Download Best Free Antivirus and Anti-Spyware Software for Windows

If you are a Windows user, you must install an antivirus and anti-spyware software in your system. We all install software, games, themes and many other stuff from various sources such as downloaded from Internet, from CD/DVD, USB drives, etc and if the downloaded file is infected, it can also install a virus or spyware in our system as a bonus.

That’s why we need a good antivirus and anti-spyware software for Windows OS. This software protects our system from suspicious items. It continuously monitors our system and warns us whenever it finds a malicious item in our system.

There are many antivirus and anti-spyware software available on Internet to download. Some of them are free and some of them are paid. Obviously paid security software provide more features and control over them in comparison with free software programs.

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But there are a few free antivirus and anti-spyware programs which provide almost all features which a paid security software provides.

Today in this topic, we are going to list best free antivirus and anti-spyware software for Windows operating system for your convenience. We have tested many security programs in past and found following programs best of them. If you are not using any antivirus or anti-spyware program in your system, you must install one of the following without wasting time:

Related: Download Best Free Firewall Software for Windows

1. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)

Microsoft Security Essentials (also known as MSE) is one of the best free antivirus and anti-spyware software for Windows. Its an official security program released by Microsoft. Its available absolutely free to download but you’ll need genuine Windows to install it.

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It can be installed in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. Windows 8/8.1/10 already come with MSE preinstalled. You can install it in both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)

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2. Avast! Free Antivirus

We put Avast! antivirus on 2nd position. It comes with antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall and many other security components. It can be installed in Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10. Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions are supported.

Download Avast! Antivirus

3. AVG Antivirus Free Edition

AVG antivirus is almost equivalent to avast! antivirus. It also comes with antivirus, anti-spyware, link scanner and many other security features. It can be installed in Windows XP and all later Windows versions.

Download AVG Antivirus

4. Bitdefender Antivirus Free

Bitdefender Antivirus is also one of the widely used antivirus for Windows OS. It can protect your system from virus, spyware, malware, trojan, rootkits and many other forms of malicious programs. Bitdefender free antivirus can be installed in Windows 7 and later. It supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions.

Download Bitdefender Free Antivirus

5. Kaspersky Free Antivirus

Kaspersky has also released free version of its popular antivirus software which can be installed in Windows XP SP3 and later Windows versions. Its very light on system resources and comes with almost all basic types of protection including file, web, IM and email.

Download Kaspersky Free Antivirus

6. Panda Cloud Free Antivirus

And last but not least its turn of “Panda free antivirus” which is a very light-weight antivirus software for Windows. Its based on cloud computing concept which makes it one of the most light-weight antivirus programs available for Windows. You need a good speed Internet connection in your system to use it. It can be used in Windows XP and later. As usual both 32-bit and 64-bit editions are supported.

Download Panda Cloud Free Antivirus

That’s all for now. If you are using any other free antivirus or anti-spyware software in your system, feel free to share your feedback in your comment.

Also check out following interesting and useful related topics:

Published in: Software, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

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  1. Hey Vishal,
    Is MSE a complete security solution?
    Does it protect from USB viruses?

    Thanks!

  2. Tried MSE. It never found anything even when I KNEW there were viruses, PUPs, adware…

    Tried Norton. Continually let in viruses just so it could get rid of them and brag about itself… Also, it is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FULLY UNINSTALL. The “uninstaller” only removes the main program, you’ll have to delete the other files and registry entries one by one.. manually.

    Tried AVG. It installed all kinds of junk and hijacked my browser. Avoid this one.

    Tried Avast. It detected most of the viruses I knew were here, but left some traces behind… I’d give it 3 stars.

    Tried Bitdefender. It was about the same as Avast… worked sometimes but it isn’t my favorite.

    Tried Kaspersky. I’d give it 4 1/2 stars. It found practically everything, did a pretty good job of cleaning everything up. There were a couple of traces left behind though as well as some junk and harmless-but-annoying adware, which is why I don’t give it 5 stars. As far as ongoing protection is concerned, however, this is a definite 5. I have Kaspersky installed on this laptop and it has worked quite well for almost a year now.

    Tried Malwarebytes. It works as well as Kaspersky for cleaning out malware but is a bit annoying with all the “special offers” popups. I still have it installed alongside Kaspersky because the two programs seem to compliment each other; whatever one program cannot detect or remove, the other can.

    In addition to an antivirus, I highly recommend Wise Cleaner. It is not a virus scanner, but it cleans out junk, empty files, invalid registry entries, and other memory hogs. You do need to use it carefully though; don’t let it delete anything without first looking through the scan reports or it might delete something important by accident. As long as you have a fairly confident understanding of your computer, Wise is a wise choice. 😉

  3. ^^ Windows 8/8.1 already come with MSE preinstalled. Windows Defender in Windows 8/8.1 is equivalent to MSE. You can also use AVG, avast, Avira, etc free antivirus.

  4. Hi VG,

    I find your articles very helpful, especially that its my first time to use windows 8.1
    I’m also using Lenovo g40 and it’s only less than a week old. The unit frequently lags, so I searched for tips on how to solve the lag problem and I found your website. I find it helpful and easy to follow.

    Also, the unit has a pre-installed antivirus – McAfee. It’s my first time to use McAfee since I’ve been using AVG and Avast in my previous laptops. You think McAfee works okay? Some would also say that antivirus also cause lag problems on laptops. Any advice? Thanks!

  5. As per my trials, i.e., AVG, Panda, Eset, Bitdefender, Norton, Avast!, 360 TS, QH,……..and some others…huh…My top ratings go to these:
    360 TS, Avast AV. Bitdefender–next. Install 360 TS or Avast. In case of Avast free version–go to its settings for EACH AND EVERY SCAN, including the shields. Set scan priorities, heuristics levels to HIGH. Select ‘scan the whole file’ for each case…Then for Full scan/Boot scan, add these–‘All harddisks, System drives, Rootkit full scan, modules of all users,etc… Upon applying these settings finally, Avast works like charm!! This can only be done if you got used to study the entire settings and also know what result would you obtain.

  6. Hi
    I am reading these articles and as a non technical person I have a question. I currently have AVG and Reg defense instaled on my pc, do I need to have them both?? I can honestly say I dont know the difference between either product all I know is I had a few viruses/trojans back in the day and even thought I had the free AVG (been using this for years and its fine) I also paid for Reg defense to ‘clean up’ my pc.
    Help….

  7. I haven‘t tried a lot of antivirus programs but since I‘ve found ESET Smart Security it has been my favourite ever since.

  8. The list is wrong Bitdefender Total Security 2016 the best then kaspersky anti virus is 2nd and then norton360 multi-device is the 3rd . Please try it

  9. I have a low spec PC, so I must very selective choose what I’m going to install. And, I use a lots of keygens and patchers, as we know many of them contains virus, trojan and malware.

    I hate sophisticated AV like the setting in each windows that explain this is your antivirus, this is your anti-spyware and etc. I just need it to WORK without the cost my PC speed.

    I had try them all. For simplicity I choose MSE and for speed I choose Panda and both of them WORKING by detecting lots of virus, trojan and malware in my downloaded keygens and patchers.

    But, I use ClamAV.

  10. I have to agree with most on here with MSE, it is not that good.. I would give on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest, a ( 1)..

    Most of these programs might find something wrong, such as adware, or malware, however, when you go to delete it, it only masks the problem.. Meaning that the adware or malware is still there… You just shut it off, it will eventually be back, especially if you restart the computer..

    I wish I could find and are looking and trying many products to see which is good. Because if it finds something I want the program to delete forever, NOT mask it..

    I use to use Advance System Care for quite a few yrs. But, when I go to download from ASC Website it takes me to CNet and I found that the program is full of adware and malware and it just messed up my computer again and NO I don’t look at p**n either!!!!

    So, now I am on Ccleaner.. Which works great.. It has “almost” the same features as ASC but not all of them..

  11. I find that Kaspersky and Bitdefender are the best ones. Unfortunately, both are paid but THEY have free versions. I prefer to use Kaspersky. I’ve paid for it and I’m very satisfied. The best free in my opinion is Avast. MSE is far from ideal.

  12. i currently have MSE n it won’t update so whats my best antivirus option using vista 32bit that i don’t have to pay for

  13. Hi Vishal….I have Comodo installed on Windows 10 Laptop….is that good or not..pls Advise with the good one..Thanks

  14. ^^ Comodo is good but I’ll advise you to go for avast!, AVG or Avira if you want a free antivirus.

  15. AVG…………seems to have gone down hill. I have used the free version for a number of years. However this year I went to a paid version and things got bad and the so called techs in the phillipians were a diaster. So I am looking for something new. AVG has really gone down hill in my opinion.

  16. 360 total Security Antivirus Software has been reported by google Chrome as Phishing software and you are advised not install it or use it period.

  17. i had it installed until i tried to add the extension to google chrome and it warned me not to do it.

  18. I don’t understand why MSE is on the list. I used AVG almost a decade ago, but the experience was too bad that I don’t even try these days.

    Kaspersky is the best option for sure. It is not resource intensive as it was once. Its detection ratio is high and false positives are almost non-existent.

  19. Comodo Internet Security Free is the best antivirus for me because Comodo Internet Security Free is the 1st antivirus which also support built in free Firewall, that means you can use both antivirus and firewall 2 think in 1 software which is officially provided by Comodo, and best think is Comodo using very low resource with many good thinks. You can check more information in offical website of Comodo. Only bad think is it requires high speed internet connection to update some components, only first time. Did you checked this?

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