Looking for the best free antivirus software? We’ve compiled insights from the best antivirus software review sites and summarized them here. If you need free antivirus protection for Windows 10, 8, or 7, here are the independent experts’ top anti-malware picks — including our top-ranked AVG AntiVirus FREE.
- How I Rated the Top Antiviruses With a VPN. There are a few criteria that I use to rate an antivirus with a VPN: Strong antivirus protection — The antivirus software itself needs to offer high malware detection rates and additional features such as ransomware and phishing protection.
- What is the best antivirus for Mac in 2020?Download CleanMyMac X free edition here:See our review for best antivirus solutions for Mac.
Summary :
What is the best free antivirus for Windows 11/10 computer? This post lists the top 5 tools for your reference. If you deleted or lost some files on your computer, you can use a free data recovery program – MiniTool Power Data Recovery – to easily retrieve them.
Without an antivirus program protecting your computer, your computer may be easily attacked by viruses or malware. This post introduces some best free antivirus for Windows 11 or 10 computer for your reference.
5 Best Free Antivirus for Windows 11/10 Computer
Windows Defender Antivirus
We all know that Windows comes with a built-in free antivirus – Windows Defender. If you don’t want to install any third-party free antivirus for Windows 11/10, you can stay with the Windows Defender.
Windows Defender is the anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows. After Windows 10 May 2020 Update, it is called Microsoft Defender. It can protect your device and data in real time with a full set of security features. It also provides firewall and network protection, reports your system performance, and more.
Best Free Antivirus For Mac Reddit
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Avast Free Antivirus
Avast Antivirus free edition provides essential protection for your Windows 10/11 computer. It offers 6 layers of security and a powerful virus scanner. You can use this free antivirus for Windows 11/10 to detect and block viruses, malware, spyware, ransomware, etc. to stop threats.
It lets you easily check the security of your whole computer from your passwords to your home network security. Though it doesn’t check your applications for malware, it monitors their behaviors and reports abnormal performance.
Check the Windows 11 price and how to get Windows 11 license/product key in 3 ways. Easily activate your Windows 11 PC or laptop.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
This free antivirus program for Windows 10/11 packs all the essential protection features every Windows computer needs. It offers real-time threat protection for your computer and uses behavioral detection to monitor your active apps. If it detects any suspicious things, it takes instant action to stop it. Its powerful scan engine detects and removes all malware and viruses from your computer.
Check how to get Windows 11 64 bit free downloaded for your PC. Also check if your PC meets the Windows 11 64 bit requirements.
McAfee Antivirus
To protect your computer from viruses or malware, you can also try McAfee antivirus software. It can block viruses, malware, ransomware, spyware, and more. It also offers other protection features like web protection, password manager, ID theft protection, etc.
Norton Antivirus
This all-in-one antivirus software for Windows 10/11 can protect your Windows computer from various kinds of threats. Its security protection technology is powered by AI and machine learning. It helps defend against viruses, worms, malware, ransomware, spyware, adware, phishing, Trojans, etc.
Note: Some free antivirus programs might not be compatible with Windows 11 yet. If the antivirus doesn’t work properly in Windows 11, you can choose another program. Currently, the new Windows 11 OS is not rolled out yet. Microsoft announced Windows 11 on June 24, 2021, and indicates that the official Windows 11 release date will be late 2021. Now users and developers can only get the preview build of Windows 11 to experience and test it. You may meet some problems in using the Windows 11 beta version but Microsoft is constantly making improvements.
Check how to update Windows 11/10 to download and install the latest updates to make your Windows PC or laptop run well.
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Best Free Data Recovery Program for Windows 11/10
If you lost some important files due to mistaken deletion, malware or virus infection, hard drive failure, computer problems, etc. you can use a professional data recovery program to recover lost files.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a free data recovery application for Windows 11/10. It lets you easily recover any deleted or lost files, photos, videos, etc. from Windows computers, memory/SD cards, USB flash drives, external hard drives, SSDs, etc. This program helps you tackle various data loss situations. Intuitive interface and simple operation.
Self-termed the “front page of the internet”, Reddit is home to all sorts of useful information, and just as much useless info too. But Reddit has a long thread of discussions related to the most efficient antivirus software for Windows 10. Since the subject is of a wide interest, it’s always good to discover what the opinions of Reddit users are on it, especially when it comes to the different free antivirus software you’ll find covered by our reviews.
Windows Defender in the Eyes of Reddit Users
Surprisingly, Windows Defender is often mentioned when it comes to the question of what the best antivirus defense for Windows 10 is. Some agree that it can offer basic protection for the inexperienced user, while others don’t. All in all, the general advice is to use “Common Sense + Windows Defender. Emphasis on the former”. Another Reddit user suggests that just these two are not enough, since Windows Defender “is not bad, it’s just that it’s not very proactive in preventing zero day malware/exploits”. Of course, someone else asks where common sense can be downloaded.
One smart remark recommends following AV-TEST results, the independent antivirus ranking organization testing and ranking all known antivirus software. Windows Defender received quite a high ranking from the organization, too.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition and Reddit Karma
Bitdefender with its free version is often mentioned in comments on the subreddit “What’s the best antivirus for Windows 10?” though the solution does not seem to be so popular with users. One of them noted that it pops up when he is playing games on his PC, always doing some “mysterious” scan he didn’t ask for and even blocks some browsers from opening. His opinion is that “an antivirus is not supposed to do that”.
A more informed user replies that “Bitdefender is renowned for having the best protection in tests as well as being one of the lightest resource intensive antiviruses. I take advantage of their free version and then pair that with weekly scans using malwarebytes and superantispyware.” The same user adds that at some point he purposely downloaded something “sketchy” and Bitdefender was able to block it.
Avast Free Antivirus and Redditors
Redditors also brought up the Avast Free Antivirus solution quite often, but only briefly. One of the most interesting comments is the one that stated that Avast was the lightest of all the antiviruses tested. With other programs, according to the commenter’s experience, the CPU cooler can often be heard working, while it hardly happened with Avast. However, they add that it is necessary to do the custom setup to get rid of the useless “bloat”.
Another Redditor adds that Avast is a great program and even though he does recommend it to some users, it can prove to be particularly intrusive when used on an HTPC (home theater PC) and would be “resource-intensive”, leading to churning the disk sometimes. The commenter goes on to state that they have used the software for about three years on four different systems, however eventually decided to change to Bitdefender and is much happier with the choice now. The Redditor’s parting message is that both programs offer great security and “score well in tests”.
Best Antivirus Software of 2021
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