{"id":12450,"date":"2019-12-07T16:13:44","date_gmt":"2019-12-07T10:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/blog\/?p=12450"},"modified":"2020-08-18T17:29:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T11:59:46","slug":"best-free-virus-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/blog\/comodo-news\/best-free-virus-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Know if You\u2019ve Found the Best Free Virus Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>These days, everybody needs virus protection. Yes, that includes Mac owners. The good news is that you can get some great antivirus programs for absolutely free. Here\u2019s a guide to help you know if you\u2019ve found the best free virus protection for your computer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12451 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/virus-protection.png\" alt=\"Virus Protection\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" \/><\/div>\n<h2>It works on your specific operating system<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re on Windows 10 or Mac OS 10.14 (Mojave), then you can probably use any antivirus product you want. If you\u2019re on an older operating system, then you\u2019re going to have to check whether or not it\u2019s supported. Frankly, the older your operating system, the less choice you are likely to have. Windows XP and MacOS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) are likely to be the oldest operating systems for which you\u2019ll find any free virus protection. In fact, you\u2019re highly unlikely to get paid virus protection for anything older than that.<\/p>\n<p>The easiest way to find free virus protection for your operating system is to search for it specifically. That should help save you a bit of time in your search.<\/p>\n<h2>It treats all malware, not just viruses<\/h2>\n<p>A virus is one specific type of malicious software. Other types include spyware, adware and ransomware. Spyware and adware are exactly what they sound like. If you\u2019re wondering why adware is a security issue, it\u2019s because adverts are increasingly being used as a means to spread malware. This is known as malvertising. Ransomware is also, essentially, what it sounds like, although it\u2019s a relatively new threat so you may not have heard of it.<\/p>\n<p>Ransomware basically encrypts your precious files and then makes you pay a ransom to get them back. The cybercriminals behind ransomware attacks typically demand cryptocurrency be sent to them within a very short timeframe, basically to limit the victim\u2019s options for doing anything other than paying up.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.nurd.com\/home\/purchase.php?pid=109&#038;af=16166\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', {eventCategory: 'Antivirus Blog', eventAction: 'Click', eventLabel: 'GET COMPLETE PROTECTION banner Product CIS Pro'});ga('nT.send', 'event', {eventCategory: 'Antivirus Blog', eventAction: 'Click', eventLabel: 'GET COMPLETE PROTECTION banner Product CIS Pro'});\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8604\" src=\"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/complete-antivirus.png\" alt=\"comodo antivirus\" width=\"650\" height=\"83\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>It is updated regularly and through the cloud<\/h3>\n<p>New malware is being created all the time. This is most obvious in the growth of viruses. In the early days of computing (essentially before the internet), there was only a handful of them in existence. Now there are estimated to be around 100,000 and more are being created all the time. What\u2019s more, the capabilities of viruses are also growing. In the old days, they could do a bit of damage to your data and potentially derail your operating system. These days, they can steal your identity and take over your computer for criminal activities.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, virus protection needs to be regularly updated to cope with emerging threats. The traditional way of doing this was to make updates available for download and installation on the local computer. This was, however, a relatively slow process. It also placed heavy demands on the host computer. The modern way of doing this is to place malware definitions in a cloud database and have the antivirus program just connect to the database. This is both faster and easier on the computer.<\/p>\n<h3>It has a sandbox<\/h3>\n<p>Sandboxes are basically ring-fenced areas in your computer where malware is dragged to die. These are now very important as malware-creators are becoming increasingly creative in their attempts to trick security software. Basically sandboxes ensure that malware is contained right up to the point where it is completely destroyed and hence is denied the opportunity to spring any nasty surprises before it goes.<\/p>\n<h3>It has an integrated firewall (browsing protection)<\/h3>\n<p>Firewalls are basically digital barriers which stand between your local computer and the broader internet. You can\u2019t really control the internet as a whole, but you can use your firewall to control how your computer interacts with it. A firewall will scan incoming traffic for signs of external threats. It will also scan outgoing traffic for signs that you are going to do something potentially risky, such as visit a malicious website. It will then take an agreed action, which is usually to warn you and ask you to confirm (or not).<\/p>\n<h3>It\u2019s backed by an established and reputable brand<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s great to try out \u201cexciting new labels\u201d, but this isn\u2019t one of those times. Leave the adventures in IT to the IT pros who know what to do if it all goes horribly wrong. Stick with brands which have a proven track record of keeping people safe online. Comodo, for example, has been in the IT security business for over 20 years and is trusted by literally millions of people. Head to this page right now and get the best free <a href=\"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/virus-protection.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">virus protection<\/a> available today.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/download\/thank-you.php?prod=cloud-antivirus&amp;track=16678&amp;af=16678\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8604\" src=\"https:\/\/antivirus.comodo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Comodo-Free-Antivirus.png\" alt=\"comodo antivirus\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These days, everybody needs virus protection. Yes, that includes Mac owners. The good news is that you can get some great antivirus programs for absolutely free. Here\u2019s a guide to help you know if you\u2019ve found the best free virus protection for your computer. &nbsp; It works on your specific operating system If you\u2019re on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[415,120],"class_list":["post-12450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comodo-news","tag-best-free-virus-protection","tag-free-virus-protection"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Best Free Virus Protection | Antivirus Protection Software for PCs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here is a guide to help you know if you have found the best free virus protection for your PC. 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