Last Friday Avast Anti Virus the biggest of the Free anti Vi’s out there took over it’s main rival AVG . This will make them the biggest player in the Free Antivirus market . I personally use Avast and like it a lot although it has a rather large foot print and can and does slow certain programs.I 'm posting a link to a Q and A with the new CEO of the combined companies The question is will Avast having no competitors in the free Anti Vi market benefit the consumer
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I used to use AVG and initially thought it was great, but over time found it to be increasingly bloated and using most of my computer’s resources, causing other programs to operate at snails pace. I jumped over to Norton, which although it costs money for the subscription, doesn’t slow my computer down noticeably, carrying out CPU intensive operations during times of low CPU demand.
How does the MS Security one compare? I seem to recall someone telling me not long ago that it’s not worth installing other virus checkers any more because MS does the job these days…
Quite a few years ago I read that the MS anti-virus wasn’t much chop, but I haven’t really investigated lately, so it may have improved… at least it should have, considering Windows OSs these days rely on being always online.
I should have written a better explanation for the thread on the topic of Avast and AVG . My supposition as a consumer is basically is it good for one company to have a monopoly now on free anti virus ?. That is where the post was meant to head . Will edit it for the sake of clarity
I have friends who use Microsoft Defender and seem to have no issues with it . I myself used it briefly some years ago . It’s performance , at that time , was below par . I believe it is much better now .
Naturally if a hacker really wants to get into a network no Anti Vi no matter how expensive will stop it . Ransom Ware is proof of that . Vigilance in computer operating habits is often the best Anti of all . Plain old common sense on what Web sites to visit is a good rule to follow.
Windows 10 with Edge was included in the CHOICE Computer antivirus review in April this year.
Antivirus software review
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I use avast because it’s a good free option for Mac OS
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Avira is a top rated free alternative.
https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/april-2016/avira-antivirus-pro-2016-161480/
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I prefer Sophos Home. It’s free and fully functioning without the need to pay to unlock features as is common with most other free antivirus solutions.
Sophos home also lets me monitor my childrens’ computers as well as adding safe web browsing features that I can control from the cloud based dashboard. It’s working very well for our household as I no longer need to be in front of my childrens’ computers to ensure they’re virus free and can make sure they’re not accessing inappropriate content during their web surfing activities either by accident or on purpose. I control everything from my own computer. In fact, because it’s has a web based dashboard, I can control it from any computer that has Internet access with my personal login details.
If it ever does pick up a virus or some form of malware, the dashboard alerts me to the problem after the threat is isolated and I can determine how to go about dealing with it, while my kids continue to surf the web, oblivious to there being a problem other than finding a website has been blocked either by the program or manually by me if necessary.
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Hi Avast isn’t the only remaining good Free AV - Bitdefender still has a free version, one that sits in the background doing its job.
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@habari4u2 Bitdefender certainly seems to be up there amongst the best “freebies” Below is a link to a list of other free anti vi’s .
I have been using panda free for a few years. Previously used avast! that got bloated and annoying, and the paid as well as free bitdefender. It came down to simplicity and not pushing their sales overly hard.
