The best antivirus freeware

To be effective, antivirus software needs to monitor what's going on with your PC, check in with company servers about unusual behavior and should provide sound banking protection. The companies say they anonymize this technical data as much as possible to protect your privacy. But if you want to know more, the security companies on our list post privacy policies on their websites, so read their privacy statements to learn what the companies do with the information you share.

Protection for other platforms. Microsoft is by far the biggest target for viruses and malware. While the Mac does come under attack via side-loaded apps, it's rare, and if you download apps only from the Mac and iOS app stores and keep your guard up when clicking links and download files, you should be OK without an antivirus app on Apple devices.

CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Best free Windows antivirus Microsoft Defender. Jump to details. See at Microsoft. See at NortonLifeLock. See at Bitdefender.

Best on-demand Windows malware removal Malwarebytes. See at Malwarebytes. Solid subscription antivirus alternative McAfee Total Protection.

See at McAfee. Another good subscription option Trend Micro Maximum Security. See at Trend Micro. See at ESET. Alternative free Windows antivirus Sophos Home. See at Sophos. Our recommendations Looking for free antivirus protection, malware protection or virus detection, willing to pay for an antivirus program that offers broad internet security coverage across all your devices, including from ransomware and phishing, or need to remove a computer virus or malware from your PC right now?

Best free Windows antivirus. Microsoft Defender. Best antivirus subscription for Windows. Norton with LifeLock Select. Best free antivirus alternative for Windows. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition.

Best on-demand Windows malware removal. Solid subscription antivirus alternative. McAfee Total Protection. What Sophos Home Premium does have is the essentials: ransomware rollbacks, webcam defenses and protection against keyloggers, malicious websites and boot-sector and fileless malware.

It also has a web-filter system for parents and an online management console from which you can tweak most of the settings. Some people might demand more from an antivirus suite, but anyone who would rather buy only what they need will appreciate Sophos Home Premium's just-the-basics approach.

Read our full Sophos Home Premium review. A good paid antivirus suite is a digital-protection jackknife, often bundling in parental controls, identity theft protection, a password manager, backup software, cloud storage, a firewall, a system optimizer and software for Mac, Android and iOS as well as Windows. But what if you just want Windows antivirus software without all of those pricey extras? And what if you can't afford to pay for antivirus software? One of the best free antivirus programs might be exactly what you need.

Free antivirus software used to be a step down from the paid software and involved trade-offs. The protection wasn't as good and you'd either have to put up with ads filling your screen or with constant nags to upgrade to a paid program. That's all changed. One of the best antivirus makers, Kaspersky, offers a free version with the same excellent malware protections as its paid offerings.

Its top rival, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition, has been officially discontinued, although Tom's Guide readers can still download it with this link. A merger between the biggest names in free antivirus, Avast and AVG, created a combined malware-detection engine that's much better than the sum of its parts. Meanwhile, Microsoft's built-in antivirus software, Windows Defender, aka Microsoft Defender Antivirus, has gone from being a joke to being one of the best antivirus programs out there, free or paid.

You can now get free antivirus protection that's as good as anything you pay for. So here are the best free antivirus programs based on their protection, system impact, ease of use and extra features. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free 2. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition 3.

Windows Defender Antivirus 4. Avast Free Antivirus 5. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free Antivirus may be the best free antivirus program we've ever seen. It has excellent malware protection, a decent set of extra functions and features, and a system-performance impact so small that our computer actually sped up after we installed the program.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has been officially discontinued, and we're not sure how long Tom's Guide readers can still download it. It's the best "set it and forget it" free antivirus option.

It's now one of the best antivirus programs altogether. You don't have to install or download it — it's already on your PC. If you want an unlimited password manager or a hardened web browser, Avast Free Antivirus might be for you. Its malware protection is much better than it once was, although its performance impact is fairly heavy.

Avast's stepsister AVG has the same malware-detection engine, but lacks Avast's full slate of useful extra features. But it does have a file shredder and system optimizer. We have to mention one program that's not antivirus software, but which we recommend anyway: Malwarebytes Free. While antivirus tries to stop malware from infecting your machine, Malwarebytes functions as the cleanup crew, sweeping out less-harmful adware or potentially unwanted programs that the antivirus software ignores.

It works well alongside any antivirus program. Kaspersky doesn't talk much about its free antivirus product, and you might have a hard time finding the free Kaspersky software download page on the company's website. That's too bad, because Kaspersky Security Cloud Free is the best free antivirus product we've ever tested. We've never seen such a combination of excellent protection and extra features in a free antivirus program.

It's got a bright, comprehensible interface, a lot of customization potential and Kaspersky's unbeatable malware protection. The program also lets you schedule scans, and its performance impact was so small that it actually sped up our test machine a bit. Kaspersky's useful extra features include a file shredder, an on-screen keyboard and an email scanner.

The password manager and VPN service are fairly limited, however, unless you pay. Read our full Kaspersky Security Cloud Free review. Bitdefender has officially discontinued Antivirus Free Edition, and it will be supported only until June 30, We still love it and you can still get it , but proceed at your own risk.

Compared to premium paid antivirus programs that are big, heavy and loaded with extra bells and whistles, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is like a '60's sports car, stripped to the essentials but still providing plenty of power. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition offers nothing but the basics. There's no password manager, no gaming mode, no quick scans and no scan scheduling.

You can manage the software from the program's System Tray icon, but you don't really need to interact with Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition after its installation. Yet Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has the excellent Bitdefender malware-detection engine, which sits just below Kaspersky and Norton in the lab-test rankings. It's the best free antivirus software if you want a security solution that you can set up and then forget about.

It's also perfect if you need to protect the computer of an elderly relative but don't have time to manage antivirus software from afar. Read our full Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition review. Microsoft's built-in antivirus software is now a heavy hitter. While Windows Defender, aka Microsoft Defender Antivirus, doesn't quite beat Norton or Kaspersky in malware-protection lab tests, it comes out ahead of Avast, AVG and most other free antivirus products while operating almost entirely behind the scenes.

You won't be getting many extra features with Windows Defender itself, yet Windows 10 does have parental controls, a gaming mode and protections for its own Edge and Internet Explorer browsers. There's no built-in VPN, but you also won't be bothered by pop-ups trying to upsell you to paid antivirus software. As for a password manager, there's a stealth one built into the Microsoft Authenticator app for Android and iOS that syncs with the Edge browser, as long as you're signed into your Microsoft account on all devices.

We still recommend going for Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, which has even less of a system impact, better malware protection and more useful extras, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with using Windows Defender as your primary antivirus solution.

Read our full Windows Defender review. Avast Free Antivirus has the best assortment of extra goodies of any free antivirus program, including a hardened browser, a gaming mode, a Wi-Fi network scanner and a recently added ransomware shield.

Unfortunately, the unlimited password manager has been discontinued. The program is also very customizable, letting you tweak its appearance and functions to suit your style.

It even offers limited access to Avast's VPN service. However, Avast Free Antivirus caused a pretty heavy system load in our testing and its scans took a long time. It also kept nagging us to upgrade to Avast's paid antivirus protection, and played bait-and-switch with features that looked like they were free but weren't.

Most significant of all, the malware protection in Avast Free Antivirus is a peg down from Kaspersky's or Bitdefender's, whose free programs also bothered us less about paid upgrades and had lighter system loads. Read our full Avast Free Antivirus review. AVG shares a decent, if unspectacular, malware-detection engine with its corporate sibling Avast while having a much lighter system-performance impact.

AVG Antivirus plays an essential purpose for consumers today, with frequent upgrades and new virus protection introduced to the software. Although, the free version is for personal and family use alone. AVG Antivirus Free has millions of customers worldwide. AVG is free to download, install, update, and use, but premium membership is required for technical help. Below are some of the features only available with the paid version.

Downloading AVG antivirus free is easy and fast. To download the antivirus software, follow these steps. Only personal use is allowed with the free antivirus. Avast offers a network security scanner, browser protection, and other features as a free antivirus program. Considering this antivirus is free, it includes a robust set of protection measures. Avast free antivirus offers lightweight, strong, and unrestricted protection against viruses. By using built-in machine learning features, Avast free antivirus does not negatively influence the operating system.

These are some of the unique features of Avast free antivirus that enhance adequate system protection. Avast Free is an advertisement for Avast Premium. However, as customers experiment with the free version, they will discover the need to unlock more security features, prompting them to upgrade to the premium version. Some of the premium features offered by Avast Premium Security are listed below.

The free Avast antivirus file size is MB. However, users must ensure that their Windows is up to date and meets the system requirements listed below.

Avast Free Antivirus is one of few free antivirus programs available. As well as scanning and detecting harmful files, Avast Free Antivirus also protects downloaded files, emails, P2P transfers, instant chats, and online browsing in real-time.

Some of the benefits of Avast Free Antivirus are listed below. Avast Free Antivirus is an excellent all-round antivirus with very few disadvantages, the main issue however is that the boot-time scan can be quite slow and may limit system performance whilst in use.

Avast also offers antivirus software for a fee. Avira Free Antivirus offers high malware detection rates, comprehensive internet security features, and a user-friendly interface, making it one of the best antiviruses on the market today. Avira Free Antivirus is a particularly good solution for non-technical users because it is so simple to use. Avira Antivirus requires at least MB of free disk space to install and conduct many security activities.

However, users need to check the compatibility of their devices before initiating a download process. These are the minimum system requirements for Avira free antivirus download. Avira antivirus protects and blocks all types of malicious software like viruses, trojans, worms, ransomware, spyware, and others.

The Avira solution aims to provide customers with complete control over their internet activities. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is a free antivirus that takes a simple approach to protect Windows computers from all types of cyber threats.

The main antiviral technology of Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is identical to the software in the premium version of the software. Bitdefender Antivirus Free provides basic virus, malware, rootkit, and attack protection. Bitdefender can protect against both existing and new threats thanks to various unique features. Some key features are listed below. It's the perfect security Edition is your chance to use one of the world's most effective antivirus engines for free.

BitDefender Free Edition features A quick virus report is displayed in the Dashboard panel, while the System Info section offers Avira Free Antivirus is an award-winning product that provides comprehensive protection PC remains virus-free. The best thing about it is that it doesn't need SmadAV is an additional antivirus software that is designed to protect your computer. It uses the same award-winning technology that IT professionals trust to protect their business systems.

Best of all, you can manage security settings for The only all-in-one free security that seamlessly intergrates both antivirus and two-way firewall together for maximum protection and We stop internet attacks at the front door and even catch thieves on their