Installing a reputed antivirus on your Windows system is always worthy and highly necessary, especially in this advanced era where hackers and cyber-criminals are looking for the opportunity to steal data and get profit from them. Cyber-attacks have vastly increased in the last few years, and if you want to protect your system, you must need a top-quality Antivirus. Today, in this post, we will discuss the five most popular free Antivirus for Windows 11 and let you know about their features, drawbacks, and more.
What is Antivirus?
Antivirus is nothing but software that helps users prevent, scan, detect, and delete viruses from a system. Once you install antivirus, it will automatically run in the background to deliver real-time protection against virus or malware attacks.
Overall, you can say Antivirus is a kind of protection program which helps to protect your files and hardware from several malware such as worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and provides extra safeguards such as website blocking and customizable firewalls.
Why Do You Need Antivirus?
If you are using a computer, whether connected to the internet or not, there is always a need for Antivirus! Now the question is, why do you need an Antivirus? The answer is pretty simple, nowadays hackers are active everywhere and trying relentlessly to get a scope to hack to steal data from other systems.
Cybercriminals are smart enough to find vulnerabilities on several systems and attack them to commit fraud or steal critical data. To avoid such malicious attacks, Antivirus is always crucial for every computer user nowadays. Though Antivirus cannot prevent every kind of cyber attack, it can undoubtedly work as a shield when someone is trying to avoid interference into a system. So to protect your system from hackers and viruses, you need a good antivirus.
Five Popular Free Antivirus for Windows 11
1] Avast Free Antivirus
If you are looking for a free antivirus, antivirus is one of the best choices for you. Avast free antivirus is antivirus its advanced core protection engine, which usually offers advanced threat protection. It is a strong and globally recognized free antivirus with risk and advanced threat protection. Avast is simple to install and checks for issues in performance and security while permitting users to know how fast you can resolve them.
Features
- Unlimited password manager
- Game Mode
- Wi-Fi network scanner
- Limited access to VPN service
Drawbacks
- The boot-time scan can be very slow
- Bonus features need distinct purchase
Download from the Official website
2] Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is another free and popular Antivirus on your Windows system. This Antivirus protects your system from any virus or malware attacks. No doubt, this Antivirus has some of the best tools for virus removal, which makes it a highly preferred option for many individuals and businesses. The simple interface and speedy scan feature make it stand out among other antiviruses. This Antivirus comes with a Personal plan and Business plan.
Features
- Auto-scans
- Ransomware protection
- Anti-malware protection
Drawbacks
- The free edition doesn’t offer real-time protection
- Poor lab test result
3] Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
Bitdefender Antivirus is one of the best anti-malware scanners in the current market. Its cloud-based anti-malware engine is designed to run and protect the system silently in the background of your system. The windows security software provides real-time monitoring for viruses, ransomware, and spyware. The free version of this Antivirus is easy to install and set up.
Features
- Real-time data protection
- Advanced Threat Defense
- Web Attack prevention
- Anti-Phishing & Anti-Fraud
- Automatic Upgrades
- Free online support
- Global Protective Network
Drawbacks
- Weak offline security
- Asks to upgrade too many times
- It takes more time than usual
Download from official website
4] Norton LifeLock Antivirus
NortonLifeLock is another top-rated antivirus for malware, ransomware protection, and Antispyware. It offers all-in-one protection to your system and protects online privacy efficiently. The security tool comes with a LifeLock identity and password management system. You will also get real-time threat protection for your system with advanced and multilayered security. It is also available for smartphones and Windows.
Features
- Online threat protection
- Parental control
- Smart Firewall 100% virus protection
- Antispyware, malware, and ransomware protection
Drawbacks
- Slow scan speed
- Make other apps slowdown
5] Windows Security
Microsoft Security is an in-built antivirus with Windows 11 for free. This security tool is undoubtedly good as it offers considerably improved malware detection abilities for windows systems. Overall, this is a primary free protection software provided by Microsoft. If you are not interested in having any third-party security software to install in your system, then Windows Defender is best for you. The interface of Windows Defender is straightforward to use.
Features
- Parental Control
- Game Mode
- Protection against phishing
- Malicious URL blocking
Drawbacks
- This Antiprantivirussn’tussn’t support a context menu can’t scan a specific folder.
- It takes a lot of system resources.
Does Windows 11/10 Need antivirus?
Wantivirusnically, Windows doesn’t require any third-party anti virus as Microsoft has its security tool Microsoft Security and this is one genuine protection tool already available in Windows 11/10. Still, If you are looking for features beyond it, you need a good third-party antivirus.
Is Microsoft Security Enough?
No doubt, Microsoft Security is one of the decent cybersecurity protection tools. It is more than enough for a general user if they follow the strict principle of being careful to download files from anywhere. Microsoft Security can catch the run time virus as well. The security software offers Virus & threat protection, account protection, firewall, and network protection, app and browser control, device security, and more. It is a complete security program.
Is Antivirus enough, or do you need a complete Security Solution?
No doubt, Antiviruses are good in their place and protect against malware, but the fact is that the anti-virus is no longer sufficient enough to secure your data. Now the question is why? The answer is pretty simple. It’s because the thread scenery is revolving every day and is quicker than the antivirus.
Thats a well comparison chart
ncely quoted move by author..
a good techincal stuff..
i do agree with author
i prefer avg antivirus as compared to other
antivirus..avg is good in terms of virus detection
and easily updatable..and free virus dcan..
well comparison above for normal user..
regares..
I rather prefer avast than AVG because i tested AVG, Avast, a full version of Bit Defender and the free version also in detecting a certain program i made. That program was a report-to-maker type of hidden keylogger, scratch-coded so that my code is unique. I tried to spread it to my classmates, taking into account that each one of them had a different AV program from the other.
Of course, Bit Defender (full version) killed my program upon download because of its keylogger nature. The free one didn’t even detect because it lacked resident scanning. But comparing AVG and Avast, Avast detected suspicious activity after brooding a day or two inside my classmate’s PC and even stated which program was doing it (my program) while the one with AVG didn’t even suspect anything.
It goes to show, Avast is more secure than AVG but sacrifices a little resource in doing it. But it doesn’t hurt to take a little resource right?
@ kreuz, That was definitely an awesome piece of information, pretty useful, well its like, assessing any AV program, just on the basis of one threat, or one file, is kind of not doing justice to it, because researches have already proved that none of the AV program present in market gives you a detection rate even close to 80%, so, naturally overall detection rate is the only criteria to judge.
As far as resource taking is concerned, the above post was written with a test on P3 processor system, with 160 MB ram (128+32), however the configurations which most of us using these days dont even need to be thought of resources been taking by and AV software
Symantec™ Endpoint Protection v.11.0.4014.26 – 32bit
Benefits:
Stops malware such as viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware, bots, zero-day threats and rootkits.
Prevents security outbreaks thus reducing administrative overhead.
Lowers total cost of ownership for endpoint security.
Key Features:
Seamlessly integrates essential technologies such as antivirus, antispyware, firewall, intrusion prevention, device control.
Requires only a single agent that is managed by a single management console.
Provides unmatched endpoint protection from the market leader in endpoint security.
Enables instant NAC upgrade without additional software deployment for each endpoint.
avg resident shield is turned off when no updates for 3 days so the viruses spread …
avira is the best!!!
nice review 🙂
well im not using avg free edition since 2007 because when i update it its corrupt the real time protection
well now i use NOD32 get it free from my isp 😀
recently there are an attact on my IM. virus spreading thru IM. my avira couldnt detect it even with latest update or optimum protection. then i downloaded avg and walaaa… it has been detected and been healed.. now i’m using avg. thanks avg.
Avast all the way man.
If you are installing Symantec, get ready to have it the rest of your computer’s life, like it or not.
Avast is the most non-invasive AV there is out there. It gives you the ability to EASILY disable it’s shields. It has 7 different real-time active shields scanning every in/out in your computer. It has the ability to detect potentially unwanted programs (adware, spyware, junkware, etc.) Most of all, because Avast scans in real time, there are no full scans to wait for. Not to mention, very few system resources go into the scanning it actually does.
I have yet to find an anti virus setup that does what Avast does.
Avast is a ‘set it and forget it’ program.
I <3 Avast.
Seriously, AVG can bite it. Too many false positives. You don't want to delete important program files right?
Whoops, btw, Avast is in V5 now.
What I was boasting about was V5 not V4.7.
If you tried V4.7 of Avast and did not like it for some reason, try the new version. At least you know you will be able to uninstall it completely if you still don’t like it.
@Dan I fully agree with you Avast 5 Rocks for sure, even I am using it these days, and in my opinion its is better than AVG now, Have been hearing some good words for Avira too. In case you looking for a paid option, nothing beats Nod32.
mm good ones but I’m currently using ZenOK Free Antivirus and Im quite happy with it… it has it all in one, backup, automatic, ultra-light scann,protection Against Zero Day Threat, real Time Scanning and its for free
Than you for your valuable testing. I would not put AVG on any more computers for the rest of my life. Reason: free version is all I can afford but the nag ware that wants us to buy, buy buy is obnoxious and obtrusive.
AVG search that is a plugin to Firefox placed 103 different files on my computer and my sister PC and each time it took me 2 1/2 hours to remove. That reason is enough for me NEVER to install anything that has to do with AVG.
Since I’ve tested via usage all of the listed antiviruses with on demand scanning, so I have moved to Comodo Internet Security Suite FREE 32bit.
Have been using this for 6 years and all I had to do is delete “Geek Buddy” folder in programs to stop that nag screen from doing it’s popup intrusions.
It is lower on CPU /memory than Avast which would be my second choice if something happened to Comodo.
Again thank you very much for your article.