Five Awesome Free Antivirus Utilities
May 16, 2016 by Lore Engineering Team
Hackers work day and night to access private information on unprotected computers. Just as people do not leave their house doors unlocked for thieves when they go on vacation, they should not leave their computers open to hackers. Fortunately, there are many ways to protect computers these days.
About Antivirus Utilities
Many people believe that they are safe from hackers with the anti-virus protections that come with their computers. While these utilities do offer some protection, they are no match for savvy hackers. These basic protections are elementary and can be disabled easily, leaving computers open to identity thieves. This is why it is essential to bolster pre-installed virus protection programs with supplemental antivirus utilities.
Most antivirus utilities offer monitoring of your device, which means that they update automatically with new virus information and can identify threats to your system as they happen.
Anti-virus programs can range from free to pricey, depending on the level of security. Free antivirus utilities offer low to medium protection, which can be adequate for many users.
The following list of 5 free anti-virus utilities was compiled by Lore Systems security engineers. Some of them are simple and powerful, while others offer a smorgasbord of features. Here is our list of the top free antivirus utilities, in no particular order.
Avast Free Antivirus 2016
Avast has a free antivirus program that blocks malware and phishing. It scans networks and routers for security issues. Features include:
- Password management
- Software scans
- System cleanup
- Boot-time scan
- Rescue disk
The free version does the job of protecting a computer, but it is limited and some believe the scans are too slow for them. Those who are just surfing the net for entertainment without making purchases or entering personal information would be safe with this affordable antivirus program.
Panda Free Antivirus
Panda Antivirus is one of the best free antivirus utilities available in 2016. It does not offer everything a heavy user would need, but it is good enough for those seeking extra protection than what the factory includes in PCs and Macs. Features include:
- Rescue disk
- USB vaccination
- Process monitoring
It is important to know that PC Mag found their phishing protection was not as good as it was in 2015, which can be a concern to those who enter personal information into websites.
FortiClient
Network computers benefit from FortiClient. It checks for malware when the program installs and then protects against attacks. This utility includes a VPN client, but it does not work with all VPN clients.
The issue with FortiClient is that it does not update regularly, so new malicious websites can gain access to computers using this utility. It also has parental control options. These have to be on all of the time. If it is turned off, phishing and malicious URL blocking are disabled.
Despite these shortcomings, FortiClient offers a solid, medium security antivirus protection.
SOPHOS
This business-grade antivirus program provides great protection for home computers. It blocks websites with viruses that can infiltrate your computer. It’s easy to use with its clean interface and offers free remote monitoring and management.
The only downside is it can be annoying having to enter a UAC confirmation whenever a user opens the application. The other issue is while it does block malicious and phishing websites, it is not perfect. This is a basic antivirus utility that is sufficient for most home computer users. Business owners may want to choose a different antivirus utility for more security.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 11
This is a simple antivirus program. It identifies malware threats on a computer upon install and then protects it from future ones. If malware is a problem for users, this is the one to choose. While it does a good job with malware protection, it does not protect against phishing. For more protection, users will need to upgrade to paid versions. Paid versions provides a higher level of security for your computer. You can get just about anything you can think of for computer security such as phishing, virus monitoring, scheduled and automatic scanning, parental controls, and much more.
How to Choose an Antivirus Solution
The only way to choose the best one is to consider the needs of a user depending on Internet and network activities. Some of the lower security antivirus utilities are best for those only browsing the Internet and social networks, while the ones with malicious and phishing protection are good for those entering personal information into sites for banking and shopping purposes.
Since 1995, Lore Systems has provided IT support and network engineering and security services. For more information on how to protect your computers from vulnerabilities, contact us today!