Best Free Antivirus

[750XL]

Hi all,

I'm aware that there's hundreds upon hundreds of sites claiming to have found the best Free Antivirus etc but I'm finding it hard to find an independent website that isn't choosing the 'best' antivirus based off the commission they're getting.

I'm currently using the free version of Avira and was wondering if there's any other recommendations out there?

Got a new laptop last year (HP Pavillion) and ever since I've got it, I've found it to be very sluggish despite being brand new with virtually nothing installed on it - I reformatted it to Windows10 to get rid of all the bloatware that comes with HP.

Just wanted to try a new Antivirus to see if that sorts the issue.

Thanks in advance!

[sealo0]

Hi

Have a look at AV-TEST.org and see which suits you best.

Good luck

Mike

16.30

[FlightDetent]

The best free AV is the W10 integrated one.

[andytug]

Yep, for Win10 would stick with Defender as is, and add an extra malware scanner like Malwarebytes for protection on top.
If it's Win 7 or before I'd use Avast, AVG used to be good but is now too resource intensive.
Never use Norton or McAffee unless you want yoir machine to practically stop working.... and you can't just uninstall them either, you have to use their special "removal tool"

[Geordie_Expat]

Totally agree with andytug

[750XL]

Perfect thanks for the advice, I'll nuke Avira from the laptop and see how it goes.

[MrOrange]

Sophos Home gets my vote.

[stevef]

I used Avast Free for years and eventually decided to do the decent thing and buy the Premier package. I've never had infection issues and it doesn't drag its boots either.
I wouldn't touch Norton - if they can't keep oil in, how can they keep viruses out...

[jimjim1]

Originally Posted by 750XL

Perfect thanks for the advice, I'll nuke Avira from the laptop and see how it goes.

You probably want to make sure that the windows stuff is turned on once you have done that. I can't help with the details and don't even have a W10 machine available to look at.

Originally Posted by andytug

Never use Norton or McAffee unless you want yoir machine to practically stop working.... and you can't just uninstall them either, you have to use their special "removal tool"

Interestingly enough - well it is to me:-) - Norton and Mcafee were founded by individuals who have long parted company with the businesses. Very long parted.

Norton - sold in 1990 although Peter Norton remained on the board of the purchaser for a while.


McAfee - Resigned 1994
Wikipedia says - "when it announced that McAfee related products will be marketed as Intel Security. McAfee expressed his pleasure at his name no longer being associated with the software"

I have no connection with either other than as a enthusiastic consumer of Mr Nortons iconic "The Peter Norton Programmer's Guide to the IBM PC".

Ahhh - timer interrupts, BIOS keyboard buffer, DOS calls, File Allocation Table, ...

Originally Posted by stevef

I used Avast Free for years and eventually decided to do the decent thing and buy the Premier package.

I use Avast too - no ads. Win 7 here. Never bother with it except to re-confirm email every year (maybe that has stopped now) and every few months it blocks a web site that I didn't really want to visit anyway. I am still indecent

Originally Posted by stevef

I wouldn't touch Norton - if they can't keep oil in, how can they keep viruses out...

[Tech Guy]

Another happy user of Avast.

[Golden Rivet]

Bitdefender free.