Best Free Antivirus for Windows 10

What to look for in Windows 10 antivirus software

With so many providers promising to offer “the best” antivirus solution, especially for the free versions, it could be difficult to choose one that really suits your needs. Here are a few must-have features that antivirus software should include so that you can be assured your PC is protected well.

Ransomware security

With today’s e-threats having evolved so much, it is not only viruses that can threaten your PC. At present, an efficient antivirus should also provide firewall and ransomware defense, as well as security against phishing websites or VPN protection to prevent monitoring.

As such, nowadays the term “antivirus” has a much broader meaning, now implying protection against all types of cyber threats including the typical range of malware. Securing yourself from ransomware is also important since these can cause even more damage than a virus. That is why it is important when choosing antivirus software for Windows 10 to look for one that offers all-inclusive defense.

Email scanning

There are few features as crucial as email scanning when it comes to antivirus software, and it’s important primarily because it can actually save your hard drive from being erased or from having your personal information stolen. Numerous PC attacks and problems are transmitted via spam emails, so look for antivirus tools that scan your emails and alert you if one of these issues are detected prior to opening a nasty email or clicking anywhere on it.

Choose the paid upgrades for more complex defense

Even though there are free antivirus programs that can provide efficient protection against malware, keep in mind that for more complex protection – especially if you are a business owner – these free versions are only basic and designed for home use exclusively.

Their respective paid upgrades, however, all have more advanced features like a file shredder, built-in ransomware security, or a password manager.

Why Windows 10 needs antivirus

Even though Windows 10 is perhaps the most protected operating system that has been released by Microsoft until now, hackers and online criminals will always find new ways to detects its weaknesses and attack. These might come in the shape of ransomware or fileless attacks and can threaten the security of your device without you even suspecting it, even when using Microsoft’s latest operating system and regardless of how much attention is pay to the websites being visiting.

Microsoft declared that Windows 10 is so protected because it functions with sandbox apps from the Windows Store. This is a term used in computer security to refer to the protection technology that separates running programs in order to diminish system failures and software weaknesses from spreading into the system.

Even so, this might not protect you entirely from web browsing or infected links. You still could click on a malicious link by mistake and unknowingly download malware or adware onto your device.

Other Windows 10 protection to consider

Sometimes, even if you have a really strong antivirus, you might still not be completely safe from deeply embedded malware. What is there to be done in these instances? For this purpose, it is advisable to use a smart defense strategy to keep you on the safe side.

For example, it is important to have appropriate backups for your personal information. You could use open source programs that are free and use them to copy the most important folders onto an external hard drive daily.

Or, you could choose to set up an additional firewall that will block outgoing connections even if you purposely click on them, since Microsoft’s Windows Firewall doesn’t do this at all.

Another thing that you can do is to have your antivirus perform periodic scans to ensure your system is still free from any infections. This is a feature that comes with most free antivirus – as well as their paid equivalents – with most of them allowing you to schedule how often and the exact date of when you want these scans to be performed on your Windows 10 machine.

What do you believe is the most appropriate antivirus solution for your PC? Please let us know in the comments below.