AVG is the most popular, but Avast! and Avira Anti-virus freeware downloads are just as good, in the opinion of my computer shop techie. I have never tried AVG, but I can tell you that Avast! has a slight edge over Avira for convenience: Avast! will download updates automatically, whereas you have to do it manually with Avira. According to Consumer Reports, Avira has a slight edge over Avast! and AVG in terms of catching Internet-source viruses, but if you pair up Avast! with IoBit Security 360 (free version) and run the latter on a daily basis, you’ll be OK. I have the pro version of Security 360, so it runs automatically when the computer is idle. Another good freeware program to have (same manual run basis as Security 360) is MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware. I use it also.
steve180 March 10, 2014
Best and Trusted Free Anti Virus programs on the market are:
Note: If you use more than one secondary antivirus program, make sure you’re only running one at a time. If these programs ever ask you if you would like to turn on active protection, as many of them will do, click “No.”
AVG is the most popular, but Avast! and Avira Anti-virus freeware downloads are just as good, in the opinion of my computer shop techie. I have never tried AVG, but I can tell you that Avast! has a slight edge over Avira for convenience: Avast! will download updates automatically, whereas you have to do it manually with Avira. According to Consumer Reports, Avira has a slight edge over Avast! and AVG in terms of catching Internet-source viruses, but if you pair up Avast! with IoBit Security 360 (free version) and run the latter on a daily basis, you’ll be OK. I have the pro version of Security 360, so it runs automatically when the computer is idle. Another good freeware program to have (same manual run basis as Security 360) is MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware. I use it also.
Best and Trusted Free Anti Virus programs on the market are:
– AVG Anti-Virus Free
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free
– avast! Free Antivirus
http://www.avast.com/en-gb/free-antivirus-download
– Avira AntiVir Personal
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus
– Panda Cloud AntiVirus
http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/
– PC Tools AntiVirus Free
http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/
– Microsoft Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials
Note: If you use more than one secondary antivirus program, make sure you’re only running one at a time. If these programs ever ask you if you would like to turn on active protection, as many of them will do, click “No.”