The free antiviruses they are often among the most searched for software by users on the web: software that allows you to optimize security of a device, without the presence of fixed costs or subscriptions.
Per find your way around the various offers available it is important to start from specific criteria: for example the availability of the antivirus, or the type of functionality and services it makes available.
After that it is important to consider that often the border between free and paid antivirus it is more labile than one might imagine. Think in this sense about freemium models who propose a software base at no cost, to then be integrated with one complete version.
How to choose the best free antivirus
The criteria that allow prefer one antivirus to another they are multiple. Both in the case of free antiviruses than in the case of those for payment. Before going into the merits of the individual choice, it is therefore useful to analyze the aspects to take into consideration when approaching software of this kind.
The first criterion is that of effectiveness product availability. This means narrowing the field to those free antiviruses that are actually designed to be installed on the individual device the South single operating system.
So on the one hand antivirus perWindows and on the other those perAndroid. On the one hand antivirus per Android and on the other those per iOS. Added to this are the so-called Multi-platform antivirus: software that is released in multiple versions, in order to cover multiple market segments.
After that it is possible to focus on the services made available from the antivirus. Every year the sector press rewards free and paid antiviruses taking into account the most disparate parameters.
Free and paid antiviruses are evaluated taking into account various aspects: from availability on the platforms, to the quantity and quality of services available
For example, products that guarantee safety are rewarded better malware protection. Or maybe they update with greater continuity their database of threats. At the same time, antiviruses that allow you to different types of scanning: for example scanning fastscan complete or scanning offline.
The same goes for the free and paid antiviruses that they make available extra protection serviceslike the one against spyware. But also additional features, such as the blocking of promotional content unwelcome during web browsing activities.
One last thing to keep in mind when talking about free antivirus is the quantity and quality of free content. In fact, many software of this kind are offered to the public according to the economical freemium model.
The user can download a basic version for free of the product: and this has a more or less limited amount of functions and services. To use the antivirus to its full potential, you need to upgrade to the premium version: by paying a fixed fee for the download, or perhaps by taking out a subscription.
The best free antiviruses for PC and Mac
Avira is a free antivirus available for Windows e Macbut also for Android e iOS. It is therefore actually a product multiplatformwhich guarantees various features even in its basic version.
Avira is equipped with the classic services of scanvirus e protectionmalware, but not only. In fact, the software has a system of browser security monitoring it’s a password manager. But also a service for cleaning junk files and removing so-called cracker: computer pirates similar to hackerspecialized in system hacking.
Another great advantage of Avira is that with just one subscription the user can install antivirus on all devices and operating systems above. The main con is the need to switch toupgrade for payment to be able to take full advantage of firewall. But also to reduce the number of advertisements which are activated during use.
Also Bitdefender is among them free antiviruses most appreciated by press. Not to mention, it’s consistently recognized by as well independent companies of cybersecurity analysis.
Bitdefender is available for PC with operating system Windows and offers various features: from scanvirus at the malware protection. Passing through the password managerthe webcam protection and the file encryption.
Avira, Bitdefender and CleanMyMac
Among the various pros of Bitdefender it is also possible to mention the Malicious file detection service and, more generally, the different services that help the user to prevent cyber scams. Among the cons it is possible to mention the payment firewall passed an initial free trial period.
When it comes to free antivirus for Mac things often get complicated. So much so that users often end up choosing one multiplatform solution: from the aforementioned Avira ad Avast e AVG.
But they also exist antivirus free designed exclusively for the macOS operating system. A valid example is represented by CleanMyMacX: although in this case the free service is limited to seven day trial.
That said, CleanMyMac problem solver for Macwhich offers many different services: from scan all’optimization of performance. Passing for protection malware and monitoring of privacy online.
The best free antiviruses for Android and iOS
They have already been mentioned in the previous paragraphs antivirusfree also available per smartphone Android e iOS. At the same time, many users prefer solutions created for a single mobile operating system.
From this point of view the Android users they must first keep an eye on the proprietary Play Store. For example, viewing the proprietary security solution Play Protectwhich proposes the main ones typical features of an antivirus: device scan, harmful file removal, resource optimization.
The same goes for the usersiOS, with the difference that in this case it is possible not to install anything. Also because the vast majority of apps developed by third parties does not offer services IT security higher than those already integrated inside the device.
To know more: Computer security: guide to safe browsing on the web