whose product line includes a free antivirus and for which lab results are available. If the Bit defender technology that was tested is actually found in Bit defender Antivirus Free Edition (2014), that's quite impressive, as Bit defender scored super-high in just about every test. AVG Anti Virus FREE 2014 did quite well, and in several cases the product being tested definitely was the free edition. The real standout, though, is Panda Free Antivirus 2015. They definitely tested the free version, and it rated up with the best commercial products.

Tests cleaning up the Mess, In the lab results chart, you may note that Sophos also gets high marks from the labs. However, the labs aren't testing Sophos Virus Removal Tool 2.0 directly. This cleanup-only tool isn't a full antivirus solution. Rather, it's for use in emergency, when malware prevents installation of a full solution.

Cleanup-only tools tend to be somewhat more aggressive than standard antivirus. The assumption is that you've already tried something else, and it didn't work. As a result, they can occasionally cause collateral damage. You'll want to make sure the vendor's available to help in that case. Panda offers full tech support, up to and including remote-control remediation, even for Panda Cloud Cleaner. Como do will do the same for paid products, but not for Como do Cleaning Essentials 6

Malware bytes Anti-Malware 2.0 remains PCMag's Editors' Choice for free cleanup-only antivirus. In our hands-on testing, we didn't get a chance to explore the tech-support options, because it just did the job quickly and efficiently, with no collateral damage. AVG also did well in that test, but getting it installed on our malware-infested test systems required a lot of help from tech support.

Real-Time Protection:

If your computer isn't afflicted with malware, or if you've taken care of the infestation using a powerful cleanup tool, it's time to set up a protective perimeter, so no new malware can get in. In our hands-on tests of malware protection, Como do Antivirus 7 topped the list with 9.7 points. AVG and FortiClient 5.0 tied for second, with 9.4 points.

You'll notice that Panda's score was quite a bit lower. Note, though, that this was a different set of samples, and that Panda earned top marks from the independent labs. We consider results from the labs more significant than our simple hands-on test.

The Best Free Antivirus Malware Blocking Chart:

Nearly a year ago, we added a new test that relies on a super-fresh feed of malicious URLs from MRG-Effitas. We specifically use URLs that point to executable files, since that makes measuring success easy. If the antivirus doesn't block access to the URL or quarantine the file on download, it failed. The highest scores so far among both free and commercial antivirus products went to avast! Free Antivirus 2014, with 79 percent, and Panda, with 64 percent.

See How We Test Malware Blocking Free Suites, Two of the products I've included aren't technically free standalone antivirus tools. Both Como do Internet Security Premium 7 and Zone Alarm Free Antivirus + Firewall 2015 include firewall protection and other security suite features. But really, if you need free antivirus protection, why not grab a free suite?

It turns out this isn't necessarily a great idea. Zone Alarm's firewall is the Editors' Choice in its category, but the antivirus component doesn't match its quality. You might choose to combine Zone Alarm's firewall with Panda for antivirus.The unusual FortiClient 5.0 is designed to work with a network appliance, but it actually works fine as a standalone. In addition to antivirus protection you get Web content filtering and a built-in VPN client. Note, though, that if you run into trouble you won't get remote-control remediation from tech support. That level of support requires a contract.

No Excuses!

Clearly there are plenty of choices for free antivirus protection, some of them quite good. The nicest part is, if you're not fond of the free antivirus you've installed, you can replace it at no cost. You'll definitely find something to like from among these products.