Most security software companies offer free trial versions of their products so you can test them without paying subscription fees. These programs have all product features unlocked and can be used for the duration of the trial period.In the guide that follows we will show you how to download and install an antivirus with a free trial so that we can replace Windows Defender with an antivirus that is more effective and powerful in blocking any type of cyber threat, especially if we download a lot of files from the Internet and open a lot of e-mail attachments throughout the day.
These trial versions can also be used to update the premium antivirus already installed on your computer taking care to recover the license key or the account with which the subscription is registered.
READ ALSO: Should You Pay For An Antivirus?
Download antivirus with a free trial
As mentioned in the introduction major antivirus companies provide free trials for their commercial products, freely downloadable from official websites. These programs can be used to protect the computer for a period of time ranging from 14 to 30 days, more than enough to evaluate the goodness of the product.
CASE NOD32
One of the best premium antiviruses that we can try for free on Windows PCs is CASE NOD32. This popular antivirus boasts a very powerful scanning engine, a cloud scanning module, advanced protection against ransomware, malicious links, and infected attachment checking systems, and an extremely light system process in memory (less than 70 MB of RAM memory occupied).
ESET NOD32 can be tried for free for 30 days, with the only requirement to provide an email address when activating the free trial. In addition to the NOD32 version, you can also try the complete security suite ESET Internet Security designed to offer advanced and improved protection tools.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
Another very powerful and effective antivirus that we can download for free on our computer is Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. This antivirus has been at the top of the detection rankings for years thanks to a very powerful, lightweight scanning engine capable of blocking threats without user intervention. The other ransomware and exploit protection modules are also effective.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is available free for 30 days without license costs and without having to enter any payment method in the trial phase. In addition to Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, you can also try the more complete security suites such as Bitdefender Premium Security e Bitdefender Total Security.
Norton 360 Standard
Among the most famous antivirus for PC, we certainly find Norton, which allows you to try its security suite for free Norton 360 Standard. By downloading this security suite we will have a renamed and very effective antivirus, an antispyware system, advanced protection against ransomware, a password manager, a VPN connection system, a protection module for the webcam, and secure cloud space to save. your personal files.
Compared to other antiviruses we can try Norton 360 Standard for 14 days only. In addition to the version mentioned you can also try Norton 360 Deluxe e Norton 360 Premiumwhich adds new modules and allow you to protect other devices as well.
Avast Premium Security
One of the most popular free antiviruses is Avast, which also provides a premium version with more features and a much higher level of protection. Paid antivirus is called Avast Premium Security and additionally provides (compared to the free version) a protection module from counterfeit sites, an advanced firewall, a webcam protection module, a secure and encrypted password manager, a network control module, and an attack protection module hacker.
Avast Premium Security can be used free of charge for 30 days, without having to provide any payment information: a simple email is enough to register for the free trial.
McAfee Total Protection
Another powerful antivirus that we can try on our PC is McAfee Total Protection. The company of this antivirus has been working in the security field for decades and offers a complete security solution to protect every aspect of digital life on the PC: the suite under test includes an antivirus, an antispyware, an anti-ransomware, and a spam blocker. , a malicious link analysis system and advanced email attachment checking, a webcam protection system.
McAfee Total Protection is free to try for 30 days without obligation, simply by downloading the executable and choosing to use the free trial included in the suite.
G DATA Antivirus
Those who do not want to try the security suites but are just looking for a good antivirus for their PC can try G DATA Antivirus. By downloading this antivirus we will get optimal protection from any type of threat, without burdening the system with useless or little-used modules. G DATA Antivirus uses Bitdefender’s scanning engine combined with proprietary scanning engines, so as to significantly increase the detection capacity of the latest generation of malware, including dangerous ransomware.
G DATA Antivirus is available as a free trial for 30 days, without having to provide a payment method in advance to proceed. In addition to the simple antivirus, you can benefit from extended protection by downloading the trial versions of G DATA Internet Security o G DATA Total Security.
Malwarebytes Premium
Malwarebytes is the most popular antimalware software used alongside Windows antivirus, as it can perform on-demand scans and identify a large number of cyber threats. Few people know that this program is also available in version Malwarebytes Premium with which you can unlock resident protection (scan files opened, created, and modified in real-time, like a real antivirus), unlock link protection, and anti-ransomware module, so you can replace Windows Defender or any other known antivirus.
Malwarebytes Premium can be used for 14 days without obligation and without having to uninstall anything at the end of the trial period: once the trial offered for Malwarebytes Premium has expired, the program will return to the totally free version, where it is possible to launch scans only on request.
How to redeem or enter an antivirus license
If we have an active subscription on a previous version of the antivirus or we want to insert a license after the trial period, all we have to do is open the antivirus in use on the PC, open the section relating to the user license, or subscription and press the button to add, modify or purchase a new license.
In most cases, it is sufficient to enter the license key when prompted to proceed with product activation.
In other cases we can renew or purchase the license for the chosen antivirus by taking us to the official website of the product and taking care of the login with the manufacturer’s account: after the purchase or renewal of the license, it will be immediately applied to the computer in which the antivirus is present and on which the account has been accessed.
Conclusions
The antivirus built into Windows 11 and Windows 10 can offer basic protection against common threats and prevent viruses from spreading to critical areas, but it can do nothing against advanced threats, next-generation viruses, or threats involving network devices.
To obtain an optimal level of protection, it is preferable to use a paid antivirus which offers a more effective security solution and a suite of very useful tools that are hard to find in the free versions.
Free antivirus, on the other hand, always requires additions (for example an antimalware and a firewall) and manual maintenance, which often cannot be carried out on PCs entrusted to novice users: better than downloading the free trial versions of paid antivirus and take advantage of maximum protection right away.
To learn more we can read our guides to the best complete and free protection and security suites and to the best combination of programs to protect your computer.