Consumer antivirus software providers for Windows

If you’re running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 8, you’ve already got Windows Defender built in, helping to protect you against viruses, spyware, and other malware.

Malware consists of viruses, spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Windows Defender is free and is included in Windows, always on and always working to protect your PC against malware.

Hackers and scammers sometimes use fake antimalware software to trick you into installing viruses or malware on your computer. Should you wish to explore alternatives to the already installed or available Microsoft antimalware software on your Windows PC, the reputable security companies listed below provide consumer security software that is compatible with Windows. Just click the company name to see the Windows-compatible product they offer. For business security software that is compatible with Windows, please contact your security vendor of choice.

Many companies, including those listed on this page, distribute anti malware software. You should carefully investigate the source of anti malware and other products before downloading and installing them. For more information, see Protect your PC.

Important: Windows Defender will turn off if you install another anti malware program to protect your PC. Before you install anti malware software, check to make sure you don’t already have an anti malware product on your computer. If you do, be sure to remove the product you don’t want before you install the new one. It can cause problems on your computer to have two different anti malware products installed and running at the same time.

The antivirus providers listed on this page might be unavailable for your version of Windows or in your country or region.

Поставщики потребительских антивирусных служб для Windows

Если у вас Windows 10, Windows 8.1 или Windows 8, вы уже встроены в Защитник Windows, помогая защищать вас от вирусов, шпионских и других вредоносных программ.

Вредоносные программы состоят из вирусов, шпионских и других потенциально нежелательных программ. Защитник Windows бесплатно и включено в Windows, всегда включите и всегда работаете, чтобы защитить компьютер от вредоносных программ.

Злоумышленники и мошенники иногда используют поддельные антивирусные программы, чтобы обманным с помощью обмана установить на компьютер вирусы и вредоносные программы. Если вы хотите ознакомиться с альтернативами уже установленной или доступной антивирусной программы Майкрософт на компьютере с Windows, перечисленные ниже надежные компании по безопасности предоставляют программное обеспечение для защиты потребителей, совместимое с Windows. Просто щелкните название компании, чтобы увидеть продукт, совместимый с Windows. Если программное обеспечение для обеспечения безопасности бизнеса совместимо с Windows, обратитесь к поставщику.

Многие компании, в том числе и перечисленные на этой странице, распространяют антивредоносное ПО. Перед скачиванием и установкой необходимо тщательно изучить источник вредоносных программ и других продуктов. Дополнительные сведения см. в теме «Защита компьютера».

Важно! Защитник Windows вы будете отключены, если вы установите другую программу для защиты компьютера. Перед установкой антивредоносного программного обеспечения убедитесь, что на компьютере еще нет этого продукта. В этом случае перед установкой нового продукта удалите не нужный вам продукт. Это может привести к проблемам на компьютере одновременного установки и запуска двух различных вредоносных программ.

Указанные на этой странице антивирусные службы могут быть недоступны для вашей версии Windows, а также в вашей стране или регионе.

Consumer antivirus software providers for Windows

If you’re running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 8, you’ve already got Windows Defender built in, helping to protect you against viruses, spyware, and other malware.

Malware consists of viruses, spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Windows Defender is free and is included in Windows, always on and always working to protect your PC against malware.

Hackers and scammers sometimes use fake antimalware software to trick you into installing viruses or malware on your computer. Should you wish to explore alternatives to the already installed or available Microsoft antimalware software on your Windows PC, the reputable security companies listed below provide consumer security software that is compatible with Windows. Just click the company name to see the Windows-compatible product they offer. For business security software that is compatible with Windows, please contact your security vendor of choice.

Many companies, including those listed on this page, distribute anti malware software. You should carefully investigate the source of anti malware and other products before downloading and installing them. For more information, see Protect your PC.

Important: Windows Defender will turn off if you install another anti malware program to protect your PC. Before you install anti malware software, check to make sure you don’t already have an anti malware product on your computer. If you do, be sure to remove the product you don’t want before you install the new one. It can cause problems on your computer to have two different anti malware products installed and running at the same time.

The antivirus providers listed on this page might be unavailable for your version of Windows or in your country or region.

The 11 Best Free Antivirus Software of 2021

Protect your Windows computer with a free antivirus program

A good antivirus program is essential to a secure system, and you most definitely do not have to pay for one to get great protection. Below is our hand-picked list of the 11 best free antivirus programs that you can download for Windows today.

All of these programs perform definition updates automatically, are always running to make sure your files are protected from malware and your personal information remains private, and can start scans on-demand whenever you like.

However, each of them do have a few prominent differences that make them stand out, so pay attention to those as you decide which one to use.

If you just need a spyware cleaner and need it right now without waiting for one of these full AV programs to install, use one of the (preferably portable) applications from our Best Free Spyware Removal Tools list. There are also free on-demand virus scanners you can install. Also, consider using a Windows Firewall alternative from this Free Firewall Programs list.

If you can’t even log in to Windows to install an antivirus tool, access a computer that does work and then use it to make a free bootable antivirus tool that you can then run on the infected computer.

Avira Free Security

Password manager included.

Optional additional downloadable protection layers.

In-the-cloud antivirus process.

Additional features can be annoying.

Add-on components often require fee to be fully functional.

The main component in Avira’s free software suite that makes it stand out is the optional «in-the-cloud detection» feature called Protection Cloud. This scanning method lets Avira’s antivirus tool identify and stop threats before they get out of hand.

This is how it works: When a suspicious file is detected on any computer running Avira, a fingerprint of that specific file is generated and uploaded anonymously to Avira so that they can scan it and report its status (whether it’s safe or dangerous) back to every Avira user so that the program can take appropriate action.

Avira can scan and remove existing threats as well as automatically detect and stop new ones. It protects you against ransomware, Trojans, spyware, and other kinds of malware. You can even choose which ones to actively watch out for, and disable others (though it’s not recommended) like dialers, jokes, adware, etc.

Avira Free Security can also scan on a schedule, check files with any file extension or just the ones you manually choose from, disable the ability to stop active scans (so that viruses can not stop the program from finding them), adjust the scanner’s priority level, scan primary boot sectors, follow symbolic links to scan the actual files, search for rootkits before starting a scan, scan the Windows Registry, ignore files on network drives, automatically repair, rename, quarantine, delete, or ignore threats when they’re found, use heuristic scanning, add files, folders, and processes to the ignore list, manage Windows Firewall settings, password protect the program’s settings, block autorun on removable devices, and make the hosts file read-only.

This program offers more than just a very extensive antivirus application. It includes several other «layers» of security that will install automatically, and they might take a while to download since there are several. However, you don’t have to use them, and they won’t bother you unless you open them.

These separate modules include a VPN that encrypts all your traffic (up through the first 500 MB each month); password manager to securely store complex passwords; and software updater that identifies outdated programs and gives you the download links to update them.

In addition, Avira can speed up your computer and reduce boot time with its tune-up tool, help you find the best deals as you shop online, and warn you of malicious websites or software bundles before you download them (with its SafeSearch add-on).

These extra features can be annoying if you’re strictly after an antivirus solution, but again, you don’t have to use them; just keep them tucked away where they are and you won’t have to worry about them.

Avira Free Security is intended to run on computers with Windows 7 and newer, including Windows 10 and Windows 8. There’s also Avira for macOS.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

Drag-and-drop file and folder scan.

Minimal, uncluttered design.

Simple to set up and run.

Limited customization if you’re looking for that.

Takes a while to install.

If you want an antivirus program that’s not only free but easy to use and not cluttered with lots of buttons and menus, you should definitely try the free version of Bitdefender Antivirus.

You not only get instant protection against viruses, worms, rootkits, spyware, and other threats, but also anti-phishing and anti-fraud protection to carry security with you when you’re browsing the internet and entering passwords.

It’s remarkable how well Bitdefender runs despite its minimal design. Drag and drop folders and files directly into the program to run a scan against them, as well as start a full system scan or scan select objects from the right-click context menu—all of which can run at the same time.

Regardless of how they’re started or how many scans are running simultaneously, a history of those scans are recorded for you on the primary window of the program as well as within the Events area of the settings.

The obvious downside to a program that lacks many customization options is that there isn’t much you can change about it. That might be something you want but it might not be available—all you can do with this edition of Bitdefender is start and stop scans.

Another downside to this software is how long it takes to become ready for you to use. The initial installer for Bitdefender is quite small but that’s just what’s used to then download the full program, which is hundreds of megabytes and could take a while if you have a slow internet connection.

It’s also unfortunate that you can’t pause scans (it just lets you stop them) or set up file and folder exclusions before starting scans like some AV programs allow. With Bitdefender, you can only mark files or websites as safe after they’ve been identified as potentially malicious.

Ads asking you to purchase Bitdefender’s professional programs and scheduled scans not being supported (but they’re not necessarily needed since Bitdefender is always checking for new threats) are a few other not-so-greats.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition runs on Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Adaware Antivirus Free

Lightweight antivirus program.

Can run as a supplement to other antivirus programs.

Silent mode mutes notifications and limits resource use.

Some useful features are only usable with paid version.

Real-time email scanning not included.

Adaware Antivirus installs in minutes, is light on system resources, and can be used in one of two ways. The first is in regular mode where it checks for threats as they happen, but the other lets you use it in addition to your primary antivirus program.

What this so-called «second line of defense» does is disables real-time protection but still lets you use Adaware Antivirus to manually scan for existing threats. This feature is helpful if your primary AV software doesn’t seem to find malware that you know is infecting your computer.

Whichever way you use it, Adaware Antivirus provides a defense against ransomware, spyware, viruses, and other forms of malicious software. You can find those threats through a quick, full, or custom scan.

Daily, weekly, and monthly scheduled scans are supported, and you can even run a scan to just check certain things, like only rootkits or just tracking cookies and boot sector viruses, for example.

Adaware Antivirus also lets you choose a custom performance setting to use more system resources to run the scan (to make it faster), exclude files/folders/file extensions from scans, and decide how often to check for new definition updates (every 1/3/6/12/24 hours).

For real-time protection, you can toggle on or off the following options: scan archive files, scan email databases, deep scan that checks CHM files and executable files, smart scan that skips previously checked files, scan boot sectors, scan files as they move throughout the network, and skip scanning files that exceed a custom file size (e.g., 10 MB to skip video files).

You can also protect the program’s settings with a PIN as well as enable gaming/silent mode to suppress notifications.

Adware Antivirus definitely has its advantages but because there’s also a non-free version you can upgrade to, many additional options are not supported.

For example, parental controls and advanced network, web, and email protection are only available in Adaware Antivirus Pro. These options are visible within the free edition, but they’re not actually clickable/usable until you enter a Pro license key.

Adaware Antivirus Free works with Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Avast Free Antivirus

Add-ons allow you to increase protection.

Password manager and some other tools included are trial only.

Additional features require purchase.

Avast is used by hundreds of millions of people and ranks high in nearly every «best list» of antivirus programs, and for good reason. If you want a solid program that is sure to block new threats but is still easy enough to customize, you should consider using it.

Avast Free Antivirus is similar to Avira; supplemental modules enhance the virus shield and provide additional services related to security and privacy.

The antivirus portion has lots of options you can change but it’s still easy enough for anyone to use since there are information blurbs next to most items so you’re not left wondering what will happen if you enable them.

Plus, both definition and program updates are performed automatically (a manual option is available, too), meaning you can install Avast and let it do its thing without worrying whether you’re running the latest and greatest version.

Avast is customizable and lets you make changes to everything from whether to make a sound when threats are detected and how long notifications should remain on the screen, to the kinds of file extensions that should be scanned.

Here are some more features supported in this program: scheduled scans, custom scans that can check only the memory, rootkits, auto-start programs, etc., checking all files or just certain file extensions, protecting against ransomware, identifying files by their content instead of their suffix, fine-tuned heuristics sensitivity, scanning for potentially unwanted programs, follows shortcuts to scan the real file, scan archives like self-extracting DOS and Win32 executables and 7Z and RAR, Windows Explorer context menu integration, exclusions for folders, HDDs, and URLs (but not specific files), custom scans that are easy to save for use in the future, a Rescue Disk utility lets you use the Avast scanner even if you can’t start your computer, particular areas of the program can be protected with a password, and Do Not Disturb Mode.

Before Avast is installed, you have the option to include over a dozen different tools: file, behavior, web, and mail shields; software updater, browser cleaner, rescue disk, Wi-Fi inspector, security and SafePrice browser extensions; password manager; junk file cleaner; and Game Mode.

Technically, if you only want the antimalware protection, you can install just the shields from the start of that list; the others are add-ons that aren’t necessary but could be helpful at some point.

For example, the software updater is a nice tool that will not only check for and report outdated software but also install the newer versions for you (even in bulk).

Wi-Fi Inspector scans the network for devices that could be vulnerable to attacks. For instance, it might identify that a computer is running a file sharing service that has been known to facilitate the spread of a certain kind of worm.

You can install these tools (it takes less than five minutes) and then disable or completely remove them later. Or, you can ignore them during setup and just install them later, or not at all.

However, the password manager and Cleanup tools are only trial versions that will expire after a time-limited trial. There’s also a firewall, file shredder, and sandbox feature that’s unusable in this free version.

Avast Free Antivirus is compatible with Windows 10, 8, and 7. There’s also a Mac and Android version.

See our comparison between Avast and Bitdefender to see which one might be better for you.