It’s rare to see this many high-quality tools at no cost. Avira also has a password manager and file shredder to improve security, plus optimization tools to help your devices run more smoothly. While 500MB isn’t much, you can double it to 1GB by registering for a free account with Avira.

It has a free firewall to protect your network and a VPN with a 500MB data limit to hide your online activity. Still, this is a minor inconvenience in comparison to the wide range of extra features that improve security and privacy. Unfortunately, fixing all the issues required upgrading to a paid plan. After the software downloaded, I immediately ran a Status Scan to check for privacy and performance issues - and it took less than a minute to complete! I had outdated apps, Windows privacy issues, and almost 400MB of unnecessary items to delete. I’m impressed by the fast speeds of Avira’s virus scan. In recent tests, Avira detected all of the latest online threats. Protection Cloud is updated daily to combat the latest threats and offers excellent protection at zero cost.

The free plan uses Avira Protection Cloud, the same cloud-based malware network as the premium version. Avira - #1 Free Antivirus With Real-Time Malware Protection for All Devices #Īvira is the best free antivirus because of its real-time protection, accurate malware scanner, and extra features. Try Norton 360 risk-free for 60 days! Quick Guide: Best (Really Free) Antivirus Software in 2023 # 6 Best Free Antivirus Software for Windows, Android, Mac & iOS (Updated January 2023) # 1. You don’t have to make a decision right away either - you can try Norton risk-free for 60 days with its money-back guarantee. Personally, I prefer to use an affordable yet powerful antivirus like Norton 360. Avira emerged as the best free antivirus in 2023 - but while it has a strong virus scanner and some decent features, no quality antivirus can afford to defend against complex and advanced strains of malware for free.įortunately, there are plenty of low-cost premium antivirus providers and I believe it’s well worth the investment to keep your private files, photos, and passwords safe. To help keep you safe, I’ve tested and ranked the top 6 (actually) free antiviruses for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

How to scan files for viruses on mac