We’ve tested 12 of the most popular free antivirus programs on the market – so you can get ahead of the curve for 2014. We tested their compatibility with Windows 8.1, the Windows load speed with the antivirus program installed, the load speed of the programs themselves: and of course the zapping power each one has when it comes to shooting down the bad guys. We looked at spyware protection, adware protection, virus protection and extra features: for example ease of use and setup. Here’s the full list:
- Avast! Free antivirus 2014
- AVG antivirus free 2014
- Bitdefender
- Avira Free Antivirus
- Immunet FREE Antivirus
- Panda Cloud Antivirus
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- ZoneAlarm® Free Antivirus + Firewall 2013
- Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+
- PC tools advertise its free antivirus
- Rising antivirus free edition
- Unthreat free antivirus 2013
Out of the programs we tested, only five made the grade. They were
- AVG free antivirus 2014
- Avast! free antivirus 2014
- Panda Cloud Antivirus
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Avira antivirus
The rest failed on load speed, or on their ability to protect your computer properly from spyware, adware and viruses. From the five that made it to the final listing, we found Panda Cloud Antivirus to be a surprise new player on the scene: amazingly fast and good for a free program, and with a nice feel. Panda lacks a mail scanner, though, and is a little short on extra features. Avast! is the slowest program to run, and both Avira and Microsoft Security Essentials wobbled when it came to meat and potatoes virus and spyware detection. AVG is pretty good, as per usual – but it’s also massive, and slows down the computer significantly.
The size of AVG is partly due to its stocklist of extras. We’d recommend taking the hit on slowness is you want to make sure your inbox is as safe as your web surfing. If your PC or laptop is super-speedy, Avast! is back in the running: it’s got good detection rates, but that massive drag on processing power has to be taken into account before you hit the download button.
If you’ve got email up in the cloud (i.e. gmail, Yahoo and so on) you don’t need a mail scanner – you get one with the server. For stripped down antivirus that works, simply and effectively use Panda Cloud Security. Cute name, too.
For more information about our free antivirus 2014 tests you can visit
Computer repair London 