you are here: AntiVirus Review ››antivirus programs ›› free antivirus

Free Virus Scanners

Are Free Virus Scanners Worth It?

When you read the product description of various free Virus Scanners, you get a feeling for the reason why they are being offered for free. Often, freeware Virus Scanners and Anti-Virus Software offer, only limited protection against viruses. If you want better protection, you must pay. There is generally no protection against Spyware, Rootkits Phishing Attacks and no firewall.

In random tests of free anti-virus programs from well-known developers it has been shown that only 8-24% recognizes unknown malware. The recognition of adware and spyware is even lower, at about 15%.
That those results show that there is just not enough protection with many free anti-virus software quickly becomes obvious to most of us. In addition, these free anti-virus scanners did not recognize the dangerous SpySheriff and Zlob. You could also experience very slow scanning speeds because most of the free scanners must contact other servers to initiate the scanning process.

However, the recognition rate of viruses, bots and backdoors can be high with some free virus scanner versions. These particular versions of anti-virus software sometimes advertise those benefits to give the impression that your computer is protected against all threats from the internet.

This is the reason that you could look at many free anti-virus programs as a lure to entice prospective downloaders to purchase the paid version of the product instead. It stands to reason that your pc has very little protection with free versions of anti-virus programs.

If you truly want to be protected from dangerous threats lurking on the internet, we recommend you use an Internet Security Suite from a well-known provider. In addition to comprehensive virus protection you will also get a firewall to give you all around computer protection. A stand-alone firewall did not always rate well in selective tests and does not seem to offer enough protection.

If you would like to try some free ant-virus protection, you are welcome to download one of the selection below.

Free Virus Scanners
PC toolsThis free anti-virus from PC Tools practically the little brother of PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Yet, it would be difficult to compare the two, side by side. The free anti-virus version offers only minimal protection in comparison to Spyware Doctor.
AviraThe free version von Avira is quite popular and has been downloaded by millions. However, you could not compare it equally with the protection the paid version offers. There is just no competition.