Recommended free AntiVirus software for Windows 7 | 8

Speed Up My PC

Installing an anti-virus or a security software, after installing Windows is a must.  This helps protect our Windows computer from viruses and other security threats. It is also important to keep your security software up to date at all times! While the built-in Windows Defender in Windows 8 does a great job, some of you may want to opt for a third-party free antivirus software instead. Here are some very nice free antivirus software available for Windows 8, Windows 7 & Vista you might want to check out.

Free AntiVirus software for Windows

malware Recommended free AntiVirus software for Windows 7 | 8

I have included only those antivirus programs which offer full real-time protection, and are not just  stand-alone scanners!

1. Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials is Microsoft’s free antivirus offering to users of genuine Windows 7, Vista & XP users. (Windows 8 includes Windows Defender). It is specifically designed for individual consumer PC use using the smallest resource footprint possible to provide complete anti-malware protection and will include a new protection technology, as part of the Microsoft anti-malware engine, called Dynamic Signature Service (DSS).

2. Avira AntiVir Personal

Avira AntiVir offers you basic protection & protects your computer against dangerous viruses, worms, Trojans and costly dialers.

3. Avast AntiVirus

avast! Free Antivirus is perfect for people who send e-mails and surf popular websites. Its Anti virus and anti-spyware engine provides reliable protection against viruses, spyware, rootkits, trojans and other forms of malicious software.

4. Bitdefender Free Antivirus Edition

The free edition of its antivirus tool uses one of the world’s most effective antivirus engines, ICSA Labs certified scanning engines found in other BitDefender products for free. Thereby allowing you to enjoy basic virus protection for no cost at all. It includes a Real-time Shield.

5. AVG Anti-Virus

AVG Anti-Virus Free lets you Surf & search with confidence, while LinkScanner, keeps you safe from select sites. AVG gives you online and offline protection from viruses, spyware, and other malware. Incidentally LinkScanner for some reasons is known to block several legit websites and security help forums, for some reasons, best known to them. Our TWC Security Forum is also blocked by them. More on this here.

Apart from these freeware if you’d like to suggest any more freeware antivirus software, do share below.

Go here if you are looking for free Internet Security Suites or free firewall software for your Windows computer.

ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall, Kingsoft Antivirus, PC Tools Free Antivirus, Baidu AntiVirus may also interest you.

Posted by on , in Category Downloads with Tags
Anand aka HappyAndyK is an end-user Windows enthusiast, a Microsoft MVP in Windows Desktop Experience since 2007, and the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, TheGeeksClub.com & WinVistaClub.com. Creating a System Restore Point before trying out a new software or a tweak is always recommended.

Random Posts

  • Ravi Gupta

    Antitvir has blown it with their latest release. AVG has been lacking in both detections and resource friendliness. That leaves just MSE and avast!. I prefer MSE on 64-bit systems and avast! on 32-bit systems.

  • wonder-boy

    I use MSE and I’m happy using it.

  • Cosmin Tataru

    I install Avast free on Windows XP customer PC’s and always MSE on genuine Vista and/or Windows 7 PC’s.

  • trm96

    I used to use AVG but now I use MSE. I am shocked Microsoft made such a great AV and for free! I have installed MSE on all my Windows boxes (XP, Vista, Win 7).

  • http://evilfantasy.wordpress.com Kevin

    MSE works great on Windows 7 64bit.

  • http://jamesmsingleton.com James

    I have used MSE but have switched back to Avast because it seems to update definitions. I have to check Windows Update to update MSE definitions. It could take up to 24 hours for it to update and install automatically.

  • Mr. Spark

    MSE is great on its stage …. but I would also like to suggest you to go for Panda Cloud Antivirus.

  • http://twitter.com/AHinMaine AHinMaine

    One that definitely needs to be added to the list is Comodo. I’ve been using it about 8 months and it works very well. It’s easy to use but still has very advanced features for the power user. It also provides internet firewall capabilities a’la Zone Alarm. I’ve also taken to using their free Comodo Backup software.

    I’ve used the others too. I used AVG for a long time but ditched it because it was too much of a cpu hog for my liking. Even coming out of sleep mode it insisted on chewing up cpu for several minutes before calming down.

    MSE was a similar resource hog. It seemed to just chew up lots of memory, leak handles, and just not function very well.

    My only negative comment about Comodo is that it tends to be a little too aggressive about reporting false positives. You have to add exceptions for things like the tightvnc installer binary (I keep it in my dropbox), that sort of thing.

  • Gumilar

    I’m Indonesian
    The Best Is Kaspersky 7 & 2010
    Other Than That There Is No Good
    Other Than That Suck
    AVG Avast Avira
    Usually Only Remove Viruses
    Then I Could Too If Just Remove The Virus

  • FostWare

    I’m surprised no-one mentions FortiClient which is free, can be used in commercial environments, and comes from a company that does corporate filtering routers and firewall.

  • Software Collection

    Avira 10 is the newest version and good for protection

  • http://bzyryanov.livejournal.com Bogdan Zyryanov

    I have used Microsoft Security Essentials and Panda Cloud Antivirus Free and have been very pleased with both. I am now commited to Kaspersky Internet Security because it provides hacker and banner protecton. Neither MSE nor Panda can defend well against web-attacks. But they will do for a casual user.

  • TestGOTD75

    Out of free antiviruses, Avast 5 and Microsoft Security Essentials are the best.

    Out of paid antiviruses, Kaspersky (KIS 2011) and BitDefender (soon 2011 will be released) are the best.

  • http://www.yethz.com/ yethz

    MSE for me ;)
    Install and never worry.

  • Veleno1973

    Gli antivirus free non servono.Per chi usa internet e scarica di tutto l antivirus deve essere in ver. PRO.Un buon virus disabilita e rimuove gli antivirus free.

  • Tealfloss

    Panda the best