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1. Sophos Free Home Antivirus
2. Free Antivirus For Windows Vista
3. Sophos Antivirus Free Download For Windows 8
4. Sophos Antivirus Free Download For Windows 7

Looking for the best free antivirus software? AVG AntiVirus FREE is obviously our favorite pick, but if you need an unbiased review of the best free antivirus program, you’re in luck. On February 11, 2019, PC Mag’s Neil Rubenking rounded up the top 10 free antivirus programs for 2019, with handy links to his unbiased, independent reviews for each. So if you’re in need of free protection for Windows 7, 8, or 10, here are his top picks:

1. Avast Free Antivirus
2. Kaspersky Free
3. AVG AntiVirus FREE
4. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
5. Check Point ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus+ 2017
6. Sophos Home Free
7. Avira Antivirus
8. Adaware Antivirus Free
9. Comodo Antivirus 10
10. Panda Free Antivirus

Read on for a quick summary of each review of the best free antivirus software.

Avast Free Antivirus - (Editors’ Choice, PC Mag)

Avast Free Antivirus took the top spot thanks to a combination of great test results and built-in features. In addition to its proven malware protection and excellent phishing protection, Avast packs in a basic password manager, a secure web browser, and more. Avast’s all-in-one Smart Scan searches for hidden malware, unwanted browser add-ons, network threats, and PC performance issues. (But if you want to solve any performance issues it finds, you’ll have to purchase Avast Cleanup Premium.)

Need a second opinion? In 2019 Avast Free Antivirus was awarded Product of the Year 2018 by AV-Comparatives, the global independent review organization. AV-Comparatives gave Avast an Advanced+ Award in every test, awarded it the Gold Award in its malware protection test, and said, “Our reviewers praised its clear, modern, touch-friendly interface and comprehensive Smart Scan feature.”

Kaspersky Free

Sophos Free Home Antivirus

Kaspersky Free has earned excellent marks in independent test labs, despite its lack of extra features found in some other free antivirus products. The interface shows the same six icons as in the paid Kaspersky Internet Security, but only Scan and Database Update are available to free users. If you want access to Safe Money, Privacy Protection, Parental Control, and Protection for All Devices, you’ll need to pay. That said, Kaspersky Free still gives you real-time security, very good phishing protection, and even warns of unsafe websites. Not bad for a free antivirus.

Need a second opinion?Tom’s Guide says that Kaspersky is “bare-bones basic, lacking items such as a password manager, hardened browser, firewall or other bells and whistles that rival brands build their free security software around.”

AVG AntiVirus FREE

PC Mag praised AVG AntiVirus FREE for achieving very good scores in a variety of independent tests, and for its excellent protection against phishing. AVG’s on-demand scan searches for hidden malware, unwanted browser add-ons, and PC performance issues. AVG AntiVirus FREE also gives you a free File Shredder to securely delete sensitive files. AVG protects against 0-day threats by preventing unknown (and potentially dangerous) files from opening and sending them to AVG Threat Labs for deeper analysis. If they’re found to be malicious, a cure is created and pushed out to you and all AVG users.

Need a second opinion? In its review '8 of the Best Free Antivirus Software Options', Mashable noted that AVG AntiVirus FREE has the most accurate virus detection, saying, “AVG AntiVirus FREE is near flawless with its ability to detect viruses and malware. It's unlikely anything is getting through this.”

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition includes the same core anti-malware components of Bitdefender’s paid product, but with a far cleaner interface. It obviously lacks the more advanced features of its bigger brother, but still provides excellent performance and has earned top scores in independent lab tests. But if you want a password manager, you’ll need Bitdefender’s paid antivirus (or get it free with Avast Free Antivirus). Looking for a secure file shredder? Paid version only (or free in AVG AntiVirus FREE). But for basic security, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is still a safe choice.

Need a second opinion?CNET says “Bitdefender Antivirus Free is refreshingly free of the ‘extra’ features and tools that make some apps unwieldy and confusing”.

Check Point ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus+ 2017

Check Point ZoneAlarm is a free antivirus-firewall combo that licenses its antivirus engine from security giant Kaspersky. Aside from this antivirus component, though, all features here are the same as you’ll find in Check Point ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2017. And that’s a good thing, because their standalone firewall was a PC Mag Editors’ Choice winner. So, for many people, this antivirus-firewall combo will be more than good enough. But if you’re looking for features like web-based security and real-time, cloud-based protection, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Need a second opinion?Tech Advisor says ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus+ is “a basic, but capable internet security suite”.

Sophos Home Free

Sophos Home Free comes from Sophos, a company mainly focused on business security, and their free antivirus offers much of the same protection as their business products, including remote security management for up to three PCs or Macs. This means you can also install the free antivirus on a less tech-savvy family member’s computer and remotely manage their security for them. Sophos Home Free offers excellent phishing protection and very good malicious URL blocking, but unfortunately suffers a bit in PC Mag’s hands-on malware protection test.

Need a second opinion?SecurityGladiators echoes PC Mag’s review that Sophos Home Free “offered great performance on various antiphishing tests” but “isn’t as good at malware protection tests”.

Avira Antivirus

Avira Antivirus received excellent scores in independent testing labs and a very good score in PC Mag’s malware blocking test. When installing Avira Antivirus, you also have the chance to install other tools, including Avira Connect to launch and manage your other Avira products. On the negative side, both of its on-demand and real-time scans are slow, and its Browser Safety component only works with Chrome and Firefox. But overall, Avira Antivirus is worth a try for its accurate malware detection.

Need a second opinion? Tom’s Guide says, “Avira Free Antivirus has a heavy system load while providing only so-so malware protection.”

Adaware Antivirus Free

Adaware Antivirus Free comes from Adaware, a company formerly known as Lavasoft. This version of their free antivirus comes with a new look, but lacks features found in other free products — including the company’s own previous edition. Adaware Antivirus Free has received mixed scores in independent tests, and it doesn’t provide any protection against malicious URLs. At the end of the day, it’s a free antivirus, so there’s really no risk to try it, but you’ll find more features and better protection in the competition.

Need a second opinion?Softpedia says Adaware Antivirus Free is “a reliable choice”.

Comodo Antivirus 10

Comodo Antivirus 10 is Comodo’s newest antivirus, having skipped from version 8 straight to version 10. This newest version rocks an all-new look, but you can still revert to the “Classic” theme via settings. According to PC Mag, Comodo’s “results ranged from perfect to dismal”. The free antivirus sports impressive on-access scan results and even includes sandboxing, but you’ll need to pony up for the paid suite if you need web-based protection. Also, pay careful attention during installation, because Comodo tries to change your default homepage, new tab page, and default search engine to Yahoo!

Need a second opinion?Tech Advisor’s verdict on Comodo Antivirus 10 is that it’s “a powerful antivirus tool, highly configurable and with plenty of interesting features.”

Panda Free Antivirus

Panda Free Antivirus finished last in PC Mag’s top 10 list, but it’s still got a few good things going for it. For one, it’s got a pretty interface. It’s also speedy and lightweight, and includes USB Protection to vaccinate any USB device you plug into your PC. But if you’re installing a 3rd-party antivirus, you’re looking for protection, aren’t you? Panda Free Antivirus unfortunately underperforms in this respect, as its detection rates have apparently waned recently in independent virus lab tests.

Need a second opinion?Softpedia says “Panda Free Antivirus does an excellent job when it comes to identifying infected files while remaining light on system resources.”

Is Windows Defender good enough? No

Because Windows Defender is included free in the latest versions of Windows, you’re probably (rightfully) asking why you should even bother with a free 3rd-party antivirus. Short answer: Because Windows Defender isn’t good enough.

“Even if you're running Windows 10, you shouldn't rely on Microsoft's security tools. Many free third-party apps are more effective at keeping you safe.” — Neil Rubenking, PC Mag Best Free Antivirus Protection for 2019

First released over a decade ago as a downloadable anti-spyware program for Windows XP, Windows Defender later evolved into a full-fledged, built-in antivirus for Windows 8 and Windows 10. Unfortunately, early versions of Windows Defender were miles behind 3rd-party antivirus software in terms of malware detection. But that’s improved a bit, and today Windows Defender actually does an OK job of blocking threats. But it still lags behind in phishing protection and malicious URL blocking, and it can’t compete with the extra security features included in many free 3rd-party security software.

So, if you’re not comfortable with just “OK” protection of your private photos, documents, and data, you’d best install a 3rd-party solution. Many free antivirus programs provide far more features, better detection rates, and overall better security than Windows Defender.

Need a second opinion?Tom’s Guide gives Windows Defender a 3.5 out of 5, saying, “Defender's low system impact is offset by its long scan times and lack of creature comforts, such as the ability to schedule scans.”

Sophos has come up with a free home edition of its antivirus program for Windows PC. Sophos Home for Windows PC is an enterprise-level antivirus program that provides protection against various malware programs. This free antivirus software is capable of monitoring settings for any browser and its family as well as change it.

Sophos Home Free Antivirus

You can now protect your Windows PC from malicious software and viruses with the help of Sophos Home free antivirus program. This edition is only for private and non-commercial use. You can connect up to 10 PCs per account.

The free antivirus program offers as many as features as that of a feature-loaded antivirus program. However, it has some smart features, such as Virus Alert. Instead of deleting the threat or virus or malware program automatically, this home edition antivirus program displays an alert for the next action. Whatever may be the choice, the corrupt or suspicious file cannot be opened or copied to any other location, when Sophos Home’s scanner is enabled. This particular feature makes Sophos, one of the most reliable antivirus programs.

In spite of being a feature-rich antivirus program, this program does not slow down the computer. Sophos Home has a clean functionality and offers an easy to understand dashboard. Due to this, you can keep a close attention to your online activities and data. Typically, a Sophos Home dashboard looks as follows:

Sophos Home Free now includes artificial intelligence-based threat protection to provide predictive and intuitive defense against known and unknown malware for all PC users.

This feature, which was originally only available for Sophos Home Premium accounts, gives all PC users access to leading predictive technology originally created by data scientists for IT professionals. One of the first free offerings in the cybersecurity space to offer a deep learning-based AI engine, the smart system can catch new and unknown variants earlier than traditional methods that rely on sample analysis and signature generation.

Key Features

Free Antivirus For Windows Vista

• Detection and blocking of known and unknown malware in milliseconds
• Evaluation of files before they run to stop brand new, never-before-seen, “zero-day” attacks
• Continuous monitoring for behavior that reflects a malware attack
• Malicious malware detection and removal.

How to install and use Sophos Home free antivirus program

Installing and using Sophos free anti-virus program is quite easy. It all starts with creating an account with Sophos using your name, email ID and a password.

Sophos Antivirus Free Download For Windows 8

Once you submit your details, a confirmation link is sent to your email ID. On confirmation, you can log into your Sophos Home account and see this dashboard.

From this point onwards you can start adding your computers in the antivirus program. Click on ‘Install’ for the Windows PC you are using and to add other PCs, click on ‘Add to other computers’.

The antivirus program gets downloaded and installed within no time. However, the existing antivirus programs on your Windows PC may stop Sophos Home from installing. Hence, you may have to disable those antivirus programs for a while; or worst, you may have to uninstall them totally. After the installation, an icon is created on your desktop for reaching out to and enable the program easily.

Sophos Antivirus Free Download For Windows 7

Once you are geared up with all elements of Sophos Home; now simply keep the program running on your Windows PC. The antivirus program will keep your PC safe from any malicious programs, viruses, and online threats.

To download the Sophos Home Free Antivirus program on your Windows PC, create a free account now and start protecting your Windows PC.

Looking for free tools from Sophos? Take a look at:

1. Sophos XG Firewall Home Edition.

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