re-avast

joe134

What,s the best free A/v

closed

avast - depends who you ask and what you mean by best, do a search it gets asked all the time.

GunJack

avast for less experienced users, avira for the more experienced

wapow

People still use AVG?
Ive got it. Does things fine. Its free.
Paid features are good.

Gillor

A bit like asking which is the best car.

As Closed said it depends - it depends on your browsing habits; it depends on your level of expertise; it depends on how well a particular anti-virus programme plays on your machine; it depends on which a/v you feel comfortable with.

If you have a degree in computer sciences and your computer is up to it then take a look at Comodo Internet Security which is probably the most comprehensive of all the free a/v programmes.

For simplicity look at Microsoft Security Essentials, but for for simplicity and minimal use of computer resources with a good detection rate then Panda cloud is one to consider.

None of these is going to give you total security, particularly against zero day threats so if you are likely to visit some of the the darker places on the internet you are going to need layered security with the sort of protection afforded by the addition of a HIPS or sandbox programme combined with a second-opinion scanner such as Malwarebytes or Hitman Pro..

topherknowles

I used to sit next to an online banking fraud technical helpdesk and they always recommended Avast to the customers as a free solution (even over the companies sponsored paid solution, Kaspersky, much to the chagrin of their manager!).

Hasn't let me down so far and when the lady speaks to you to let you know your virus database has been updated it's like being in the future.