A Note About Windows Defender
Windows Defender was only an anti-spyware program in Windows Vista and Windows 7. But the version of Windows Defender that comes bundled with Windows 8 is a full-fledged protection program with the antivirus + anti-spyware capabilities. The functionality of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) was added to it and it uses the same virus definitions that are used by MSE. So, people running Windows 8 should not consider Windows Defender as just an antispyware program.
Link: Read more about Windows Defender at Wikipedia
The Top 5 Best Free Antivirus for Windows 8
There are many antivirus programs in the market today. Every other person you meet will have a different favorite antivirus program. So choosing the best one is up to you. I have arranged them in the order I like them. You may choose according to your preferences.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
Bitdefender provides a free version of its Antivirus program which offers no settings menu and needs no configuration. It takes the best decision for you and never bothers you for anything it goes through. It handles everything at its own and that too very efficiently and intelligently. The background scanning is done when your PC is idle and the known virus-free files are skipped, thus maintaining speed and not imposing unnecessary load on your system. The free version is also low on advertisements and only displays ads on rare occasions, not like the other free antiviruses which flood your screen with advertisements every now and then.
Link: Download Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
Link: Download Bitdefender Total Security 2013 Free For 90 Days
BUY Get 50% OFF on all Bitdefender products
AVG Antivirus FREE 2013
AVG was once the most popular antivirus. But many companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky and others became famous and now lead the antivirus market. AVG is still good at removing viruses and malware, and side by side maintaining your system speed by using very less resources. It also comes with free telephone support.
Link: AVG Antivirus FREE 2013
AVG Secure Search is another free product from AVG that allows you to use the web safely and informs you about the safety rankings of the websites.
Link: Download AVG Secure Search
BUY AVG Products at 20% OFFAvast Free Antivirus 2013
Avast with its free antivirus 2013 version 8.0 has gone too far from other antivirus programs around. It offers features which are not even available in some of the paid antiviruses, like it “allows assistance from a geek friend” where someone with technical know-how can help you with the issues you are facing.
Link: Avast Free Antivirus 2013 Download
Comodo Antivirus
Comodo Antivirus has protection for both viruses and spyware. For gamers, it has a game mode that slows down its own processes and gives a performance boost to your PC. It supports trusted vendor list that informs you if the product is from a trusted supplier or not. The cloud scanning and whitelist checking are again a huge plus that provides up to date protection. In all, the antivirus is full-fledged.
Download Comodo Antivirus
Avira Free Antivirus
Avira is a very renowned name in antivirus market and is trusted by millions of people. Its antiAd and antiSpyware protection system lets no one spy on you and keeps the annoying advertisements off the softwares you use. The “Website Safety Advisor” included in Avira Toolbar gives a rating to all the websites in terms of security, and displays them on the search results page, thus making your web browsing safe. Its real-time scanning keeps your PC free from any type of virus, trojan, rootkit, and anything else that degrades your system’s performance or hampers your system’s security.
Download Avira Free AntivirusIs a Free Antivirus For Windows 8 Enough?
Free antivirus programs are great, for the fact they are free 🙂 , but if you use internet on your computer, then you need something better, a protection for not only the files residing on your PC but also the protection over the web. Today almost all the antivirus companies offer an Internet Security package in addition to the free ones. These Internet Security packages are paid products, but every company provides a free trial for atleast a month. We have earlier reviewed some of the most popular paid antivirus programs and you can get free trial for those. See below for the complete list.
Download Free Trials For Paid Antivirus Programs
- Download McAfee Internet Security 2013 for 180 Days
- Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 for 90 days
- Bitdefender Total Security 2013 for 90 days
- Download a free antivirus from Facebook for 6 months
- Download Norton 360 2013 trial for 90 days
What If The Antivirus Installed Is Not Detecting Viruses
Microsoft provides a utility called the “Microsoft Safety Scanner” that is armed with all the latest virus definitions and scans your computer whenever you want. If you ever feel that a virus, spyware, rootkit or anything malicious is residing on your PC and your Antivirus program is not reporting it, then you can download the utility and scan your computer. The program is free and works for 10 days after you download. You need to download a free copy when your copy expires.
Download Microsoft Safety Scanner
NOTE Miscrosoft Safety Scanner is not the replacement for your antivirus program. It does not provide real-time scanning and hence should be used only in addition to a real-time scanning antivirus program.