Antivirus on Windows 8: Looking at Your Options. Microsoft will include antivirus in Windows 8 for the first time in the history of Windows. But will this software- -the new version of Windows Defender- -provide adequate protection against viruses, spyware, and other malware? Let's take a closer look at what Windows Defender provides, and whether its features are enough to keep you safe. Bear in mind that even though Microsoft will include Windows Defender in Windows 8, PC manufacturers may disable the program on new PCs that carry preinstalled antivirus software from a third- party such as Norton or Mc.
Read reviews & download freeware antivirus software for Windows 10 / 8 / 7. BitDefender, Avira, Avast AntiVirus, Comodo, Panda, ZoneAlarm, AVG, McAfee, etc. Read this guide to select the best free Antivirus for Windows 10 and 8.1 in 2016 and download for free. After Microsoft recommended to install third party antivirus software, you must install the best product that can be free or paid version.
Antivirus Recommended For Windows 8.1
Windows 8 will come with bundled antivirus software, but will you need to supplement it with other programs? We look at some of your options. Download best free Antivirus for Windows 8.1 and 10. Protect your laptop with good AntiVirus software. AntiVirus for Windows 8.1/10 32 & 64 bit Windows. Top 3 Best Antivirus For Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 or Mac, Mavericks, Yosemite Users. Top 3 Best Antivirus for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and Mac OS X users are listed below. Best Antivirus for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 comparison! You'll find the best antivirus suit you here.
Afee. The preinstalled third- party antivirus options are usually limited- time trials, so your initial decision may be whether to keep any preinstalled antivirus; if you decide against keeping it, you'll need to decide whether to enable Windows Defender and use it or to switch to another third- party antivirus program. The most important thing to consider when choosing antivirus software is its protection strength- -how well it detects, disables, and removes viruses, spyware, and other malware. In this article I'll focus on comparing the protection strength of Windows Defender to that of other antivirus programs.
Protection Strength of Windows Defender. Windows Defender in Windows 8 looks a lot like Microsoft Security Essentials. Though we haven't fully tested Windows Defender in Windows 8 yet, we have tested Microsoft Security Essentials, which uses the same antimalware engine as Windows Defender.
Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials also have very similar interfaces. Consequently, using the results from the existing Security Essentials review for a casual comparison seems reasonable. Security companies regularly update their products, and the results you obtain with the most recent iteration of each package could very well differ from those discussed here, but the earlier data does give us a rough idea of how Security Essentials and Windows Defender match up to their competition. In a roundup review that we posted three months ago, based on evaluations that we conducted in conjunction with AV- Test, a well- respected antivirus- software testing lab, we appraised the performance of seven free antivirus programs. In this group, Security Essentials placed fifth. Our reviewers found it easy to use and deemed it the best of the seven at completely removing malware that it uncovered; but they also found its malware detection rate rather lackluster: It spotted 9.
To compare the protection strength of Security Essentials to that other free and paid antiviruses, you can refer to AV- Test's website for its latest testing results. Those results, at this writing, show that Security Essentials provides great malware repair and removal: placing third, just behind Bitdefender and Kaspersky. But the program's results for malware detection are much worse: It placed 2. Additional Free Antivirus Options. If you'd like to save some money, but prefer to use some other program, you have quite a few options.
Again, I'll refer to our roundup review from last April, which evaluated seven free antivirus suites. Here are the top four you might consider using: AVG Anti- Virus Free Edition was the highest- ranked of the seven free antivirus programs we assessed earlier this year. AVG Anti- Virus Free Edition: Though it had the lowest detection rate of the top four free antivirus programs with a 9.
Avast, Panda, and Avira finished with rates of 9. Security Essentials (which finished with a detection rate of 9.
- Bitdefender Windows 8 Security is the antivirus solution specifically designed for the Windows 8 operating system. Try it now free!
- Consumer antivirus software providers for Windows If you’re running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 8, you’ve already got Windows Defender built in, helping to protect you against viruses, spyware, and other malware.
- Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2016 is officially the best antivirus software today. It builds on technology awarded PRODUCT OF THE YEAR and uses machine-learning to fight off cyber-threats without impacting your device’s performance.
- Avast 4.8 Free Download – Download Avast antivirus 4.8 free for windows xp and vista. Avast 4.8 antivirus is a very popular anti-virus software.
And though it wasn't as good at completely removing malware as Security Essentials (6. Security Essentials finished at 9. AVG Anti- Virus Free Edition also tied Panda Cloud Antivirus for the top rate of blocking brand- new threats, at 8. Security Essentials was at 7. Avast Free Antivirus: Avast's freebie provided strong detection of known malware samples, at 9. Its rate of completely removing malware (6.
Security Essentials' rate (8. Avast Free Antivirus did provide better blocking of real- world malware, achieving a 7. Security Essentials' 7. Panda Cloud Antivirus: This tool provided the second highest protection against known malware samples overall at 9. Security Essentials. Though Panda's malware repair percentage was among the lowest in the group of seven, it tied with AVG for the best performance at fully blocking brand- new threats, turning in a rate of 8. Security Essentials' mark of 7.
Avira Free Antivirus: Avira provided the third- highest detection rate (out of seven free antiviruses tested) for spotting known malware samples: 9. Security Essentials' rate of 9. Though it scored lower than Security Essentials on AV- Test's remaining detection and repair tests, Avira did provide much faster scanning. Paid Antivirus Options. Though free antivirus programs can provide adequate protection for most users, the best protection must be bought. To compare these, I'll refer to a roundup review of paid security suites that we posted in January of this year.
Here are the top four programs you might consider purchasing, with their prices for one year of protection on three PCs lited parenthetically: G Data Internet. Security 2. 01. 2 earned the top ranking among paid antivirus programs in our January roundup. G Data Internet. Security ($4.
Among 1. 4 paid packages tested, G Data Internet Security provided the best protection against known malware with a 9. At the same time, it had minimal impact on PC performance, and an acceptable complete malware removal score of 6. Norton Internet Security ($5. This program delivered solid detection of known malware, at 9.
Bitdefender Internet Security ($8. Bitdefender turned in the second- highest malware detection rate among paid programs, at 9. PC performance. Kaspersky Internet Security ($6.
Kaspersky's paid antivirus software combined good malware protection (at 9. When you buy an Internet Security suite, in addition to getting better protection, you usually get more features and services than you would with a free antivirus program. For example, most Internet Security suites include a firewall to help block intrusions and data theft (these firewalls tend to be better than the free firewall built into Windows), as well as a spam filter to help you control your junk email. Many security software vendors offer tech support for removing malware if you do become infected, and they may provide additional security features such as sandboxing, and even extras like online storage or PC tune- up utilities. Choosing Your Antivirus for Windows 8.
If your Windows 8 PC comes with a third- party antivirus preinstalled on it, you should first check the program's ranking; if it doesn't rank in the top four, consider opting out and using something else. As we've seen, the free antivirus built into Windows 8 should be easy to use and should provide excellent malware removal, but it will likely be relatively weak at detecting malware in the first place.
Though Windows Defender will still certainly protect you from most malware and may be suitable for some users, you may prefer to install on of the better- performing free antivirus programs offered by AVG, Avast, Panda, and Avira. Or for superior protection and more features, consider buying antivirus protection from one of the top vendors: G Data, Symantec (Norton), Bitdefender, or Kaspersky.