I'm aware of all the free antivirus programs out there. However, I have no idea which ones currently have nag screens or pop-up ads, etc. I need one that doesn't have those for a 10 y/o child's computer. Grandma is buying my cousin a computer for Christmas and I insist on installing security software (antivirus, internet security/firewall, parental controls, etc.). So could you all please tell me which ones don't have nag screens? I don't have time to research everything like I normally would. Thanks
Avira free antivirus would be an excellent choice.It has no nag screens now and is light and effective. http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus
Avira is very good (I use it), but it does still have occasional (monthly?) little "toast" pop-ups advertising things like their product for Android phones. One freebie that I can think of that has no nag screens or pop-ups is Forticlient. As some here have pointed out, it can be heavy at times (I've seen it get that way during updates). Also, the free Panda Cloud AV has (in my experience) no pop-ups or nag screens at all. It's maybe not quite as effective as Forticlient, though it's still quite good, and it always seemed pretty light when I used it.
Technically, avast! doesn't have them either. It's a matter of unticking a setting (in Settings). Certain ads are supplied together with VPS update popup, so they aren't exactly intrusive and they go away by themself. But if you don't like them at all, you can turn off VPS update popups and thus also get rid of all regular notifications. Haven't seen any with Panda Cloud either.
How old is your cousin? Also, Q360 is the free av I use, no pop ups, very light as well. Windows already has parental controls and an ok firewall. http://www.360safe.com/
This is strangely coincidental, but I am about to setup a PC for my 11-year old grandson. While I intend to purchase and install a copy of Shadow Defender (currently available at 'half-price') on his PC, I will also install 360 Internet Security (mentioned above by acr1965) which is a very effective and free antivirus-antimalware program. Everything about it is automatic including updates and there are no ads/nags whatsoever. 360 Internet Security: http://www.360safe.com/pc.html I really don't believe there's anything better for free! TS
I would suggest Bitdefender Free: (http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html) It's unbelievably light, solid detection rates and it's pretty much set it and forget it. I've thoroughly used all free antivirus solutions over the past 6-7 years or so and am quite familiar with all of their pros and cons. And the best balance between pros and cons at this point in time is Bitdefender. Just my opinion, anyways.
Is there a report around that compares the resources consumed by each offering? I often use MSE because it feels built-in.
http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php?chart=chart4&year=2013&month=10&sort=1 http://www.av-comparatives.org/performance-tests/ http://www.raymond.cc/blog/which-free-antivirus-is-the-lightest-on-system-memory-usage/
..... the dead PC! http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php?chart=chart4&year=2013&month=10&sort=1&zoom=2 (Tested Product: Fortinet FortiClient Suite 5.0) http://www.av-comparatives.org/performance-tests/ https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=2285443&postcount=113 https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=2285461&postcount=115 https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=350291&page=5&highlight=Forticlient https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=2313109&postcount=172 https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=2315050&postcount=174 https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=2315090&postcount=175
So true...I gave Forticlient a second chance and re-installed it on a portable using Intel Core Duo T2300. It slowed to a crawl for the next 3 days. This laptop is running W7HP with 2.5 GB ram...had to go back to Avast. I think Forticlient is a great package that I really want to use on clients/ familly pc's, but until they tackle the cpu usage issues, Avast will have to be my primary choice.
Does anyone have any recent experience with Ad-Aware AV+ (free edition)? CNET says it's "spectacular"! -http://download.cnet.com/Ad-Aware-Free-Antivirus/3000-8022_4-10045910.html-
Yes, Even lighter than BD free on my PC (startup time of applications, CPU time total/peek load and disk I/O). I could not get it to update every hour though, seems you have to enable scheduled scans to get updates. BD free has one exe which is not ASLR enabled, but feels as light and is a cloud solution. So it is logs-button magic plus exe not ASLR enabled, versus auto update not working. I would use Panda (when cloud) or Avast (when local db)
Hi W_S, Thanks for the feedback. As my sig indicates I'm using WSA, but my students are always asking me which free AV I would recommend and other than what I read here, I have no personal experience with any of the free ones. So if I understand you correctly, as long as they have an internet connection you would recommend Panda over Ad-Aware, BD, or even 360IS which seems to have quite a few loyal followers here? Wendi
I just installed it, and there is one right after first boot that's an ad about the Android version or something.. I told it to not show any more. But I'm also pretty sure I'm going to see the obnoxious near-full screen popup after it updates at some point, when exactly, I don't know....
This = and this= https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=2300196&postcount=1010 -------------------------------------- I take the bet........