Free Antivirus Downloads

Keeping your computer protected from viruses and malicious infections is essential. A major way to accomplish this is with personal vigilance and installation of antivirus software that finds, then removes or neutralizes, viruses already present in your computer and prevents their future invasion. Good antivirus software will target viruses and other malicious programs and their code that can expose personal and financial data, cause the inconvenience of a slow computer, or stop your computer entirely.

Of course, there are numerous commercial packages available to protect a single personal computer or the largest networks. Clearly, your goal should be access to the best software to fit your needs and budget that can identify the malware most common to your computer usage and include at least daily updates to combat onslaught of new viruses.

Fortunately, if cost is an issue, the individual user can find excellent free antivirus software with past history and reviews to choose from. These packages are most often available as free antivirus downloads because they consist of limited versions of commercial software offered by publishers free to personal users in part as demo-software while offering upgrade options to versions with more advanced features for professional and business users. Below are five of the best free antivirus downloads that work similarly to expensive programs like Norton and McAfee and run on Windows XP and above.

AVG is free antivirus software that is quickly and easily installed and is simple to use serving as almost install and forget security solution. AVG runs in the background essentially unnoticed by the user while providing up to date virus protection. Moreover, this software automatically checks for updated virus definitions every one to four hours. To avoid computer slowdowns, full scans can be scheduled to run in down time. Finally, e-mails and link are scanned making AVG a full-fledged antivirus solution.

BitDefender Antivirus can provide solid computer security, ease of installation, and is easily maintained by the "set it and forget it" user. However, three different interface layouts for the novice, intermediate, or advance user are available with the advanced user able to run all process manually. Besides standard features like real time intrusion detection and protection, BitDefender antivirus provides heuristic, behavioral active virus control. Finally, hourly updates are automatic.

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), as its name implies, provides the necessary tools in free antivirus software for your system's protection provided you are using a genuine copy of a Windows OS. If an error is noted during installation, be aware that MSE may eventually stop functioning. MSE uses the proven antiviral tools already present in Microsoft client security software. Unless default settings are overridden, archived files are scanned after, if necessary, decompression by default before opening for an application. Attachments to e-mails and other downloaded files are treated similarly.

Comodo antivirus software includes all the standard features expected in a free antivirus download but includes tools not normally obtained outside a commercial package. Providing real-time protection, Includes behavior-based detection, it also includes on demand scanning of a disk, file, or folder. It even provides scanning for removable devices like USB flash or disk drives or a cell phone. Automated daily updates of the virus signature database are included.

Panda Cloud Antivirus (PCA) protects you from the usual malware threats just like the free antivirus listed above; however, PCA is unique in that all the scanning work that typically slows down your computer is done in the internet "cloud" of computers physically located elsewhere thus freeing your computer for unencumbered work, browsing, or play. There are no periodic daily upgrade searches, downloads, and installations on your PC. Updating is accomplished online using the cloud's collective intelligence based on the information from every PC running the PCA software providing an almost real-time updated environment.