Best cheap antivirus 2012

Professional Reviews. Affiliate Commissions. Reviews Guidelines. Katarina Glamoslija Updated on: January 13, This article contains. Short on time? Download Avira Free Security for Windows here. Quick summary of the best free Windows antiviruses for 1. Kaspersky — Free extras like a VPN, dark web monitoring, and a password manager. Malwarebytes — Minimalistic antivirus with on-demand scanning. Sophos — Good real-time scanning with remote access for 3 PCs. Comparison of the Best Free Antiviruses for Windows in Here are a few of them: Avast.

While Avast — and their subsidiary antivirus company AVG — continue to offer two pieces of widely used free antivirus software Avast Free Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free their repeated privacy violations have caused too many concerns. You can read more here. McAfee is one of my favorite antiviruses of It comes with an advanced anti-malware engine, excellent web protections, and a VPN with unlimited data.

Why should I use a free antivirus instead of Windows Defender? Is it safe to use a free antivirus? Hardened browser: Yes. Parental controls: Yes. Password manager: Yes. Ransomware rollback: Yes. Webcam protection: Yes.

Virtual keyboard: Yes. VPN: Limited upsell. Wi-Fi scanner: Yes. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. Specifications Anti-theft: No. Backup software: No. Firewall: No. Parental controls: No. Webcam protection: No. Reasons to avoid - Heavy background system impact. Norton Deluxe.

Hardened browser: No. Ransomware rollback: No. VPN: Unlimited. Reasons to avoid - Heavy slowdown during full scans - Pricey. McAfee Internet Security. Virtual keyboard: No. Reasons to avoid - Very heavy performance hit - No parental controls on mid-priced tier. Trend Micro Maximum Security. Specifications Backup software: No. Reasons to avoid - Heavy performance hit during scans - Many false positives on some tests. Game mode: No. Password manager: No. Wi-Fi scanner: No.

Reasons to avoid - So-so malware protection - Moderate performance penalty during scans - Lacks VPN, password manager, file shredder. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free. Specifications Email scans: Yes. Password manager: Limited. Ransomware reversal: Yes. Scan scheduler: Yes. Support options: FAQs, forums. Upsell nag factor: Moderate. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. Specifications Email scans: No. Ransomware reversal: No. Scan scheduler: No.

Upsell nag factor: Minimal. Reasons to avoid - No extra features whatsoever - No quick scans or scan scheduling. Windows Defender Antivirus. Password manager: Yes, with other Microsoft apps. Upsell nag factor: Nonexistent. Reasons to avoid - Some features work only on Microsoft products - Hard to schedule scans. Avast Free Antivirus. Specifications Email scans: Separate tool. Hardened browser: Separate tool.

Password manager: Not any more. Ransomware reversal: Shield only. Support options: : FAQs, forums. Upsell nag factor: Omnipresent. Reasons to avoid - Password manager discontinued - Mediocre malware protection - Heavy system hit during scans.

Upsell nag factor: Inescapable. Reasons to avoid - Middling malware protection - Slow full-system scans - Almost no extra features. Malwarebytes Free. Reasons to avoid - Installs trialware of paid version - Manual definition updates. Paul Wagenseil. Topics Antivirus. See all comments I will prefer Kaspersky antivirus licensed software. So wait, wasn't Kapersky implicated in a security vulnerability that the AV software was providing metrics on user data and phoning home with it?

Is that a question or a statement. I don't see anything about a virtual keyboard in Bitdefender; how do I find it and how does it work? Do the authors of these articles take into consideration anything except how well they perform as antivirus software?

Kaspersky has been implicated in data breeches at the NSA and other government and corporations around the world. Notify me of new posts by email. Avira Antivirus Free Avira AntiVir, the only German product which has been very conservative with appearance and interface. Panda Cloud 1.

How did we test Antivirus Antivirus programs are special because they make specific promises about computer security, and the degree of fulfillment of these promises can be measured empirically.

Step 1: Analysis of Features, Usability and Quality The first thing we do for each virus is to evaluate their functions with the help of a small guide that summarizes the most common characteristics of free and commercial antivirus. What features does it have?

Do you have errors? Is it pleasing to the eye? Step 2: Process Efficiency and Performance Data For efficiency we mean the ability of the virus to detect and remove malware proactively and reactively. Its calculation, also with data from Virus Bulletin, is more complex, since we consider the following factors: These data are obtained mainly from Virus-Bulletin , the independent analysis of the products most prestigious computer security.

How are your personal experiences with them? Satisfied with the results? Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 32 comments. Leave a reply: Cancel Reply. Dushyant Kumar - December 3, Hello Author, i m really really fan of your blog. Rohit Langde - December 3, Well, if personal experience says something good about some particular product then you should stick with it. Archer - December 3, Rising also provide a freeware version of their software which Ive tried before,its low on system resources and quick to scan a system.

Rohit Langde - December 3, We considered just the top 5 which holds most of the market share which is mentioned at the beginning of post. Archer - December 4, Maybe you would consider doing an article on other freeware security software availalbe and their effectivness, as an antivirus alone is not really enough these days?

Rohit Langde - December 3, oh really! Amit Dodwani - December 31, i think net protector is more secure than quick heal total security.. Kalju - December 6, My opinion is this, there is no good antivirus program.

Ejaz Mir - December 6, I disagree with the ratings awarded to Avast. Bhuwan - December 6, Hi, MSE is best, using it since its first release till now no worry for viruses not even a single OS installation due to any virus problem. Madhav Tripathi - December 7, It is one of the tough question without testing all the versions of , however Avast is my favorite, I am using it. Comodo too if you are only using free AV…. Nathan Highland - March 18, I cannot thanks enough for the article. If you'd like to take a step up in securing your PC without taxing your wallet, it's hard to beat Bitdefender's free antivirus software for Windows The Windows security software offers real-time monitoring for viruses, malware, spyware and ransomware protection.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is easy to set up and stays out of your way until you need it. And the protection this antivirus product offers is solid. Bitdefender antivirus software consistently earns top marks for its antivirus protection and usability from the respected AV-Test independent testing lab.

The free antivirus version covers one Windows PC. Malwarebytes does protect your PC from a virus or malware attack, scoring reasonably well in recent independent testing for guarding against malware threats. But that's not really what Malwarebytes is known for. If you find yourself in trouble, the go-to disinfectant for many is Malwarebytes. To get the antivirus company's free antivirus version, download this trial version , which "downgrades" to a no-fee on-demand cleaner with fewer features that detects and removes viruses and malware when you run an on-demand antivirus scan after 14 days.

In addition to the four antivirus apps we recommend above, a handful of other anti-malware tools are worth considering among the best antivirus protection if you find them at a better price or just prefer to use one over our picks above. It feels like McAfee Antivirus has been around forever, first on its own in the '80s, then as part of Intel starting in , and then again on its own when Intel spun it off in And McAfee Total Protection has been around forever because quarter after quarter it creates solid, modern antivirus software that protects your PC.

In recent evaluations by AV-Test, it had high scores on both protection and performance. Maybe this antivirus provider is not as well known to consumers because of its focus on enterprise security, Trend Micro antivirus quietly brings its business expertise to the home with its Trend Micro Maximum Security tools.

Trend Micro's software earns high marks from AV-Test -- consistently scoring well for detecting zero-day attacks and widespread viruses and malware.

And Trend Micro does a good job of not taxing system resources. Free version? It earns high scores for usability and offers solid virus protection. The free antivirus version of Sophos Home gives you virus protection for three Windows PCs -- using the company's high-scoring anti-malware tool -- plus a day trial of the company's malware-removal tool.

Test after test, Avast Antivirus for Windows performs well for malware detection with options ranging from Avast free antivirus software to Avast Premium Security. And we've included its antivirus in our list of recommended security app options before. But Avast was in the news for several months for its non-antivirus business, so we looked at the company, specifically reports at the end of that Avast allegedly collected user data with its browser plug-ins and antivirus software and then sold data it collected through its Jumpshot subsidiary in early In response to the reports that his company gathered and sold the details of its customers' online activities, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek said in a statement that he understood that his company's actions raised questions of trust in his company.

To address that, Avast terminated Jumpshot data collection in January and closed its operations because the data collection business wasn't in line with Avast's privacy priorities. These newer reports follow another in from Avast that its internal network was breached , possibly to insert malware into its CCleaner software, similar to an earlier CCleaner hack that occurred prior to Avast's acquiring the Windows utility.

Avast is now saying the right things about taking its customers' privacy seriously , but it only came to that point after reacting to investigative reporting that revealed the Jumpshot practices. The CCleaner revelations, while concerning, were self-disclosed, which is important to building user trust. We hope Avast's more privacy-friendly policies mean that there will be no further Jumpshot-style activities and it returns to glory as one of the best antivirus software.

In the meantime, we'd recommend using one of the many other solid choices in this realm listed above. Because the company has been in the news the past few years, let's talk about Kaspersky Lab -- specifically about the federal ban that blocks US government agencies from using Kaspersky Antivirus products. Based in Moscow, Kaspersky Lab has for years produced some of the best antivirus software for business antivirus needs and home customers.