PCWorld: Free Antivirus You Can Trust
Can a free download really protect your PC? Yes, but you have to choose the right one. Our lab tests identify the most reliable no-cost security programs.
By Nick Mediati
Apr 29, 2012
You want security software that’s as close to perfect as possible. After all, if just a single piece of malware slips through your defenses, it can wreak havoc on your PC. The question is, how close to perfect is free antivirus software?
According to our testing, some free antivirus programs do an admirable job of detecting, blocking, and removing malware, but others don’t have what it takes to protect you.
For this roundup, we once again teamed up with AV-Test, a well-respected antivirus-software testing lab, to put nine free antivirus programs through their paces. Applying a rigorous battery of tests, AV-Test evaluated all of the packages to see how well each one can withstand both brand-new malware and older baddies, and how well each can clean up a malware mess. In addition, AV-Test performed a number of system-speed tests to determine how much each program will drag down a PC’s performance. Finally, after installing the programs, we evaluated how easy each one is to use.
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