What is a good FREE anit virus for Windows?

I have used nothing but Defender for years and never had an issue. The key is to be extra careful with your clicks...but I suppose that's important no matter what service you are using.
 
I have used several...

...and they start out great but after a few 'upgrades' I'm unhappy with them. I used Norton (got terrible) AVAST (went downhill) I used the Kapeirsky (Russian) one for a while. For a long time now I just use Windows Defender. Keep it updated, stay off dubious sites and you should be fine.
 
Defender is pretty decent these days. That wasn't always true, but it has steadily improved over the years. I still use Avast free edition. Most reviewers rate it slightly ahead of Defender. It's unobtrusive and scans run quickly in the background. You get more options in the paid version, but many of those are unnecessary and of questionable value. The basic antivirus is the same.
 
Tom S. said:
Windows Defender is good but.... it will not defend you against some malware, nor will it protect against trackers installed by many websites.
Click to expand...

Of course (and this may not be popular) you really don't need "protection" from trackers which are used almost exclusively to show you ads that may interest you based upon what you've looked at in the past.

Similarly, if your phone "hears" you talk about, for example, a new garage door opener, you will suddenly see lots of ads for them.

But by all means, let's be paranoid, because they are all "out to get us."
 
I use my computers for business and don't want to take any chances and my IT expert recommended Esset which I think is around $50 per year and never have any problems. He also recommend I use CC Cleaner, Malware Bytes, and Ultra defrag once a week and theses are all free.
 
I’m not sure why, but in all the years I’ve had a home computer (since the CPM days), I don’t recall using a “free” virus software as a primary security app. I don’t use Microsoft Defender. I’ve tried other anti-virus software but end up with the same two. I’ve used Peter Norton’s software since 1982. I am currently using Norton 360 Deluxe and Spybot S&D.
 
I use Avast on my steam driven Win7 laptop. I only browse with Firefox and make good use of the tools and additions. This does mean that certain websites have to be finessed into giving information, while others are flat out no gos. In the latter case, and if I really have to go there, it's off to the wife's Win11 machine with Defender. Some webpages are so packed with third party scripts and aggressive data mining I no longer go there. My local Fox affiliate is one of them. My computer, my game.
 
We got broke into using Windows Defender, our Computer geek recommended the basic Malwarebytes system. Whenever something is free, you get what you pay for. Since getting Malwarebytes, it will shut you down before anything bad happens, no brag just fact. If you stay away from sites loaded with dirt you shouldn't have problems, stuff happens anyway.
 
I use windows defender. I recommend you download msert.exe off the windows site and run it weekly. It's a free malware removal tool updated regularly. provided by microsoft. I also use paid for malwarebytes. My Edge browser has Ghostery add on installed.
 
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