Serious Discussion Free Anti-Virus?

[aftech]

Avast/AVG have a glitch; when firewall is in ask mode, edge browser (not chrome) is deprived of internet connectivity when launched for a couple of minutes.

 

[Marko :)]

Avira free, very light, kind of set and forget with not too many upgrade alerts. Good protection as well of course

Regards Eck

Does Avira have any ads? Can those limited free and paid features be removed and just antivirus component left?

 

[rashmi]

Your post was thorough and complete, I just want to add a small update about Avast nagging popups, there is a new setting to control it so you can get rid of it without a hassle:
View attachment 285567

Blocking "avastui" in your firewall or Avast firewall can stop upsell popups without interfering with protection or alerts.

 

[Behold Eck]

Does Avira have any ads? Can those limited free and paid features be removed and just antivirus component left?

Yes it has a few alerts but nothing in comparison to Avast/AVG but you can`t turn the pop ups off without upgrading. I`m finding it pretty unobtrusive overall.

Regards Eck

 

[tofargone]

Yes it has a few alerts but nothing in comparison to Avast/AVG but you can`t turn the pop ups off without upgrading. I`m finding it pretty unobtrusive overall.

Regards Eck

I tried Avira about 3 weeks ago on a clean install. had some problems with it, posted them on forum somewhere. I really like it too. Default settings used.

 

[Pat MacKnife]

Blocking "avastui" in your firewall or Avast firewall can stop upsell popups without interfering with protection or alerts.

It still works, but with new options in settings is easy , Limited mode or silent

https://malwaretips.com/attachments/v2_win_av_notifications-png.285567/

 

[monkeylove]

Blocking "avastui" in your firewall or Avast firewall can stop upsell popups without interfering with protection or alerts.

Thanks. That worked for the ads inside the software window. I didn't know that it also worked for the ones that pop up in the desktop.

 

[Sandbox Breaker]

Thanks. That worked for the ads inside the software window. I didn't know that it also worked for the ones that pop up in the desktop.

You just made it Freemium!

 

[partha_roy]

I would not suggest Avira free as the free version does not have the behavioral module that they have apparently designed for ransomware specifically; there's no firewall either

 

[Pat MacKnife]

Avira Free detects Ransomware with signatures, not with behaviour/heuristics . . .

 

[gery79]

Avast or Avg

 

[Nunzio_77]

For a good free AV I am always torn between Avast Free and Bitdefender Free.
In terms of resource usage (CPU and RAM) Avast Free is lighter than Bitdefender Free.
In terms of add-ons to the basic protection Avast Free has the basic firewall, second level ransomware protection and control of violations of your email address associated with the Avast account.
As for behavioral analysis both have a good behavioral analysis even if some say that Bitdefender's is better than Avast's (I have not seen certain proof yet and cannot express an opinion. Avast's seems to work well anyway).
So the balance seems to tip more towards Avast Free, even if Bitdefender Free is an excellent choice.

 

[Nunzio_77]

Can any of you say if Bitdefender Free's behavioral protection is better than Avast Free's?
Possibly an opinion from the most experienced.

 

[silversurfer]

Can any of you say if Bitdefender Free's behavioral protection is better than Avast Free's?
Possibly an opinion from the most experienced.

From my personal experience while testing BD Free's Advanced Threat Defense seems equal compared to Avast Free's behavioral protection features...

You might take a look to the tests done in 2022/2023 for the Malware Hub, Avast Free is also included there: Malware Hub: Samples

 

[Spartan]

Blocking "avastui" in your firewall or Avast firewall can stop upsell popups without interfering with protection or alerts.

and when you do that, the UI opens every time you restart so I stopped blocking it via the firewall, a better solution is to go to Settings > Notifications, then is it to Limited

 

[Spartan]

Avast or Avg

do you like black/orange or black/green interface? that's the only difference! Same performance impact, same protection, same everything

 

[mlnevese]

I never thought about choice of antivirus as a fashion statement

 

[oldschool]

I never thought about choice of antivirus as a fashion statement

My 1st principle in living is: Looking good is the most important thing.

 

[Chuck57]

A good firewall, Windows Defender with Andy Ful's Config Defender along with common sense ought to be enough for 95% of users.

 

[tofargone]

If you want a very light AV and are willing to have just browser protection via addons, then try Avira.

Or try Panda... Real light on my PC.