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There’s basically no excuse for not having top-notch antivirus software on your personal computers these days.

You have multiple well-rated — and no-cost — options to choose from, as PCMag’s latest ratings of free antivirus programs illustrate.

The publication tested and reviewed 17 free programs and examined the results of other independent labs that have tested the programs.

The best free antivirus software

PCMag awarded its “Editor’s Choice” honor to Kaspersky Security Cloud Free. It earned an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 from PCMag, making it the only program out of the 17 to earn a rating of more than 4 out of 5.

Kaspersky Security Cloud Free stands out for getting “perfect or near-perfect” scores from independent testing labs.

Neil J. Rubenking, PCMag’s lead analyst for security, explains:

“Around the world, independent antivirus testing labs devote tremendous resources to evaluating antivirus products. I follow four labs that release periodic reports on their findings, and Kaspersky has always taken perfect or near-perfect scores from all four. It’s true that the labs didn’t specifically test the free edition, but given that free users now get all antivirus features, including the behavior-based System Watch, the results should be the same.”

Additionally, four programs earned overall ratings of 4 out of 5:

  • Avast Free Antivirus (which PCMag also deemed “best for wealth of bonus features”)
  • AVG AntiVirus Free (“best for few-frills protection”)
  • Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition (“best for set-and-forget protection”)
  • Sophos Home Free (“best for managed family protection”)

Windows Defender

Free Antivirus For Laptop

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Windows computers come with Microsoft Windows Defender Security Center, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should rely on it.

PCMag gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5, noting that while the program’s scores from independent testing labs have “significantly improved,” there are better free options. Rubenking continues:

“The very best free antivirus utilities give you even more protection, and they earn great scores from the independent testing labs.”

Note that if you have a Windows computer and opt to use a nonWindows antivirus program, Windows Defender will go dormant to avoid conflict, PCMag says.

Should you pay for antivirus protection?

PCMag notes that paid antivirus programs offer more protection and better protection than free versions. Whether you should pay for such protection comes down to your budget.

If a paid program isn’t in your budget, perhaps try a few of the free programs to see which you like best.

One exception is for business computers. PCMag notes that free antivirus programs are often free only for noncommercial use, meaning only for use on personal computers.

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A Antivirus Free Download

Antivirus programs help prevent viruses and spyware from infecting a computer and therefore are one of the essential software programs each computer should have running at all times. There are thousands of viruses and spyware on the Internet, and any one of them can cause damage to personal files or the computer's operating system.

If your computer does not have an antivirus program installed and running, we highly recommend you install one today. Follow the steps below for help on how to install and update an antivirus program on your computer.

Tip

All new versions of Microsoft Windows now include Windows Defender to help protect your computer from viruses.

Install the antivirus program

To install an antivirus program on your computer, follow the steps below.

  1. If you purchased the antivirus program from a retail store, insert the CD or DVD into the computer's disc drive. The installation process should start automatically, with a window opening to help guide you through the install process.
  2. If you downloaded the antivirus program on the Internet, find the downloaded file on your computer. If the downloaded file is a zip file, unzip the file to extract and access the installation files. Look for a file named setup.exe, install.exe, or something similar, then double-click that file. The installation process should start, with a window opening to help guide you through the install process.
  1. In the installation process window, follow the steps provided to install the antivirus program. The install process provides recommended options so the antivirus program will function properly, which in most cases can be accepted as is. The one exception is if the install process recommends to install any toolbars for Internet browsers or other helpful programs for your computer. If prompted to install other software along with the antivirus program, uncheck all boxes or decline the install of those extra programs. No additional programs should be needed for the antivirus program to install and run successfully on your computer.
  2. When the install process is complete, close out of the install window.
  3. If used, remove the CD or DVD from the computer's disc drive.
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The antivirus program is now installed and ready to use. While it may not be required, we recommend restarting your computer so that any modified settings in the operating system can take effect correctly.

Update the antivirus program after installation

Out of the box, antivirus programs are not up-to-date and are missing the latest virus and spyware definitions. Without the latest definitions, the antivirus program will not know about the most recently created viruses and spyware, making your computer vulnerable to an infection.

After installing the antivirus program, we highly recommend you update it with the latest virus and spyware definitions. The updates allow the antivirus program to protect your computer from all viruses and spyware.

In many cases, the antivirus program automatically checks for and installs the latest updates. If prompted to do so, select Yes to update the antivirus program. If it does not prompt you to update immediately.

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Enable automatic updates for the antivirus program

By default, most antivirus programs enable the automatic update feature. We strongly recommend automatic updates be enabled to keep the antivirus program up-to-date at all times.

To check if automatic updates are enabled in your antivirus program, follow the general steps below.

  1. Open the antivirus program.
  2. Look for a Settings or Advanced Settings button or link in the antivirus program window. If you do not see either option, look for an option like Updates or something similar.
  3. In the Settings or Updates window, look for an option like Automatically download and apply updates. It may also refer to virus definitions instead of updates.
  4. For the automatic updates option, check the box for that option, if not already checked.
  5. Click the Save or Apply button to save the settings change.

Additional information

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  • See our antivirus and virus definitions for further information and related links.