Chromebook Is The Built In Antivirus Free

woody2234

Chromebook has built in antivirus but is it free and if not can I install something like Avast free

abibee

It's free I guess, as it's part of the system. No need to install anything else. I may be wrong, but I doubt there even are any virii that can affect a Chromebook.

poppy10_2

Chromebooks don't have antivirus. When they say they have "virus protection built in" they mean you can't catch viruses on them. There is no need for any antivirus.

woody2234

So a chromebook connected to the internet cannot be infected by a virus or mailware or spyware but my friend says any device connected to the internet can be infected with a virus, thankyou for replys

cookie365

Any electronic device that does something can be hacked into doing something you don't want it to.

But unless you're going to turn on Developer Mode and install dodgy apps from Chinese appstores, you're safe.

http://www.howtogeek.com/164788/how-a-chromebook-is-locked-down-to-protect-you/

wongataa

woody2234 wrote: »

So a chromebook connected to the internet cannot be infected by a virus or mailware or spyware but my friend says any device connected to the internet can be infected with a virus, thankyou for replys

Well it possibly could be infected if there were any viruses for it but there aren't. Chromebooks do not run Windows. They run ChromeOS.

paddyrg

That isn't to say some enterprising soul won't come up with a way to abuse them in time, but the point is that the OS keeps itself current and auto-updates.

macman

Creating viruses takes time, and time costs money. The user base for Chrome is simply too small for them to bother.
There's not much to infect, since a Chromebook is essentially a browser.

Jivesinger

I suspect that even on a Chromebook, users of Facebook could also end up with dodgy applications (of the sort that posts messages on your Timeline without you knowing, or sends out messages to everyone in your friends list).

And of course you could still hand over bank details to a phishing site for the odd email that makes it past the spam filters.

So you still need to keep your wits about you, even on a Chromebook.

[Deleted User]

woody2234 wrote: »

So a chromebook connected to the internet cannot be infected by a virus or mailware or spyware but my friend says any device connected to the internet can be infected with a virus, thankyou for replys

Any device can be infected by a virus, but in the case of ChromeOS it's virtually impossible because:
1) CHromeOS is a hacked version of Linux and there's virtually no virus for Linux;
2) ChromeOS is default mode runs in a sandbox, viruses cannot be escalated to the whole system (unless you run it in Developer Mode and infect it yourself...)
3) You can reset the overlay partition (as many times as you want) and any possible malware is gone.

Chromebooks are very smart devices, unfortunately they are (almost) closed boxes and you are at the mercy of Google for updates, installation, etc.

almillar

can I install something like Avast free

You need to do a bit of research before you buy. You can only install ChromeOS apps ona Chromebook. You won't be installing any Windows programmes.