Download antivirus for windows xp with update. The lightest antiviruses for PC and laptop

Choosing the best application to protect your computer is not so easy, because a certain antivirus is suitable for each user.

One difference might be computer power, because, as you know, it is different for everyone, and, therefore, in order to avoid problems with poor PC performance, it is necessary install the program, which consumes less performance.

Another reason could be antivirus price. There are those who do not like to pay money for various applications, but there are users who absolutely do not feel sorry for their money.

That's why best antiviruses there will be two:

• Kaspersky- suitable for users with modern hardware, as it is constantly updated and looks for viruses on the device, and this can adversely affect the operation of a weak computer. Also, the downside is that the license to use is quite expensive. But, if you are satisfied with the above parameters, then you can safely purchase this antivirus program, since with it your device will completely forget about various malicious applications.
• Avast- This antivirus application is perfect for those who do not like to spend money. Here you can install the free version for a whole year, and at the end you can simply uninstall the program and install it again. Despite the fact that Avast is free, it is in no way inferior to its competitors.

The best free antiviruses

Avast

Possibilities free version:

• Device protection work from malware and spyware.
• Virus Protection based on the main version, which is also installed in the paid application.
• Regular updates.
• Capable scan files stored on your computer and detect the presence of viruses in them.

Peculiarities:

AVG AntiVirus FREE

One of the best representatives among the free versions that protect your computer from viruses.

Capabilities programs:

• Protects your PC in real time against various threats.
• blocks all suspicious links in the internet browser.
• Automatic updates databases that allow you to deal with the latest viruses.

Main differences:

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

High quality and fast work free antivirus, which has a beautiful interface without various ads.

Possibilities:

• Examination all installed software for viruses, as well as their elimination.
• Cloud Scan- allows you to eliminate suspicious files with greater speed.
• Revealing viruses in real time.
• Analysis and blocking of malicious sites.

Key peculiarities:

360 Total Security

It has all the features of its paid competitors, but it does not require you to purchase a license.

Possibilities:

• PC Protection from viruses using several databases at once.
• launch applications in multiple windows through the sandbox.
• Supports operation of all popular browsers and blocks malicious sites.
• Protects your device from various threats entering it by checking USB-drives.

Differences from competitors:

Comodo antivirus

A program based on a proactive anti-virus engine that allows you to detect any type of virus programs.

Application Features:

• cloudy scanning files on the device.
• Protection against various types of threats in real time.
• Regular updates occurring automatically.
• Analysis for the presence of malware installed on the computer applications.
• The antivirus has a built-in program " sandbox”, which allows you to run the application in multiple windows.

Advantages programs:

Avira Free Antivirus

The last representative in the list of the best free antivirus devices.

Possibilities antivirus:

• Providing protection PC from suspicious applications and spyware while the computer is running.
• Implementation rootkit protection.
• Works on devices with the operating system - Android.

Advantages:

Viruses are still contagious. They always climb from all sides, trying to register somewhere, then to issue “beautiful” advertising banners in the browser, load the processor by 100% and do other nasty things. There are also ransomware viruses. A classic example: a banner with a “terrible” message that your computer or laptop is blocked by the FSB, SBU and you need to pay a fine to your e-wallet 🙂

Therefore, today you can not do without an antivirus. Of course, they will not completely protect against viruses, but in most cases they will help to find and remove this infection in time.

Here everyone determines for himself. In this case, it is not at all necessary to use paid versions. After all, today there are a lot of free products that do their job just as well. And if there is no difference, why pay, right?

Therefore, below are the top 7 free antiviruses, selected based on ratings from AV-test.org, AV-comparatives.org and virusbulletin.org laboratories (they are considered the most objective).

Windows 8 and 10 already have Windows Defender built in by default. Basically, you can use it. But, as practice shows, he does not always cope with his task.

One of the best free antivirus is Panda Free Antivirus. He firmly staked out the first line in various ratings and shows almost perfect results (close to 100%) on Windows 7, 8 and 10.

This antivirus includes:

• cloud antivirus;
• anti-spy;
• anti-rootkit;
• heuristic check.

It is also able to block files when autorun from a flash drive (or other USB devices). In addition, this free antivirus has recently acquired "collective intelligence" - a new technology, thanks to which virus scanning is performed on remote servers. This allows you not to update the program, but at the same time requires a fast and constant Internet connection. But in the absence of it, the quality of protection is somewhat reduced.

Avast is one of the most common antivirus that many users know about. If you believe the tests, then on Windows 7 and 8, Avast shows results that are almost identical to paid products. And on Windows 10, the score is 97% (against 99% in the "seven" and "eight").

Yes, some users do not like regular reminders to purchase a paid version, but this is a personal matter for developers. In terms of efficiency, Avast does its job admirably.

Main functions:

• standard antispyware;
• network and Internet monitoring (traffic analysis, search for potential vulnerabilities in programs);
• analysis of software on a PC or laptop (search for old programs that can serve as a source of infection).

Avast Free can also scan browsers and their extensions (plugins), which often cause unnecessary ads. Plus, it can create a rescue disk (useful if the computer or laptop does not even turn on due to viruses).

The antivirus is completely in Russian, the interface is simple and understandable. In short, it is very easy to use. Link to office Avast website.

By the way, there is a small nuance here. After installing Avast, you need to register - so you can get a license for a period of 1 year (it can be extended in the future). If this is not done, then you will only be allowed to use the antivirus for 30 days.

In fact, 360 Total Security was considered the best. Until recently. According to the tests, he overtook many analogues and was even presented on the Microsoft website in the list of recommended ones.

Its main functions:

• protection from suspicious sites (you can create a black and white list);
• adding suspicious software to the "sandbox" (in order to exclude its impact on the operation of Windows);
• protecting documents from ransomware viruses that encrypt files;
• protection of browsers, web cameras, flash drives and other USB devices.

But soon he was disqualified and excluded from all possible ratings. Why he was "expelled" is unknown.

In connection with this event, users are divided into 2 camps: the first ones bypass it, and the second ones use it calmly.

Judging by the reviews, everyone who installed it was satisfied. Complaints come only that this free antivirus often sees viruses where there are none. Plus, during the first scan of a computer without permission, it deletes files that it considers infected (even if they are not).

In any case, whether to install this Chinese antivirus or not is up to you. Link to office website .

Today there are also free versions of paid products. One of them is Kaspersky Free.

It is assumed that antiviruses use identical algorithms that are available in full versions. And if, for example, Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) consistently occupies the first positions, then its brother should also do its job well.

Kaspersky Free does not have many extras. protection modules that are available in KIS 2017. However, it does an excellent job of protecting the PC (as for free software). And you can see this for yourself (link to the official website of Kaspersky).

Another great free antivirus, which is a “stripped down” version of the paid product of the same name. The only one on this list that has an English interface. Since November 2016, a new version has been released with support for Windows 10. The interface has also been slightly changed.

This antivirus is considered one of the best free products, even despite the minimum number of settings. And all because he:

• provides reliable protection;
• does not load a PC or laptop;
• Doesn't get annoying with constant pop-up messages.

Paid AVG is one of the best products for today. But for some reason, the free analogue of AVG Antivirus Free has not gained such popularity among our users.

Its main functions:

• PC protection and on-demand scan (standard options for all antiviruses);
• option "protection on the Internet" (checks links on the site, which not all antiviruses can do);
• protection of your data, as well as e-mail.

Recently, the program has acquired a Russian interface (previously there was only English). The first month after installation, the antivirus has full functionality, and after 30 days all paid options are disabled.

And the last among the best antiviruses is Avira Free. It also represents a "stripped down" version of its fellow PRO, which gets high marks in tests.

Features available here include:

• PC protection;
• check for malicious viruses;
• the ability to create a boot disk.

To add. features include searching for rootkits and configuring firewall settings.

By the way, Avira shows almost identical results with AVG Free. Therefore, if the latest antivirus did not suit you for certain reasons, you can try Avira.

Recently, Avira, in addition to Windows 7 and 8, also supports Windows 10. Link to the office. Avira website.

Instead of a conclusion

Remember that you can install only one antivirus on a PC or laptop. Otherwise, they will conflict.

"Windows Defender", available on Windows 8 and 10, is an exception, this rule does not apply to it.

Also today, pop-up banners, ad windows, etc. appear very often in browsers. Free antiviruses (however, paid ones too) do not always cope with them. To do this, it is better to use special software - for example, AdwCleaner and similar analogues. They do not conflict with antiviruses, but they are good at cleaning up viruses and advertising banners that they do not see.

This article will show which antivirus is actually better for windows 7. Many antiviruses on the Internet are divorced, everyone praises themselves and considers them the best, but we'll see if this is so.

What is a virus

Simply put, a virus is a program, like everything else on your computer. This program looks for holes in the protection of the computer, especially if it does not have an antivirus. There are standard protection systems, such as in Windows 7 and higher, when you install a program, you are asked about your intention.

But the virus is looking for loopholes to bypass the system and quickly register itself on the computer, in the same registry, which is very problematic when removed.

Which antivirus is best for windows 7

For the sake of answering the question of which antivirus is better for Windows 7, an article was written. The post will be directed to both types - free and paid antiviruses, because each representative has both options for services.

Kaspersky.

The giant that everyone knows about is Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Popular and reliable software that protects against everything that is possible. At one time he stood on my computer, everything is fine, but there is one minus, about him below. I won’t say anything bad, I warned and caught everything with lightning speed. There were also false positives, but it's better than non-working computer or laptop programs.

Pros:

1. High-quality and fast firewall.
2. Databases are updated frequently.
3. The speed of work is amazing.
4. A good function of blocking bad sites, shows in truth those sites with which something is wrong.

Minuses:

• Price 2000 at the moment, used to be 3000, the crisis has played a role.
• It loads the computer very much, if the machine is weak, then you can forget about Kaspersky. It requires a lot of resources, and there are reviews on this topic on the Internet.

All antiviruses from this collection can be downloaded for free and used, just read the entire post to get started.

Avast antivirus

Avast antivirus is an old man among antiviruses. I will say that I passed it, recently they have not praised it, it passes viruses. I was able to install it and evaluate it during its operation, and on the free version, which is no worse than the paid one, as the developers say.

Advantages

1. Quickly scans files on the system and installed applications.
2. The free period can be 1 year, which makes it stand out from the others.
3. Scans and monitors autoload, where viruses are usually registered.
4. Blocker of bad sites.
5. Speed ​​of work and low consumption of resources.
6. The cost is 1200 rubles at the moment.

Flaw

• Cant one and global. It passes viruses. Most likely, the databases are slowly updated, and new threats are easy to deceive.

All programs give a trial period without a license (more precisely, its purchase).

Antivirus ESET NOD32

Honestly, I did not use ESET NOD32 antivirus (I was only able to install a free version on a virtual machine), but it distinguishes itself from the rest as a tool not for housewives, but for advanced computer users. Reviews about it are different, about 60/40 the first digit is good.

Advantages

1. Everything that the others have.
2. Protecting the social networks of your accounts, which I have not seen in others.

Flaws

• High cost, at maximum speed more expensive than Kaspersky comes out 2350 per year.
• The scanning speed is very low, besides, the computer slows down (my 6 cores are difficult to lead to a dead end, but the ESET NOD32 antivirus could), it will not work for a laptop, only on a PC.

Antivirus Avira Antivir

The dark horse of my rating is Avira Antivir. This software has been on my computer for 2 years, and in the free version. And I am very pleased, for the last 2 years I caught one virus, only because of my stupidity, although Avira warned me.

Advantages

1. Many free add-ons, for example, checking for bad sites in the browser itself.
2. Does not load the system and the computer, suitable for use on a laptop.
3. New bases come every day, even for the free version.
4. Quickly catches unwanted jumps.

Minuses

• Not really a minus, the check goes only after downloading the file (because the version is free).
• The price is 1900 rubles, and this is still on the day of the action, so the full set costs 2900.

An excellent antivirus, it will show all its power on free products, and paid ones will be on top.

Dr.Web anti-virus

Last on the list of Dr Web antivirus, but not least. The famous Doctor Web is Kaspersky's biggest competitor, and it's understandable why. Lots of free programs that easily scan and remove junk and pests from your computer.

pros

1. The free antivirus works just as well as the paid one. Only there are restrictions in terms of Internet protection.
2. Lots of extras.
3. A relatively low price, the most popular and powerful, only 1540 rubles a year.
4. Scans the system quickly, and indeed finds suspicious files.

Flaws

• Low computer speed. But this is more likely not a minus, but a consequence of reliability, if you want good protection, you will have to sacrifice, or buy a more powerful computer.

All antiviruses support 32 and 64 bit Windows systems.

My choice is good and free

All are good, but my choice is Dr. Web, but I will not refuse my avira, it copes well. This rating is not empty words, I installed all the antiviruses myself and tried it. Plus, I looked at the reviews on the Internet, weighed and evaluated. You already know the winner. Moreover, Doctor Web is the best of both free and paid ones, well done developers.

An article on the topic, which has a lot of security tips, will be useful.

This article showed which antivirus is better for Windows 7 - the most reliable and adequate of all on the Internet for 2016. I'm done with this, good luck! Finally I found a cool video about antiviruses, look.

Read more

The search for a lightweight antivirus for Windows 7 and older versions of this OS is considered a fairly popular topic today, because not every user has a powerful PC that can "handle" capacious applications. Any gadget and device needs an antivirus, because without it, the risk of malware infection on the device increases significantly. Various companies offer fast, lightweight, yet extremely reliable antiviruses that are ideal for budget computers.

As mentioned earlier, not all people have the opportunity to buy a PC with the latest configuration, a powerful processor, a solid amount of RAM, the latest graphics card, and so on. Therefore, many opt for lightweight antiviruses for computers with medium and low configurations.

To finally determine whether a particular security program is suitable for a weak computer, it is necessary to analyze a number of aspects by type:

• simultaneous work with demanding utilities;
• downloading information from the Internet;
• threats from dubious resources;
• speed of copying or transferring information to HDD;
• background operation.

The best lightweight antiviruses for Windows 7

Many users have already been able to understand that on weak PCs, powerful antiviruses eat up almost all system resources, which is why the computer starts to slow down. Some companies took care of the owners of budget devices and offered light antiviruses for weak computers, thanks to which data protection is guaranteed without brakes and system overloads.

Comodo Internet Security

It is a well-established free antivirus designed for budget PCs and consuming a minimum of RAM and other resources. It is able to provide protection against threats from both files and the Internet. This program includes an antivirus with a firewall and a behavioral blocking system, so the virus will not penetrate the user's PC in any way.

The following advantages of this utility can be distinguished:

• one service that can control all devices;
• full protection against spyware, Internet attacks;
• blocking dubious resources and downloads;
• assistance in finding devices that have been stolen or lost;
• the ability to work on a PC with minimal requirements.

The above advantages and distinguish this program from all others.

Trend Micro Internet Security 2016

The main feature of Trend Micro Internet Security 2016 is a very specific design. Antivirus interface, transitions between windows are considered animated. It is possible to choose one of the proposed themes or even install absolutely any picture as the background of the program.

The antivirus works quite smoothly on weak computers and includes a number of the following features:

• scanning online. We are talking about a file antivirus that monitors the file system around the clock;
• deb filtering. A special web screen created to filter HTTP traffic opens. Despite the fact that the above program automatically installs its extensions, even without them, web protection works fine;
• computer health check. The utility checks for the latest updates for Windows, analyzes account and firewall settings, allows you to edit the list of automatically downloaded software, finds "garbage" in the PC and clears the history;
• privacy scan. In this case, the account of social systems is set up for the availability of personal data exclusively for friends.

G Data Internet Security

This antivirus uses a custom Bitdefender engine along with the new CloseGap system with a cloud component to guarantee immediate and permanent virus protection, protection against spam, online threats and so on. Threats of a regional nature are also taken into account, the firewall works in the background and does not bother the computer in any way, even when playing games. The presence of parental control allows you to protect the younger generation from sites with questionable content.

Among the main advantages of antivirus are the following:

• high level of detection of infected files;
• protection against theft of personal information in the form of passwords, e-mail and so on;
• the possibility of free web surfing, Internet banking and online shopping;
• ease of installation and use;
• fairly fast start;
• delete confidential information with one click.

F-Secure Internet Security

It is a complex software in which there is protection against threats on the Internet. The program runs on the Bitdefender engine, uses cloud technologies, proactive protection, anti-phishing, parental control and secure online banking.

The antivirus itself

• protects against infections and spyware. There is a regular scan of e-mail;
• there is a Firewall, advanced network protection, application analysis, intrusion elimination and control of network connections.

Internet protection is also offered:

• allows you to set restrictions on children's access to dubious sites;
• thanks to protection when surfing the net, pages with questionable content are blocked and security information is displayed;
• banking transactions are protected, which protects customers from unfriendly actions when using online banking and making transfers.

Total Security

This is a free anti-virus program, which in terms of its functionality is not worse than many paid programs, and even outperforms them in certain parameters. The program includes a free antivirus, PC acceleration, system cleaning, device scan and a number of other additional features.

The anti-virus includes several scan modes (we are talking about quick, full and selective):

• quick scan allows you to check the system settings, running programs, startup software and basic system information in just a couple of minutes;
• a full scan differs only in that it also includes files stored on the PC. Therefore, the analysis completion time may be different - it all depends on how many files are stored on the user's HDD;
• selective scanning implies the ability to select files, folders or drives that are scanned for malicious elements.

Also, with the help of this program, you can significantly speed up your computer by optimizing startup, scheduled tasks, utility utilities, critical system services and network connection. All this is done automatically.

The computer cleaning function involves searching for temporarily stored files that are created during Internet surfing. It also removes all the garbage that appears while watching the video and other unnecessary information.

A few more reasons to choose Qihoo to download antivirus for a weak PC

There are a number of main reasons why you should choose Qihoo to download a security application on a weak PC:

• the possibility of simultaneous operation of several engines at once (one of them is Bitdefender);
• the presence of additional functionality with which the program makes the work of a weak PC faster;
• special plug-ins that are built into the browser and monitor dubious sites, as well as other signs of threats;
• work in background mode, so that the user is not distracted from performing key tasks due to constant pop-ups.

Important! It should be emphasized that it is recommended to download everything for weak computers exclusively on official resources. Only in this case will it be guaranteed that a full-fledged antivirus will be received without code changes that can harm personal information and Windows 7 itself.

Antivirus installation instructions

Consider the detailed instructions for installing an antivirus using the example of the latter, 360 Total Security from Qihoo. The installation of other antivirus utilities is similar, the difference can only be in the installer menu, with which you can easily and quickly install any antivirus.

Important! If the device already has an antivirus, it should be uninstalled before installing a new one.

1. Go to the official website of the utility developer at the link: https://www.360totalsecurity.com/ru/.

   

2. Left click on the "Free Download" button.

   

3. Run the downloaded setup file from your browser's Downloads folder.

   

4. Check the box to accept the license agreement, additional items if necessary, click "Install".

   

5. Wait for the installation process to complete. After the installation of the program is completed, offer to use the download of additional software, click "Start" or close the window by clicking on the cross in the upper right corner.

   

   

6. After installation, the antivirus will open automatically. Select the function you need from the list and click on it. We recommend that you perform a full check of the device by clicking on the large "Check" button.

   

Video - How to install 360 Total Security antivirus

All the above antiviruses are free!

Thus, to start using the antiviruses described above, it will be enough to download them to your computer and install them. After installation, you will need an Internet connection to update the anti-virus databases - thanks to this, the protection will always be up to date. At the same time, for weak PCs, they use a minimum of the system's potential and often miss viruses that are very difficult to detect.

Video - Top antiviruses. Choosing the best

In my previous best antivirus reviews, I have listed both paid and free products that perform best in tests by independent antivirus labs. In this article - the TOP free antiviruses of 2019 for those who prefer not to spend money on protecting Windows, but at the same time provide it with a decent level, besides, interesting changes have taken place this year. Another rating: (includes paid and free options).

Also, as in the previously published lists of antiviruses, this rating is not based on my subjective preferences (I myself use Windows Defender), but only on the results of tests conducted by such laboratories as AV-test.org, av-comparatives.org, Virus Bulletin ( virusbulletin.com), which are recognized as objective by the majority of antivirus market participants. At the same time, I tried to take into account the results for the three latest OS versions from Microsoft - Windows 10, 8 (8.1) and Windows 7 at once and highlight those solutions that are equally effective for all these systems.

The built-in antivirus of Windows 10, 8 and 8.1 - Windows Defender was not a bad solution from the very beginning, but for several years after the release it showed itself in tests rather average, moreover, even Microsoft itself recommended using third-party antivirus solutions.

However, for two years in a row, Windows Defender has shown results in Real-World Tests no worse than those of eminent paid antivirus products, and its version for Windows 10 is constantly improving and acquiring new features: the next update will bring the ability to run dangerous programs in the sandbox.

If you have Windows 10 installed on your computer or laptop, you don’t disable system updates and don’t know if you need some other additional antivirus, today the answer is: you probably don’t need it, Windows Defender and other OS protection features (for example , SmartScreen) do quite well.

However, there are 3 things to note here:

1. Users often do not take warnings about dangers from the system seriously and ignore the warnings of Windows protection tools.
2. Windows Defender "does not like" illegal games and programs and often "silently" deletes their modified files, as a result of which they do not start.
3. According to independent tests, Windows Defender is good in everything except the number of false positives, perhaps this has something to do with the 2nd point.

Some points that speak in favor of the fact that perhaps you can get by with such protection:

1. You are not disabling UAC (User Account Control) in Windows, and you may not even be running under an Administrator account. And you understand why User Account Control sometimes asks you to confirm actions and what confirmation can threaten.
2. Turn on the display of file extensions in the system and you can easily distinguish an image file from an executable file with an image file icon on a computer, flash drive, in an e-mail.
3. Check the downloaded program files, and if they are packed in RAR, unpack and double check carefully.
4. Do not download hacked programs and games, especially those where the installation instructions begin with "turn off your antivirus." And don't turn it off.
5. You can add a couple more items to this list.

The author of the site has been limited to Windows Defender for the past few years (six months after the release of Windows 8, he switched to it). But he has two licensed software packages from Adobe and Microsoft installed on his computer from third-party software, one browser, GeForce Experience and one portable text editor, also licensed, nothing else is downloaded or installed on the computer (the programs from the articles are checked in virtual machine or on a separate experimental laptop designed for this purpose).

Avast Free Antivirus

Until 2016, Panda was in the first place among free antiviruses. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 - Avast. Moreover, for tests, the company provides Avast Free Antivirus, and not paid comprehensive protection packages.

Judging by the results in various tests, Avast Free Antivirus provides close to the leaders in the ratings of paid antiviruses in Windows 10, 8 and Windows 7, has a negligible impact on system performance and is convenient to use (here you can bet: the main negative review for Avast Free Antivirus - an annoying suggestion to switch to a paid version, but even this is quite acceptable in the latest versions).

Using Avast Free Antivirus should not cause any difficulties for novice users. The interface is clear, in Russian, new useful (and not very functions) regularly appear, similar to those that you can find in complex paid security solutions.

From the additional features of the program:

When installing an antivirus, you can configure which additional protection components you need, perhaps some of the above is not required. The description of each item is available by the question mark next to it:

You can download Avast antivirus for free on the official page https://www.avast.ru/free-antivirus-download.

Panda Free Antivirus (Panda Dome)

After the Chinese antivirus 360 Total Security mentioned above disappeared from the ratings, Panda Free Antivirus (now Panda Dome Free) became the best (today - rather second place after Avast) among free antiviruses for the consumer segment, showing detection results close to 100% in 2019 and removal in both synthetic and real-world tests on Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10 systems, conducted using various methods.

The parameter by which Panda is inferior to paid antiviruses is the impact on system performance, but "inferior" does not mean "slows down the computer" - the lag is relatively small.

Like most modern antivirus products, Panda Free Antivirus has an intuitive interface in Russian, standard real-time protection and on-demand computer or file scanning for viruses.

Additional features include:

• Protection of USB drives, including automatic "vaccination" of connected flash drives and external hard drives (prevents infection by certain types of viruses when connecting drives to other computers, the function is enabled in the settings).
• View information about processes running in Windows with information about their security.
• Detection of potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) that are not viruses.
• Very convenient (for a beginner) setting up antivirus exclusions.

All in all, it's a user-friendly, easy-to-understand, install-it-forget-it-free antivirus, and its rating results suggest it might be a good choice.

You can download Panda Free Antivirus from the official website https://www.pandasecurity.com/russia/homeusers/solutions/free-antivirus/

Comodo Internet Security Premium

In antivirus tests, they test Comodo Internet Security Premium - namely the free version of the product (the paid version with technical support is called Pro). Comodo Internet Security is a powerful antivirus package that includes, in addition to virus protection, one of the best firewalls available for free.

Among other things, the antivirus can find and remove potentially unwanted and malicious programs (many antiviruses do not react too much to them), has wide functionality (for example, a built-in sandbox), is compatible with operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 10, and is extremely undemanding to resources computer and has several themes, in the screenshot below - an antivirus with a changed theme.

You can download the Russian version of Comodo Internet Security for free from the official website https://ru.comodo.com/software/internet_security/free-internet-security.php

Tencent PC Manager

After the Chinese antivirus 360 Total Security was excluded from laboratory tests (the product behaved differently during tests than during real work), its place among the free antiviruses was taken by another product from the giant from China - Tencent PC Manager.

It also shows high performance, excellent protection and detection of viruses, malware and other potentially unwanted elements, uses BitDefender in addition to its own "engine", but, unlike 360TS, does not contain many additional add-ons (often not needed) for optimization and Windows settings.

A possible drawback for a Russian user is only the English interface language. You can download Tencent PC Manager for free from the official website https://www.pcmgr-global.com/

AVG Antivirus Free

AVG Antivirus Free is another free antivirus that scores top marks for threat protection in tests: some labs test the paid version (AV-Test, Virus Bulletin), some the free version (AV-Comparatives), but in all cases the results are in list of the best.

The free version does not have some features, but all the basics, namely protection against viruses, malicious files and programs, downloads from the Internet, are present and work in the best possible way.

You can download AVG Antivirus Free from the official website https://www.avg.com/en-us/free-antivirus-download

Adaware Antivirus Free

Little-known product Adaware Antivirus Free (Ad-Aware Free Antivirus) is tested in Virus Bulletin and consistently shows high results, receiving the VB100 award. Russian interface language is present.

The free version does not contain a firewall, the ability to contact technical support and some less important functions, otherwise it is a full-fledged antivirus (and it is the free version that is being tested).

Somehow this product reminded me of early versions of Avast. You can download Adaware Antivirus Free from the official website https://www.adaware.com/antivirus

Free antiviruses not included in the tests, but supposedly good

The free antiviruses listed below do not take part in the tests of antivirus laboratories, however, instead of them, the top lines in the ratings are occupied by paid complex protection products from the same development companies.

It can be assumed that the free versions of the best paid antiviruses use the same algorithms to detect and remove viruses in Windows, and their difference is that some of the additional modules are missing (fireroll, payment protection, browser protection), and therefore, I think it makes sense to list of free versions of the best paid antiviruses.

Kaspersky Free

Relatively recently, a free antivirus was released by Kaspersky - Kaspersky Free. The product provides basic anti-virus protection and does not include numerous additional protection modules from Kaspersky Internet Security 2019.

Over the past two years, the paid version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus has been taking one of the first places in all tests, competing with Bitdefender. The latest tests conducted by av-test.org under Windows 10 also show top scores in detection, performance and usability.

Reviews about the free version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus are mostly positive and it can be assumed that in terms of preventing computer infections and removing viruses, it should show excellent results.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

The only antivirus in this review without the Russian interface language Bitdefender Antivirus Free is a free version of the long-term leader in terms of tests - Bitdefender Internet Security. The recently released updated version of this antivirus has acquired a new interface and support for Windows 10, while retaining its main advantage - "silence" with high performance.

Despite the simplicity of the interface, the almost absence of settings and any additional options, I personally consider this antivirus one of the best free solutions, which, in addition to providing a decent level of user protection, will almost never distract from work and does not slow down the computer at all. Those. if we talk about my personal subjective recommendations for relatively experienced users, I recommend this particular option (I used it myself, installed it on my wife’s laptop a couple of years ago, I don’t regret it).

More details and where to download:

Avira Free Security Suite 2019 and Avira Free Antivirus

If earlier only the free product Avira Free Antivirus was available, now in addition to it, Avira Free Security Suite has appeared, which includes, in addition to the antivirus itself (i.e. Avira Free Antivirus 2019 is included), a set of additional utilities.

• Phantom VPN - a utility for secure VPN connections (500 Mb of traffic per month is available for free)
• SafeSearch Plus, Password Manager and Web Filter are browser extensions. Validating search results, storing passwords, and checking the current website, respectively.
• Avira Free System Speedup is a program for cleaning and optimizing your computer (includes useful things, such as finding duplicate files, deleting without the possibility of recovery, and others).
• Software Updater is a tool for automatically updating programs on your computer.

But let's focus on Avira Free Antivirus (which is part of the Security Suite).

Avira Free Antivirus is a fast, convenient and reliable product, which is a feature-limited version of Avira Antivirus Pro, which also has the highest ratings in terms of protecting Windows from viruses and other common threats.

Among the features included in Avira Free Antivirus are real-time protection, real-time virus scanning, creation of a boot disk for the Avira Rescue CD virus scan. Additional features include checking the integrity of system files, searching for rootkits, managing the Windows firewall (enable and disable) in the Avira interface.

Antivirus is fully compatible with Windows 10 and in Russian. Available for download on the official website https://www.avira.com/en/index

About 360 Total Security

Note: on this point, I cannot say that it is right to include this antivirus in the list of the best, but it makes sense to pay attention to them.

Previously, the free antivirus 360 Total Security, having been tested by all the indicated laboratories, famously outperformed most paid and free counterparts in terms of the totality of results. Also, for some time, this product was among the recommended antiviruses for Windows on the English-language website of Microsoft. And then he disappeared from the ratings.

The main reason for the disqualification, from what I was able to find, is that during testing, the antivirus changed its behavior and used not its own “engine” for searching for viruses and malicious code, but the BitDefender algorithm included in it (and this is a long-term leader among paid antiviruses) .

Whether this is a reason not to use this antivirus - I will not say. I see that it is not. A user using 360 Total Security can also enable the BitDefender and Avira engines, ensure almost 100% virus detection, and use many additional features, all for free, in Russian and indefinitely.

From the comments I received on my review of this free antivirus, most of those who once tried it usually stay on it and are satisfied. And only one negative review, occurring more than once - sometimes "sees" viruses where they should not be.

Among the additional features included for free (in addition to the inclusion of third-party antivirus engines):

• Cleaning the system, Windows startup
• Firewall and protection against malicious sites on the Internet (as well as setting up black and white lists)
• Running suspicious programs in the sandbox to exclude their impact on the system
• Protect documents from ransomware that encrypts files (see ). The function does not decrypt files, but prevents encryption if suddenly such software is on your computer.
• Protecting flash drives and other USB drives from viruses
• Browser protection
• Webcam protection

Additional Information

Recently, one of the main problems of Windows users has become various kinds of substitution of pages in the browser, pop-up ads, browser windows that open on their own (see) - that is, various kinds of malware, browser hijackers and AdWare. And very often, users who encounter these problems have a good antivirus installed on their computer.

This rating of antiviruses is updated once a year and over the previous years it has accumulated a lot of comments with user experience on the use of various antiviruses and other PC protection tools. I recommend reading below, after the article - it is quite possible that you will find new and useful information for yourself.