Battle Lightweight antivirus for low-spec netbook on Windows 10

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danielsak

Level 1
Thread author
Sep 21, 2015
7
Hi!
I have very slow processor (2x1,33 GHz) and 2 GB RAM. I need lightweight antivirus to replace Windows 10 built-in real-time antivirus (Windows Defender).

I thought about Avast Free Antivirus or Panda Free Antivirus. I personally use Avira Free but this is probably heavy program - unless I'm wrong..

Thank you in advance for any advices.
 
H

hjlbx

Webroot...

It does not store signatures on your PC; it performs cloud lookup.

Webroot will give you some web protection that Avira Free does not provide.

If you are somewhat familiar with anti-executable, then NoVirusThanks Exe Radar Pro (freeware) would solve your limited resources problem plus provide higher degree of physical system protection. However, if you are looking for a solution that will tell you a file is malicious then NVT ERP doesn't work since it blocks everything newly introduced to the system; NVT ERP protection is not dependent upon signatures.
 
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H

hjlbx

Oh, I forgot to add that I'm only interested in free AV :)

You are probably using best option to Windows Defender at this time = Avira Free.

Bitdefender Free is not W10 compatible at this time - unfortunately.

Avast, AVG, Comodo, Panda, Fortinet, etc ... they all add extra stuff to your system that will needlessly consume resources.

Your system is the limiting factor; there really is no AV that will vastly decrease boot and shutdown times.
 
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H

hjlbx

I should add that you do not need to schedule full system scans using any AVs. That is a complete waste of resources.

With Avira Free all you have to do is perform a single full system scan, then afterwards just keep real-time protection enabled.

With real-time protection enabled, anything introduced to the system that is detected by Avira will be handled by real-time protection and not a system scan. This is how real-time protection is designed to work in all AVs. It increases security while at the same time decreases resource consumption.

Avira Free may slow down your system boot, but it should not degrade system performance during typical use at the desktop using real-time protection.

If you feel that you need it, then I would perform a full system scan once in a while during idle times. Do not use Avira's maximum heuristics for a full system scan as it will probably take 5+ hours on your system - dependent partly on how many files you have on it.

It's kind of tough to come up with a solution that will make a huge improvement for you.
 
D

Deleted member 2913

Hi!
I have very slow processor (2x1,33 GHz) and 2 GB RAM. I need lightweight antivirus to replace Windows 10 built-in real-time antivirus (Windows Defender).

I thought about Avast Free Antivirus or Panda Free Antivirus. I personally use Avira Free but this is probably heavy program - unless I'm wrong..

Thank you in advance for any advices.
If you want I can give you Webroot AV Key that will expire on April 11 2016 (203 days).
If you would like to use Webroot AV...PM me for the key & rest info.

360 Total Security Essential would be good too...if you are looking for a free AV.
 

ifacedown

Level 18
Verified
Jan 31, 2014
888
Windows Defender + VoodooShield + MCShield (with Windows Firewall and UAC) == The lightest and most secure combo I could think of for your system. You could include k9 Web Protection for good URL filtering.

I have a low-spec netbook too! 1.66 GHz single core, 2GB RAM.

Only, with Windows Defender, you have to deal with system lags when opening a folder full of exes.

With paid, two antiviruses I found most light: Webroot and ESET.

Take the Webroot key mentioned above!
 

Nikos751

Level 20
Verified
Malware Tester
Feb 1, 2013
969
For free products, Avira free is indeed one of the lightest but it can be a little hog while doing scan ot update tasks. Another option would be Avast free with only file shield checked during installation. No other shields, no other tools, no avast NG (safe virtual machine I think they call it). Whatsmore, Panda free AV can be a good solution too, although it's internet connection dependent like Webroot) Try them and make your choice.
For paid, Eset and Webroot SecureAnywhere (a continuous internet connection is required for this).
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Panda Free AV is not totally a heavy program, actually its rely more on cloud and stores few generic signatures for offline. The process takes it automatically with an internet connectivity.

Well with simplicity setup hence you are sure to have no worry to make configuration too complex and time consume maintainance.

But still you may consider other suggestions which they are not heavy at all but rather few performance issue which may not present at most system.
 

ifacedown

Level 18
Verified
Jan 31, 2014
888
Panda Free AV is not totally a heavy program, actually its rely more on cloud and stores few generic signatures for offline. The process takes it automatically with an internet connectivity.

Well with simplicity setup hence you are sure to have no worry to make configuration too complex and time consume maintainance.

But still you may consider other suggestions which they are not heavy at all but rather few performance issue which may not present at most system.
PANDA Free AV is a very choosy AV. On some systems, it is very light, on some systems, many users say 'heavy.' Also, often, it cuts down wifi connection - my experience too, so I uninstalled.
 
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Nikos751

Level 20
Verified
Malware Tester
Feb 1, 2013
969
Im currently testing 360 total security with only cloud engines in realtime and Performance preset chosen. It seems very light but don't enable the offline engines of Avira and BitDefender. They cause some slowdown.
 
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