Free Anti-Virus software?

[Ghostrider]

What free Anti-Virus are folk using these days, which would folk recommend, and which are crap and should be avoided?

 

I've tended to use AVG in the past, and found it generally did what it said on the tin, but I'm less than impressed with what its become recently. While it seems to provide the protection it claims it will, it seems very resource hungry and very flakey, throwing up error messages repeatedly and randomly, which effective disable both web connection and computer until you clear them.

 

I tried Avira a year or so ago which was already loaded on a computer I got, but wasn't impressed, for the same reasons as AVG - sucking the guts out of everything to keep itself going, and randomly and frequently throwing up pointless pop-up messages about itself in your face.

 

I'd like to get something like AVG used to be - It sat there, quietly, barely making any difference to the speed of the machine, and nabbing most of the nasties that tried to get past it. Kinda like an old dog sleeping on a doorstep. Does such a thing exist any more?

[George.]

AVG used to be very effective but IMHO, since then they have gone downhill. Now I use Avast, it sits in the background and keeps its eye on what is, or isn't, happening. Very good at the job but only usable if you're on some form of MS.

Edited February 5, 2018 by George.

[number 7]

Avast is ok and commodo is also good , also perhaps think about a vpn as well atom vpn is free also opera browser has free vpn

[Colin]

Use Avast myself.

 

Used to use AVG but it became to "intrusive".

[Frances144]

I use Avast. It potters along in the background.

[George.]

After thinking about free anti-viruses yesterday, I remembered that some years ago I used a free version of Malwarebytes to clean out any malware that was hiding out of sight. Just downloaded it again and ran it. It still does a good job, and pretty quickly too. Worth trying the freebie to find out what good it can do for you.

Edited February 5, 2018 by George.

[ETLerwick]

Free: you get what you pay for, remember . . . 

[number 7]

Microsoft security essentials is also ok ,works fine with windows 7 not sure how well it works with windows 10

[George.]

Free: you get what you pay for, remember . . . 

 

The free version is just the basics but it's pretty effective, and you're encouraged to upgrade - at a price. You are only encouraged though and the basic version is worth using, IMO.

 

Microsoft security essentials is also ok ,works fine with windows 7 not sure how well it works with windows 10

 

Just checked Security Essentials and it suggests that it's for the early version of Windows 7. After that it indicates that you should use Widows Defender but Defender doesn't get a great write-up from anybody else. 

[CrashBox]

In my more recent experience, I find anti-virus software acts like a virus itself. It can dramatically slow down the OS and if you try to remove it to try another one, it usually acts in a not very benevolent way. I have a (now old but still used) Galaxy S5 which has had an AVS installed that stopped me from logging onto any wifi network, for 'fear' of allowing a virus or hacker access to the system. Was incredibly frustrating and whenever I tried to remove the software it would throw up copious amounts of warnings and 'threats', saying that removal of this AVS would affect the overall running of the phone. It didn't, but there is folk out there who would take that as gospel and it would stop them from going ahead and removing the anti-virus software, so continue living with a device that has the OS functions compromised. Not good in my book.  

[George.]

In my more recent experience, I find anti-virus software acts like a virus itself. It can dramatically slow down the OS and if you try to remove it to try another one, it usually acts in a not very benevolent way. I have a (now old but still used) Galaxy S5 which has had an AVS installed that stopped me from logging onto any wifi network, for 'fear' of allowing a virus or hacker access to the system. Was incredibly frustrating and whenever I tried to remove the software it would throw up copious amounts of warnings and 'threats', saying that removal of this AVS would affect the overall running of the phone. It didn't, but there is folk out there who would take that as gospel and it would stop them from going ahead and removing the anti-virus software, so continue living with a device that has the OS functions compromised. Not good in my book.  

 

Would disagree with you, CrashBox. Have never known anti-virus or anti-malware to cause any problems. They have only done what they are there to do, some are better than others but they do their best. Don't have much experience with android OS so cannot comment on any particular problem there, suffice to say that if no effort is made to keep any and all potential problems at bay then there is no complaint when it all goes pear-shaped.

[number 7]

For windows 10 bit defender is better than windows defender

 

https://www.bitdefender.co.uk/

[Ghostrider]

I was kinda avoiding thinking about Avast, as there's grumblings out there on the web that AVG's issues have been caused by Avast tinkering with AVG since they bought them out in 2016. If folk are using it successfully though, its probably worth giving it a try to see how it goes. It can't really be much worse than AVG is now anyway.

[Ghostrider]

Free: you get what you pay for, remember . . . 

 

Very true. You don't expect the virus database to be fully up to date and you don't expect the bells and whistles and frills functionality with a freebie, and that's fine, I can live with that with what I want it for. You do expect basic functionality though, otherwise why bother offering free versions at all, and free AVG doesn't do the basics any longer

 

As George mentioned, the freebie version is their advertising for the full paid for version, 'try before you buy' and all that. You expect it to do what little it does do smoothly and efficiently, and not be unstable and bug ridden as AVG has been for me the last 4 or 5 months with the free version. It doesn't sell product, as from where I'm sitting I have no guarantee that AVG can produce anything of better quality than the problematic freebie I've expereinced, so I'm hardly likely to consider buying anything off them anytime soon.

[Ghostrider]

In my more recent experience, I find anti-virus software acts like a virus itself. It can dramatically slow down the OS and if you try to remove it to try another one, it usually acts in a not very benevolent way. I have a (now old but still used) Galaxy S5 which has had an AVS installed that stopped me from logging onto any wifi network, for 'fear' of allowing a virus or hacker access to the system. Was incredibly frustrating and whenever I tried to remove the software it would throw up copious amounts of warnings and 'threats', saying that removal of this AVS would affect the overall running of the phone. It didn't, but there is folk out there who would take that as gospel and it would stop them from going ahead and removing the anti-virus software, so continue living with a device that has the OS functions compromised. Not good in my book.  

 

I can sympathise. I'd estimate AVG is on average knocking around 25-30% of the oomph out of the computer its on, just by being there. Thats not factoring in the numerous times, sometimes every 10 mins, it throws up an un-necessary 'you computer is not protected' error message of its own, that automatically blocks my internet connection until its cancelled, which can take several minutes in itself, and every so often disconnects the router as well, which takes a similar period to reset itself. It really does cause as much problems in and of itself, as many of the 'threats' it is there to prevent would if let loose. Plus, being so flakey, you have no confidence that it is doing the job its there to do properly either.

 

I don't expect it'll uninstall without something of a fight either, but we'll see, as its got to go.