help prevent malicious attacks on your
computer you'll need a program that
offers excellent antivirus protection in
addition to the irises the most powerful
antivirus software can help to defend
against other types of malware including
Trojans worms adware spyware and even
ransomware coming up I'll count down the
top five best free antivirus software to
both Windows and Mac with ease of use
system impact and overall effectiveness
being the most important factors let's
get started
starting off our countdown at number 5
is so close home free while it's well
known as an anti-virus solution for
businesses their Home Edition also gets
very good scores from independent labs
if you want to control it remotely they
offer cloud-based remote management for
multiple computers allowing you to
change the security settings and address
any security alerts from any location
their user interface it's simple enough
to figure out I should point out that
there is no quick scan button available
but they do let you run a full system
scan whenever you want Sophos home free
gives you a 30-day free trial of premium
after the 30 days unless you upgrade the
premium features go away and you'll
still have access to the program with
the free features included for use on up
to 3 devices in at number 4 is a virus
free antivirus just a few years ago and
our last roundup it was number one on
our list but has been passed up by the
competition since then it's still highly
customizable and does very well in
testing they claim to be light and fast
but on an older laptop I down their
system impact to be quite heavy so I
don't recommend it on older computers
with the virus
you can do a quick scan and at any time
you can disable real-time protection
it's worth noting that when you install
a virus several apps are included if you
scroll down you'll see additional apps
that you can install later an annoyance
with the virus and why it dropped on our
list is that you have no control of
which apps get installed with it for
instance it installed the Opera browser
phantom VPN and a system speed up and
pride
see tool but what I find troublesome is
that with opera the envira installer
even made it the default browser on my
system without my permission but if
you're someone that can look past those
issues a virus free antivirus is still a
quality program to consider coming in at
number three is AVG antivirus free it
offers the exact same antivirus
protection engine as Avast which
purchased AVG a few years back while AVG
antivirus free does lack some of the
extra features of its free Avast
counterpart it does offer excellent
protection from viruses and malware it
also helps to block suspicious lengths
and email attachments and prevents
suspicious downloads there dark-themed
interface is not only easier on the eyes
it's also laid out well for novice users
you've got your basic protection
included for free with the features for
full protection locked away unless you
upgrade
do a quick scan click on scan computer
for additional scanning options go into
settings here you can do a scan of your
entire computer along with other types
of scans to avoid any unwanted programs
be careful when installing AVG antivirus
free they'll give you the choice to
install their AVG secure browser just
make sure to untick the boxes if you
don't want it real quickly before we
move on to the top two picks if you have
Windows 10 Microsoft's built-in Windows
Defender may be all that you need while
their protection scores have improved
quite a bit over the years it's still
only recommend it as the primary
antivirus for those people that practice
low risk behavior online also I
recommend getting malwarebytes the free
version doesn't automatically run in the
background so it won't interfere with
your antivirus software just run it on
occasion to scan your computer it does a
fantastic job of removing malware
already on your system with those out of
the way let's head back to the countdown
in the runner-up spot in a close second
is avast Free Antivirus it has excellent
lab test results low impact on system
resources and includes many useful extra
features some of those additional
features include a network security
inspector password manager and for the
gamers out there a do not disturb mode
just like AVG if you don't want their
secure browser uncheck the boxes prior
to installing when you launch the
program you'll have four tabs along the
left and Status you can run a smart scan
which is essentially the same as a quick
scan in protection you can run various
scams and the Wi-Fi inspector will
search your network for any issues going
into privacy you'll find the VPN and a
password manager they're not the
greatest but might be useful if you're
looking for something simple and in
performance you'll find the Do Not
Disturb mode to block distractions when
you're playing a game coming in at
number one is BitDefender Antivirus Free
Edition there are several reasons why
it's our favorite for starters
consistently gets excellent scores from
independent labs and offers the same
antivirus protection as their paid
version its real-time threat detection
and scanning features have a very low
overall impact on system performance
with a top-notch anti-phishing and
anti-rootkit utility built into the
program some of you will appreciate its
no frills minimalistic design there's
just the one button to perform a full
system scan in settings there's only one
setting that you can change and that's
whether to turn on or off the protection
shield which is best left turned on help
keep your systems secure if you would
prefer more customization options the
other free programs mentioned might work
better for you but if you want a set it
and forget it solution that's easy to
use and offers excellent protection but
defender antivirus free edition can't be
beat thanks for watching
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