Best FREE anti-virus software?

[DangerousSausage]

As the title says - can any of recommend a good, free anti-virus program for a PC?

I've been using Avira for quite a long time and have tolerated the adverts it fires at me. But I finally ran out of patience when it told me I had 700 MB of unnecessary files on my computer - but if I wanted to delete more than 100 MB then it would cost me.

Anyone got any suggestions? 

[Feral Fox]

Anti virus...
As long as you’re behaving yourself sausage and keeping off all those Bratwurst sites then windows defender should be more than good enough now.

Previously inbuilt Windows stuff had a bad rep, but it’s catch rate is as high, if not higher than all the old names still out there.

 

[NottsTastic]

CCleaner and the one inbuilt into Windows 10 is fine.

[upthepies]

You would be best coughing up a bit and getting a more robust antivirus protection.

[liampie]

there are some good ones but chris recommended kaspersky and i have not looked back since.

[cheeky~k8]

    There are some free ones but you are usually better to pay a little for one, you can even find them for about £10 a year which isnt bad.

[lambleypie]

Have you tried Avast? That is free and I have found to be okay.

[allardyces tash]

Bitdefender free edition and Avast are worth trying.

[CliftonMagpie]

I have used Avast in the past...

It was fairly basic and did the job, but I have moved onto paid protection because it's a lot more feature rich. CCleaner does a great job unearthing things.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

Might I ask if you're using free antivirus software due to multiple devices? @DangerousSausage

Windows Defender is by far one of the most robust free antivirus solutions, this is inbuilt into Windows 10 and there's not many actual better solutions out there - at least which isn't focused towards you actually upgrading to a paid version at some point.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/comprehensive-security

Avast and AVG are two which I can recommend, however, neither are perfect but would get the job done if you needed something a little extra.

Avast - https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

AVG - https://www.avg.com/en-gb/free-antivirus-download

Whilst CCleaner can get rid of tracking cookies and other malicious nasties, it's not intended to be a comprehensive solution.

CCleaner - https://www.ccleaner.com/

It's useful speeding up a sluggish system, whilst it does remove some stuff antivirus software tends to miss.

Honestly, for the peace of mind and ease of use. I would always suggest getting Kaspersky Internet Security. You'll get protection from antiviruses, which does some advanced removal. It protects you against toolkits, trojans etc.

You'll get one of the best firewall solutions out there, with easy management for blocking suspicious programs.

With other useful additions such as a money protector (if you visit sites where you intend to buy something), web camera protection, network attack blocker, mail protection, application and password management tools.

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@super_ram has used Avast, it tends to be less than perfect and doesn't catch everything. It can also be a little sluggish and annoying, AVG is less of an issue but I think even Super will tell you that Kaspersky is much better. If you have multiple devices, you can obtain cheap licences online via Amazon (legit copies) and it's usually no more than £15 depending.

I'd highly recommend it.

[Joshua]

Avast is okay, the popups and alerts can be annoying but its free.

[DangerousSausage]

Thanks for all the replies! It's only for my laptop at home, but it's still quite new so I want to protect it. I haven't actually had any problems in years, but I have had ransomware at work (and not through Bratwurst sites before you ask) and I'd rather not experience that again. I haven't had a premium virus scanner before because I'm mean and stingy, basically. 

I'd never heard of Cc Cleaner but will definitely try it out. Kaspersky costs 30 euros per device per year here, which I find a bit steep. I'll keep an eye out though. 

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

30 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

Kaspersky costs 30 euros per device per year here, which I find a bit steep. I'll keep an eye out though. 

@cheeky~k8 gets it from Amazon, you just need a license and there's plenty of legitimate sellers on Amazon. Stay away from eBay, that's not worth your time or money.

Ensure you get a CD, if you do, as there's a card inside that requires you to scratch it before activating.

[cheeky~k8]

15 hours ago, Chris said:

@cheeky~k8 gets it from Amazon, you just need a license and there's plenty of legitimate sellers on Amazon. Stay away from eBay, that's not worth your time or money.

Ensure you get a CD, if you do, as there's a card inside that requires you to scratch it before activating.

You don't need a cd, you can download the 30 day trial and just add the code to the license before the trial is up... If you try to buy it from their website its expensive, if you get it from amazon its cheap and just the same.

[cheeky~k8]

Its currently £14.99(not sure in euros) for 1 device and £29.99 for 10 devices for a year. The price goes up & down but doesnt get any higher than that.

[Countyman]

AVG has been used at my work place in the past and did the job well.

[Nocturnal-Magpie]

If free isn’t an option, I am sure there’s some good affordable ones out there. AVG have been known to cause viruses and miss them.

[AmericanPie]

Useful information shared, I have a laptop which is running Windows 10 but I haven't installed any antivirus software as of yet.

[super_pie]

I use Kaspersky but it is not free