Top 5 Best FREE Antivirus Software for 2012

Even if your budget doesn’t include any money for antivirus protection, you’ve got plenty of good choices for free antivirus. Considering the upcoming July 9 Internet Blackout due to DNS Trojan, are you wondering which of the 2012 antivirus tools are best yet FREE? This list of best 5 Free anti-virus software 2012 has all the types of popular anti virus software programs you are looking for your computer system, this year. All the anti virus programs listed here are used for home editions/versions and if you wish you can download free antivirus with their latest paid, free or trial versions.

According to a study by software firm OPSWAT, free software takes up 50% of the global antivirus market for Windows PC users. If you are a home user and are aware of what not to do online and how to avoid yourself from phishing attacks a good free antivirus should be sufficient to keep your pc clean and safe from other possible threats.So here we are compiling a list of best free antivirus softwares for you to take advantage of,these are ranked not just according to their virus fighting capability but also the ease of use and efficiency (usage of pc resources) are taken into consideration.

Download Top 5 Free Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software of 2012

This top 5 antivirus list comprises of only those top 5 best antivirus products that are available free of cost and offer you virus detection and removal features with full version.Though.They also offer paid and premium services to those seeking full online antivirus program support. The many different free antivirus software makes for a very competitive environment. Popular options from companies like Avast, AVG, and Avira enjoy high usage numbers, and more knowledgeable Windows users also rely on Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware Free 1.51.

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)

From the creators of Windows comes Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), a free antivirus solution for your Windows system. If you are running a genuine copy of windows then you need not look any further. MSE is the best free antivirus solution you could get, the software being from Microsoft integrates with the OS very well and provides effective real time scanning and virus removal. It also updates on its own is in constant watch running in the background.

MSE is the ONLY truly free antivirus program out there. There are no pushes, subtle or otherwise, asking you to get a paid version. Secondly, the license for Security Essentials allows professional use, so long as one user doesn’t install it on more than 10 PCs. Some of it’s notable pros are it’s Free with no need for registration, always up-to-date, very easy to use and capped CPU usage.

Also check out our List of Top 6 Best Antivirus Software of 2011

MSE  also notifies users into activating Windows Update, Firewall, and User Access Control (crucial security features of the OS) if they are deactivated. But the best part about MSE is that installing an antivirus on a severly malware-infested computer can be a nightmare. Some antivirus programs take a long time to install and update; others won’t even install due to self-defense by malware. But, Microsoft Security Essentials wouldn’t give you any trouble; and will install quickly and smoothly.

AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012

AVG is an old player and hence a trusted one too. The AVG free 2012 edition has great potential but the heavy resource usage makes it rather undesirable. But if you are running a PC with a good configuration then we don’t see why you should not use it. AVG Free is also one of the most frequently updated antivirus programs on our list.

The 2012 edition’s main screen collapses the previous edition’s ten component icons down to six, but adds three new ones to integrate the company’s other products. Overall, this free antivirus and antimalware solution is a great choice for free antivirus protection. It has the best scores among current products in our malware removal test and very good scores for malware blocking as well.

Avira Free Antivirus 2012

Avira is a very intelligent and proactive antivirus solution with virus definitions and detection rate higher than any of the antivirus we have listed down here. Also it seemed to be the fastest and has got phishing protection as a cool bonus feature. The Web protection that blocks access to known malware-hosting sites is also designed to keep users away from fraudulent (phishing) sites. The only downside would be its clustered user interface which might not be very user friendly to many.

But that asides, Avira has a great malware clean up score and is very good at detecting and cleaning any type of new virus. There’s also a relative sparsity of protection, especially concerning how well Avira protects the hosts file and the registry (two important system functions that control how a PC connects to the internet and the operation of other applications respectively).

Overall, Avira is a great free choice and it is free for non-commercial use, it is one of the best free antivirus program in 2012. Give it a try and if Avira suits you better, go for it!