Battle Freeware Antivirus 2017 - [MT Users choice]

jackuars

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Jul 2, 2014
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I have excluded Windows Defender because it's baseline protection and only 3rd party antiviruses are included here.

If your primary antivirus isn't included in the poll, mention it in the comments section.

*Please comment on why the antivirus is your personal choice for freeware protection, so that you can help others in making a decision.*
 

CMLew

Level 23
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Oct 30, 2015
1,251
If you just want a pure free antivirus without any firewall/BB/HIPS, then Bitdefender.

Otherwise with those combinations of other features: CFW (need to tweak vigorously)

Personal suggestion: Emsisoft Emergency Kit (EEK) Portable and Zemana Portable

Personal Recommendation: Anti-Exe/SRP type of protection. Voodooshield and NVT ERP tops out of my mind.
 

cruelsister

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You guys might be very wise in the love Avast is getting- although it was always (along with BD) my favorite whipping Dog (Not that I would EVER whip a dog! Perhaps a boyfriend, but definitely not a dog!!!). I was assured by the CTO that with the Avast-AVG (which I didn't think sucked) combination things would improve. Although it's still a bit early to tell for certain this might indeed be the truth- their definitions plus Hardened Mode might actually have a point after all...
 

Amelith Nargothrond

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Mar 22, 2017
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Considering protection and features, I would choose Avira. But when it comes to compatibility, there are a very few free AVs out there installable on server OSs, so Bitdefender would be my next choice because it can be installed on servers. Yeah, marketing and stuff, but many home users have servers with server OSs. Obviously it doesn't have many features exposed, but at least it works.
 

kev216

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Without reading the thread and only by reading the title, I already could predict without doubt Avast was going to win this battle. No surprises for me.
The perfect and best free antivirus doesn't exist. What's great for one person, is not good enough for the other. It's all personal taste on look and features, but enough discussions about that already on the forum.

I'm currently using Sophos and it serves me well. It is the best? I don't know. I've got no infections until now, so I'm a happy user. Is it the best of this year? Probably not looking at the limited amount of (visual) updates it got last year. (although a big one is coming in a few weeks/months but that aside).

Looking at the current ranking, it is no surprise that the big ones, Bitdefender and Avast (and Qihoo if you want), are on the top. But due to the large userbase they already have, it's also a bit misleading. Looking at the past year, Avast moved their behaviour detection into their new behaviour shield, so they made improvements for their products. But in the past months AdAware and Forticlient for example also got big new updates. Panda got (again) a new look. Not all of these are the most innovating or protection wise fantastic upgrades of course, but also these devs haven't been lazy the past year to try to improve their product. Bitdefender free on the other hand had a big makeover the past months, and they got all of the attention, while AdAware who have the same engine and that too got a complete new look still have 0 votes.
Looking at progress and movements of multiple vendors for there product in 2017, I would rank it different. When I read the sentence 'The best antivirus for 2017' I personnaly don't look at the name and features alone, but also at the progress they made compared to the 2016 version. I'm not saying they are in the end all of the same level of protection of course, but I miss this update aspect a bit in this thread, which is more a fanboy thread now. Just my view on this of course ;)
 

Winter Soldier

Level 25
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Feb 13, 2017
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Without reading the thread and only by reading the title, I already could predict without doubt Avast was going to win this battle. No surprises for me.
The perfect and best free antivirus doesn't exist. What's great for one person, is not good enough for the other. It's all personal taste on look and features, but enough discussions about that already on the forum.

I'm currently using Sophos and it serves me well. It is the best? I don't know. I've got no infections until now, so I'm a happy user. Is it the best of this year? Probably not looking at the limited amount of (visual) updates it got last year. (although a big one is coming in a few weeks/months but that aside).

Looking at the current ranking, it is no surprise that the big ones, Bitdefender and Avast (and Qihoo if you want), are on the top. But due to the large userbase they already have, it's also a bit misleading. Looking at the past year, Avast moved their behaviour detection into their new behaviour shield, so they made improvements for their products. But in the past months AdAware and Forticlient for example also got big new updates. Panda got (again) a new look. Not all of these are the most innovating or protection wise fantastic upgrades of course, but also these devs haven't been lazy the past year to try to improve their product. Bitdefender free on the other hand had a big makeover the past months, and they got all of the attention, while AdAware who have the same engine and that too got a complete new look still have 0 votes.
Looking at progress and movements of multiple vendors for there product in 2017, I would rank it different. When I read the sentence 'The best antivirus for 2017' I personnaly don't look at the name and features alone, but also at the progress they made compared to the 2016 version. I'm not saying they are in the end all of the same level of protection of course, but I miss this update aspect a bit in this thread, which is more a fanboy thread now. Just my view on this of course ;)
Good point you got there :)

The features listed in the choice of antivirus solution are implemented in a different manner in the various products; but some of these products not always offer a satisfactory technological level capable of ensuring an adequate protection against threats. Of course it doesn't exist an antivirus solution capable of 100% detection.

The “race for technological weapons” between antivirus vendors and cybercriminals intensifies and embitters year after year.
Most antivirus software can't provide a bulletproof malware protection and perhaps there is a crisis in the antivirus industry, associated with the different issues that arise in trying to ensure an effective level of protection of the users.

What are, however, the issues of antivirus programs, in addition to the normal competition generated spontaneously in the market, between products issued by different vendors? The scenario is quite simple: on one side, there are the malware and on the other side there are the antivirus. Apparently, the antivirus can be considered like a habitual consumer product; at first glance, the various AV solutions may not seem to show any particular differences between them, if not those referring to the design more or less attractive, from the way in which the product is advertised, or by other non-technical elements.
But an antivirus is more of a normal consumer product. The choice of antivirus product must be made not on the basis of irrelevant criteria such as the UI design or a particularly successful advertising but on the basis of the actual technical characteristics owned by the software and performance that it is able to accomplish. From this point of view, the various antivirus products differ considerably between them, as we well know.
 

insanity

Level 5
Verified
Oct 9, 2016
216
I voted Avast. Although Avira has been my favourite for many years, I feel like its quality has been degrading over the years. Avira and Bitdefender are the strongest AVs when it comes to signatures, but they don't offer many features besides that. Conversely, Comodo stands out for its powerful Firewall, but leave out its Firewall/Sandbox and then you'll have one of the worst AVs. Finally, Avast offers the best compromise between features and performance, I think.
 

AtlBo

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Dec 29, 2014
1,711
Avast or Bitdefender. The ads are going to be a big problem for most users in 360. I use it because it's actually a good program underneath, especially to combine with Comodo. Hate having to block the 360 ads with Comodo tho.

Avast is good and seems to be getting even better. Hard to beat. :)
 

permar4

Level 1
Verified
Jul 23, 2017
46
I would have voted avast But a few months ago webshield gave me started to give problems, when download files at high speed with jdowloader for example Avastsvc.exe use 100% cpu and computer freeze.. algo another minor problems with "game mode" and others moludes, avast seems buggy for me.

Now i am using Bitdefender free and i am very happy the solid performance that offers me, so my vote is for him.
 

212eta

Level 9
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May 11, 2011
444
QBtSEx5.gif


:D :D :D
 

SeemaBharti

New Member
Feb 8, 2018
1
If you are also one of those Windows users who are looking for a free antivirus software which is quite reliable and loaded with great performance, real-time malware detection, virus protection and removal, and various other features then these best free Antivirus Software for Windows 10 PC might help you a lot:

  • Avast Free Antivirus
  • Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
  • Avg Antivirus Free
  • Avira Free Antivirus
  • Panda Free Antivirus
  • Microsoft Windows Defender
  • Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
  • 360 Total Security
  • Comodo Free Antivirus for Windows 10
  • Adaware Antivirus Free

If you are looking for the premium Antivirus for Windows 10 to use this year then these are some of the awesome choices too:
  • BullGuard Antivirus Software
  • Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2018
  • Norton AntiVirus 2018
  • ESET NOD32 Antivirus
I hope, you will found this list of the best antivirus for Windows 10 free download useful for you.

Source: Top 14 Best Free Antivirus Software for Windows 10 PC (2018)

Thanks !!
 
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