Battle Which free antivirus software do you recommend? (March 2016)

[Heyye]

Which free antivirus software do you recommend?

 

[safe1st]

360 TS or Avast free...
360 TS free but with more features than avast

 

[Kate_L]

1. Comodo Internet Security / Comodo Cloud Antivirus
2. 360 Total Security
3. Avast Free

 

[Soulbound]

You got several to choose from, depending how you view it. There is no right or wrong answer.

Recommended solutions are: avast!;Sophos Home; Avira; Panda;360 TS if you enable all engines and do not mind FPs; FortiClient; AVG; WD for windows 8 to 10.

Depending on what program you look at they have features not found on others, some have bells and whistles, some are simple straight forward. What is most important is that any of those will do its job just fine.

 

[Janl1992l]

There is no just thing as best free antivirus. this threads should be not allowed.. or at least search in the forum for threads like this.

 

[frogboy]

Have a read here. Free Antivirus of the Year 2015 [POLL]

 

[TheMalwareMaster]

I vote for avira Free. Great results in the malware hub!

 

[viktik]

Avast
easy to use. good for most users.
lots of settings
good malware detection rate
good proactive protection
light on system resources

 

[nikos200]

1 360 ts
2 avira
3 avg

 

[CySecy825]

CIS
Avira
Avg

 

[Ink]

@Heyye Consider creating your own security config thread, Security Configuration Wizard

"Best Antivirus" is subjective to the PC user. What other think are best for them, aren't best for you.

You can make an informed decision by reading online reviews, or trying the software for yourself (most offer trials or downloaded without restrictions).

Spoiler

How did Comodo Internet Security qualify as a Free Antivirus, the difference should be obvious.

Best does not exist.

 

[Heyye]

Which free antivirus software do you recommend?

 

[Noxx]

If we're talking about "FREE", then COMODO Internet Security.

 

[Ken1337]

360 because it has bitdefender and avira scan engine in it

 

[Sr. Normal]

It depends on the operating system and how you use your computer. Thus, a "normal" user with Windows 10 can be perfectly protected with Windows Defender and Windows Firewall. From the list you provided, the one I like is Qihoo TS. You can also opt for suites free as CIS or ZoneAlarm free

 

[Der.Reisende]

May I borrow my answer from another thread on that, my thoughts on QTS360 are still the same

My vote goes for Qihoo 360 TS, low system impact, strong cloud protection (if you wish, accompanied by Avira + BD engine for offline protection, taking more RAM), system cleaning tool (no need to use it, but implemented @ Total Security), quite often updated with new features and bug fixes. Fast reaction on new threats, polite and fast customer service. Nice and clear UI.

Please keep the difference between the Total Security version and the Total Security Essentials version in mind: 360 TSE is "just" AV, Qihoo treats that one quite shabby, refer to the version history compared to TS. That's why I made the move to 360 Total Security.

Version History | 360 Total Security Essential

Attached is my RAM usage, next to no difference with Avira + BD activated (Cloud only is activated since yesterday, there have been some system restarts between - shutdown or Windows Update). Had a screenshot floating around here, can't find it, RAM usage all engines ~200 MB. Give me a second for a restart.

Seems to decrease with all engines enabled, but logging in felt to be a few seconds longer

See 2 comparison shots here:

Question - Best free and light antivirus?

 

[Crystal_Lake_Camper]

Windows defender - uac ( max settings ) - smartscreen ( max settings ) - Windows firewall ( binisoft firewall control medium settings ) emet For sytem hardening on max settings the best config For win 8.1 or win 10 would not choose comodo ( the trouble with privdog and chromodo. AVG has improved a lot but misses Some features and does add a lot to your boottime , als my system was inconsistant performance wise when i had it installed ( internet security ) avast praised by Many but has dropped detection wise lately. 360 t's you get a lot doe free and has really Nice security features but has Many false positives. Edit : if you come to conclusion that you want to pay For a security go For norton security...a very complete suite For a reasonable price , best buy i made in years!!! @Tornado and @frogboy will confirm this

 

[Rishi]

There are 2 ways to go about this ~

• The users will give their perspective/ experience on the best free AV, it is coming after extensive use on their "unique" PC with customizations, registry changes, additional compatible security layers all thrown into a mix. Hardly a fair comparison with your own.
• Another approach can be a relative feature comparison and yet again, we find each security suite has a set of "unique" core features/ strategy to tackle the malware threat.There is no common ground to compare in the first place.

So as you can see the relative is only subjective depending upon external factors your machine cannot comprehend. Best way is always the hit and trial way - see which free AV suits your specs and needs the best. I think enough free options have already been mentioned.

 

[milas]

Well i can't say which free AV that I prefer because all the free ones didn't protect my system as well as the paid versions. But it's been years that I have actually tried any of these Free AV's. so I'm sure I have alot to learn by this statement...I do remember using Avg for awhile... I needed protection for my Mac and nothing helped but a paid version of Webroot!

 

[JakeXPMan]

Here's how I see the popular free Antiviruses today,

Comodo Internet Security = Best array of features for free. HIPS, Sandbox, Firewall + endless setting options.
Qihoo = Very EFFECTIVE with multiple engines, provides top protection. Can even fix an already infected PC.
Avast = Good overall in all areas and even better with "Hardened Mode" activated.
Avira = Top signatures updated every 2 hours. Lightest feel overall, no drag on system, even on old hardware.
AVG = Getting a lot stronger and catching many PUP's and threats of all kinds.
Bitdefender = Simple, light, minimal, boot time protection better than paid AV and top notch signatures.
Panda = Soild protection, light cloud, easy on drive and easy to use.

I could use any of these Antiviruses and enjoy their functions and added security.
.