Best virus scanner old computer

Bitdefender antivirus software consistently earns top marks for its antivirus protection and usability from the respected AV-Test independent testing lab. The free antivirus version covers one Windows PC.

Malwarebytes does protect your PC from a virus or malware attack, scoring reasonably well in recent independent testing for guarding against malware threats. But that's not really what Malwarebytes is known for. If you find yourself in trouble, the go-to disinfectant for many is Malwarebytes.

To get the antivirus company's free antivirus version, download this trial version , which "downgrades" to a no-fee on-demand cleaner with fewer features that detects and removes viruses and malware when you run an on-demand antivirus scan after 14 days.

In addition to the four antivirus apps we recommend above, a handful of other anti-malware tools are worth considering among the best antivirus protection if you find them at a better price or just prefer to use one over our picks above.

It feels like McAfee Antivirus has been around forever, first on its own in the '80s, then as part of Intel starting in , and then again on its own when Intel spun it off in And McAfee Total Protection has been around forever because quarter after quarter it creates solid, modern antivirus software that protects your PC. In recent evaluations by AV-Test, it had high scores on both protection and performance. Maybe this antivirus provider is not as well known to consumers because of its focus on enterprise security, Trend Micro antivirus quietly brings its business expertise to the home with its Trend Micro Maximum Security tools.

Trend Micro's software earns high marks from AV-Test -- consistently scoring well for detecting zero-day attacks and widespread viruses and malware. And Trend Micro does a good job of not taxing system resources. Free version? It earns high scores for usability and offers solid virus protection. The free antivirus version of Sophos Home gives you virus protection for three Windows PCs -- using the company's high-scoring anti-malware tool -- plus a day trial of the company's malware-removal tool.

Test after test, Avast Antivirus for Windows performs well for malware detection with options ranging from Avast free antivirus software to Avast Premium Security. And we've included its antivirus in our list of recommended security app options before. But Avast was in the news for several months for its non-antivirus business, so we looked at the company, specifically reports at the end of that Avast allegedly collected user data with its browser plug-ins and antivirus software and then sold data it collected through its Jumpshot subsidiary in early In response to the reports that his company gathered and sold the details of its customers' online activities, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek said in a statement that he understood that his company's actions raised questions of trust in his company.

To address that, Avast terminated Jumpshot data collection in January and closed its operations because the data collection business wasn't in line with Avast's privacy priorities. These newer reports follow another in from Avast that its internal network was breached , possibly to insert malware into its CCleaner software, similar to an earlier CCleaner hack that occurred prior to Avast's acquiring the Windows utility.

Avast is now saying the right things about taking its customers' privacy seriously , but it only came to that point after reacting to investigative reporting that revealed the Jumpshot practices. The CCleaner revelations, while concerning, were self-disclosed, which is important to building user trust. We hope Avast's more privacy-friendly policies mean that there will be no further Jumpshot-style activities and it returns to glory as one of the best antivirus software.

In the meantime, we'd recommend using one of the many other solid choices in this realm listed above. Because the company has been in the news the past few years, let's talk about Kaspersky Lab -- specifically about the federal ban that blocks US government agencies from using Kaspersky Antivirus products. Based in Moscow, Kaspersky Lab has for years produced some of the best antivirus software for business antivirus needs and home customers.

But in the US government prohibited Kaspersky security cloud software on federal government computers because of alleged ties between Kaspersky and the Russian government. But as with China-based Huawei , the question remains: If the federal government doesn't think the products are safe enough for its own devices, should consumers avoid them as well?

In a statement sent to CNET, the company said, "Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never, nor will ever, engage in cyber offensive activities. Kaspersky Lab maintains that no public evidence of any wrongdoing has been presented by the US government, and that the US government's actions against Kaspersky Lab were unconstitutional.

In Kaspersky's favor, it continues to earn top scores and awards for virus and malware detection and endpoint protection from independent testing labs. And it's reasonably priced. In the end, even though no one has ever publicly produced a "smoking gun" linking the company to Russian intrigue, we think any of the options listed above are a safer bet. And if you are a US government employee or work with the federal government, you'll want to steer clear of Kaspersky internet security products -- and perhaps use one of the antivirus software products mentioned here instead.

Picking the best antivirus software for Windows means finding one that keeps your PC safe, doesn't take up a lot of system resources, is easy to use and stays out of the way till you need it. Here's what to look for. Antivirus software runs virus scans for known viruses and malware, of course, and can offer real-time protection. And it watches for shady websites and suspicious links to keep you out of trouble.

It can also offer ransomware protection and monitor unexpected behavior that may be a sign of new and not-yet-identified viruses and malware. You want antivirus software that can successfully identify these unknown online threats without flagging too many false positives. Light on system resources. There are also safe browsing and safe shopping options, as well as a system optimizer to speed up your PC which is normally charged for in other packages.

If that's not enough there's also a free VPN included for up to MB per month, as well as a password manager and privacy settings manager. However, you actually have a choice of which features you want to install. This is a great plus as while the Avira suite is generous some users may want to run one or more features through a different suite.

There is an upgrade option, of course, but this is priced toward installation across 5, or 25 devices, and involves such features such as removing the VPN limit. If there's one negative, it's that there's no anti-ransomware protection, but aside from that the Avira Free Security Suite is a very generous package indeed.

Read our full Avira antivirus review. If you're looking for anti-malware software that keeps quiet and won't disturb your work, be warned — AVG Antivirus Free is quite vocal with its notifications, and irks us from time to time with pop-ups telling us we've done something fantastic with regard to our online safety. As an anti-malware app, though, it's very good. The dashboard is user-friendly, there's protection not just from downloadable threats, but from dodgy links too, and you can use your mobile to scan your PC remotely, which is pretty clever.

The paid-for Pro model has more security options - it has more robust download protection, offers data encryption includes a firewall - but the free version offers decent protection for most PC users. It's more of a system repair tool than a system protection tool, however, and you need to be careful where you get it from: there are fake versions in circulation designed to cause damage, not fix it.

The version linked here is the real deal. Most security software tries to stop malware and spyware getting onto your system. Emsisoft Emergency Kit doesn't: it's the call of security software, the app you use when your PC's been poked by something unpleasant.

With two million malware signatures, Emsisoft Emergency Kit can restore almost any infected PC to rude health. Read our full Emsisoft Emergency Kit review. Brian has over 30 years publishing experience as a writer and editor across a range of computing and technology titles, and has been interviewed multiple times for BBC News and BBC Radio.

He is also a science fiction and fantasy author, writing as Brian G Turner. North America. The best malware removal software makes it simple and easy to prevent viruses, trojans, ransomware, and other infections on your computing device.

View Deal. Reasons to avoid - Paid competitors can offer more options. Avast Antivirus. Reasons to avoid - Advertising prompts. Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Reasons to avoid - Full Kaspersky suite offers better value. Reasons to avoid - Might slow your device down - Sightly limiting options. Reasons to avoid - Prone to false positives.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. Reasons to avoid - No options or settings. Avira Free Security Suite. Reasons to avoid - No anti-ransomware protection. Reasons to avoid - Scans can be rather slow - Not the best phishing protection.

Reasons to avoid - Limited information about threats. Because of a larger program and more modules, it is a little heavy on the system. You cannot get a scanner-only program now, one has to download the full Malwarebytes program that comes with day trail real-time protection. However, you can disable the Trial license, and use it only as an on-demand malware scanner and removal tool.

It is not available as a Portable program, only as an Installer; the installer size is about 75 MB. It works like a proper antivirus without the real-time protection. It supports Automatic Updates , you just have to install it once, and Scan anytime you want. Malwarebytes also has an option to integrate into the Windows Context Menu , a great option to have if you want to scan specific files or folders.

Malwarebytes does not rely on the Cloud to work; it downloads the anti-malware signatures on the system, and hence can be used as an Offline scanner. The Threat Scan is a thorough scan whereas the Custom Scan lets you specify locations that you want to scan. The Free version lets you use set up one Scheduled Scan. The Exclusion and Quarantine sections are also present.

Malwarebytes is great are detecting Potentially Unwanted Programs PUPs , and other changes made to the system files and settings. Web CureIt! Is a famous malware scanning and removal utility provided by Dr. Web, one of the oldest computer security and anti-malware company. They do not provide any real-time protection products for free. However, they do have a great quality free malware scanning and removal toolkit. Their rescue disk is very polished, and their scanner tool is also very properly done.

It is Portable is nature, you do not need to install it, download the setup file, and double-click to start using it. The file size is of about MB. It does not update, so you need to download new version to get the latest virus definitions.

The scan is called Express Scan by default, and it is really quick at scanning. Some malicious programs can block and forcefully close antivirus and second opinions scanners; you can select the option Protect Dr. There are extensive settings for specifying Actions for neutralizing each kind of malware, for example, you can specify which actions to take upon detecting an Adware, a Riskware, or a Suspicious file.

Web to scan then you use the Exclusions feature to do that. Comodo Cleaning Essentials is a portable toolkit that comes in a Zip archive, which is about 30 MB in size. The Smart Scan looks only at the place that are most vulnerable to malware attacks. The Full Scan is a full system sscanthat scans all of your computer and files. The Custom Scan lets you scan only the selected locations. You can scan Memory , Critical areas and boot sector , Hidden registry objects and services , and Hidden files and folders as well.

Scanning related features such as Quarantine and Logs are available. You can exclude locations in the Custom Scan. Here, you also have options to enable or disable the Tray Icons , configure Symbols , Highlighting ; and select the program Language. The Tools tab has links to the other tools provided in the toolkit by Comodo such as the Comodo Cleaning Essentials scanner, Autorun Analyzer , etc. All of the tools available in the Tools tab, plus some more can be accessed directly through the program dock.

Comodo Autorun Analyzer lists all kinds of Autoruns fond on your system. You can easily see the dangerous or suspicious autorun items by selecting the Hide Trusted Entries option present in the View tab. Under the Entry tab, there are various options for each autorun item such as Delete , Copy , etc.

You can quickly switch between users, and analyse the autoruns of other users through the User tab. It is a portable and completely cloud dependent program.

Download the program file, and run it to start the scanning and removal process. By default, it only shows you two scan settings — Enable or Disable detection of potentially unwanted applications. Click the Advanced settings link to access more scan settings. Here you can see that you have options to Enable or Disable the detection of potentially unsafe applications , and suspicious applications.