Hardware and software setup

Which antivirus can be downloaded. Light antiviruses for old and weak computers

  1. Search malware priority task. In order for the program to cope with it better than other alternatives (even paid ones), we immediately equipped it with 5 engines. Among them, the cloud 360 Cloud, which removes unnecessary load from the system, Bitdefender, which is popular in the world, and the System Repair algorithm for recovering affected data, deserve special attention.
    This interaction allows 360 Total Security to quickly find, locate and destroy any threat to your data.
  2. cleaning hard drives and registry from junk files. Special add-ons allow you to find programs that you have not used for a long time. Powerful free antivirus With one click, it launches a disk and registry check, after which the system boots up and runs much faster.
  3. Another reason to download a powerful antivirus free updates. All subsequent versions will be available to our users on the same terms as now FREEWARE. This means that, unlike licensed software, which requires investments annually, our

Many manufacturers of protection tools release free editions of antiviruses that can be completely free to download from the official website of the manufacturer and use on your computers.

Most developers only include virus scanners without real-time protection in their free editions, but there are developers who provide a full range of tools to protect your data in their free version.

Below is a selection of antiviruses that you can download and use absolutely free of charge.

07/19/2018 , Anton Maksimov

The ranks of free antiviruses with real-time protection replenished a new version product of Kaspersky Lab called Kaspersky Free. If previously they only had a healing utility ( virus scanner Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool), now they also release real-time protection file system and protection from malicious sites on the network.

06/12/2018 , Anton Maksimov

Security is not enough. Many manufacturers of protection systems believe so. Including the developers of the free antivirus 360 Total Security, which includes as many as 5 engines. Yes, this antivirus has many different engines, each of which performs its task. This includes virus detection engines from Avira and Bitdefender, QVM II proactive protection, 360 Cloud, and System Repair.

04/18/2018 , Anton Maksimov

Avast Free Antivirus is a free antivirus package with real-time protection. Great for home use. In addition to the anti-virus module itself, it has a number of additional tools that will help save data and protect you from online threats.

01/11/2018 , Anton Maksimov

So we got our hands on the free Comodo internet security. This is a set of tools to protect your computer, which includes a firewall, antivirus and a proactive protection module. I will not describe all the features of Comodo Internet Security, because, in my opinion, they are standard and are present in most similar programs. The main difference of this program from the rest is its free and amazing reliability. At correct setting The program allows you to secure your computer to the maximum. The other day I reviewed several comparative tests that various companies were conducting, and the results of these tests quite surprised me. As an example, I will give the results of one of these tests.

05.10.2017 , Anton Maksimov

AVG AntiVirus FREE is a worldwide known antivirus program that is available free of charge for home users and is already used by millions of people around the world. Unlike many free scanners from major antivirus labs, AVG is a complete product that can keep your PC secure to the fullest. AVG Anti-Virus FREE is easy to use and does not slow down the operating system (has low system requirements).

07/12/2017 , Anton Maksimov

Today I will talk about another free Avira antivirus Free Antivirus, which recently settled on one of my computers. The situation with it is special, since this antivirus is not a simple scanner, it does not need to be downloaded every time you need to check the system. This antivirus hangs in memory and does everything on its own. It independently downloads and installs updates, independently checks the files accessed by the operating system and various applications.

A massive attack by the WannaCry ransomware (WannaCryptor, WanaDecryptor) has infected tens of thousands of computers in organizations and public institutions around the world. The malware uses a known vulnerability described in security bulletin MS17-010 and a combination of EternalBlue / DoublePulsar exploits that allow attacks on other vulnerable Windows systems on the same network. As a result, infection of one computer can lead to compromise of the entire corporate network In the organisation.

After the appearance on the computer due to the successful exploitation of the vulnerability, WannaCry ransomware encrypts all files and documents of certain formats by executing remote commands sent over SMB protocol, and extending to other Windows computers online.

Perhaps you are too trusting, and therefore did not install an antivirus on your PC, or the license for your antivirus has already expired, or the antivirus you have installed does not provide maximum protection, and ... maybe your PC is infected!

Dr.Web CureIt! - an antivirus that is noticeably different from the usual programs for everyone. This utility does not work all the time, preventing malware from appearing on the computer. It allows you to cure an already infected PC from viruses, Trojan horses, rootkits, etc. This feature of Dr.Web CureIt! defines the scope of the product. It can be used periodically to check the reliability of the antivirus installed on the computer, as well as in cases where, by indirect signs, one can suspect a PC infection. In general, Dr.Web CureIt! hard to overestimate.

06/26/2013 , Anton Maksimov

Continuing the popular theme of free antivirus, I want to mention another development that I met relatively recently and which I have not had time to write about yet. In theory, it would be possible to add this information to the original message, but I decided to put everything in the form of a separate note. So, today we will talk about a free antivirus from Kaspersky Lab called Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool.

The search for a lightweight antivirus for Windows 7 and older versions of this OS is considered a fairly popular topic today, because not every user has a powerful PC that can "handle" capacious applications. Any gadget and device needs an antivirus, because without it, the risk of malware infection on the device increases significantly. Various companies offer fast, lightweight, yet extremely reliable antiviruses that are ideal for budget computers.

As mentioned earlier, not all people have the opportunity to buy a PC with the latest configuration, a powerful processor, a solid amount of RAM, the latest graphics card, and so on. Therefore, many opt for lightweight antiviruses for computers with medium and low configurations.

To finally determine whether a particular security program is suitable for a weak computer, it is necessary to analyze a number of aspects by type:

  • simultaneous work with demanding utilities;
  • downloading information from the Internet;
  • threats from dubious resources;
  • speed of copying or transferring information to HDD;
  • background operation.

The best lightweight antiviruses for Windows 7

Many users have already been able to understand that on weak PCs, powerful antiviruses eat up almost all system resources, which is why the computer starts to slow down. Some companies took care of the owners of budget devices and offered lightweight antiviruses for weak computers, thanks to which data protection is guaranteed without brakes and system overloads.

Comodo Internet Security

It is a well-established free antivirus designed for budget PCs and consuming a minimum of RAM and other resources. It is able to provide protection against threats from both files and the Internet. This program includes an antivirus with a firewall and a behavioral blocking system, so the virus will not penetrate the user's PC in any way.

The following advantages of this utility can be distinguished:

  • one service that can control all devices;
  • full protection against spyware, Internet attacks;
  • blocking dubious resources and downloads;
  • assistance in finding devices that have been stolen or lost;
  • the ability to work on a PC with minimal requirements.

The above advantages and distinguish this program from all others.

Trend Micro Internet Security 2016

The main feature of Trend Micro Internet Security 2016 is a very specific design. Antivirus interface, transitions between windows are considered animated. It is possible to choose one of the proposed themes or even install absolutely any picture as the background of the program.

The antivirus works quite smoothly on weak computers and includes a number of the following features:

  • scan to online mode. We are talking about a file antivirus that monitors the file system around the clock;
  • deb filtering. A special web screen created to filter HTTP traffic opens. Despite the fact that the above program automatically installs its extensions, even without them, web protection works fine;
  • computer health check. The utility checks if there is Latest updates for Windows OS, analyzes the account and firewall settings, allows you to edit the list of automatically downloaded software, finds "garbage" in the PC and clears the history;
  • privacy scan. In this case, the account is set up. social systems on the availability of personal data exclusively for friends.

G Data Internet Security

This antivirus uses a special Bitdefender engine along with new system CloseGap with a cloud component to guarantee immediate and permanent virus protection, protection against spam, online threats and so on. Threats of a regional nature are also taken into account, the firewall works in the background and does not bother the computer in any way, even when playing games. The presence of parental control allows you to protect the younger generation from sites with questionable content.

Among the main advantages of antivirus are the following:

  • high level of detection of infected files;
  • protection against theft of personal information in the form of passwords, e-mail and so on;
  • the possibility of free web surfing, Internet banking and online shopping;
  • ease of installation and use;
  • fairly fast start;
  • delete confidential information with one click.

F-Secure Internet Security

It is a complex software in which there is protection against threats on the Internet. The program runs on the Bitdefender engine, uses cloud technologies, proactive protection, anti-phishing, there is the possibility of parental control and safe work with internet banking.

The antivirus itself

  • protects against infections and spyware. There is a regular scan of e-mail;
  • present Firewall, extended network protection, application analysis, intrusion prevention and control of network connections.

Internet protection is also offered:

  • allows you to set restrictions on children's access to dubious sites;
  • thanks to protection when surfing the net, pages with questionable content are blocked and security information is displayed;
  • defend themselves Bank operations, which protects customers from unfriendly actions when using online banking and making transfers.

Total Security

This is a free anti-virus program, which in terms of its functionality is not worse than many paid programs, and even outperforms them in certain parameters. The program includes free antivirus, PC boost function, system cleaning, device checks and a number of other additional features.

The anti-virus includes several scan modes (we are talking about quick, full and selective):

  • quick scan allows you to check the system settings in just a couple of minutes, running programs, software in startup and basic system information;
  • a full scan differs only in that it also includes files stored on the PC. Therefore, the analysis completion time may be different - it all depends on how many files are stored on the user's HDD;
  • selective scanning implies the ability to select files, folders or drives that are scanned for malicious elements.

Also, using this program, you can significantly speed up your computer by optimizing startup, scheduled tasks, utility utilities, critical system services, and network connection. All this is done automatically.

The computer cleaning function involves searching for temporarily stored files that are created during Internet surfing. It also removes all the garbage that appears while watching the video and other unnecessary information.

A few more reasons to choose Qihoo to download antivirus for a weak PC

There are a number of main reasons why you should choose Qihoo to download a security application on a weak PC:

  • the possibility of simultaneous operation of several engines at once (one of them is Bitdefender);
  • the presence of additional functionality with which the program makes the work of a weak PC faster;
  • special plug-ins that are built into the browser and monitor dubious sites, as well as other signs of threats;
  • work in background mode, so that the user is not distracted from performing key tasks due to constant pop-ups.

Important! It should be emphasized that it is recommended to download everything for weak computers exclusively on official resources. Only in this case will it be guaranteed that a full-fledged antivirus will be received without code changes that can harm personal information and Windows 7 itself.

Antivirus installation instructions

Consider detailed instructions on installing an antivirus using the example of the latter, 360 Total Security from Qihoo. The installation of other antivirus utilities is similar, the difference can only be in the installer menu, with which you can easily and quickly install any antivirus.

Important! If the device already has an antivirus, it should be uninstalled before installing a new one.

  1. Go to the official website of the utility developer at the link: https://www.360totalsecurity.com/ru/.

  2. Left click on the "Free Download" button.

  3. Run downloaded setup file from your browser's Downloads folder.

  4. Check the box to accept license agreement, additional items as needed, click Install.

  5. Wait for the installation process to complete. After the installation of the program is completed, offer to use the download of additional software, click "Start" or close the window by clicking on the cross in the upper right corner.

  6. After installation, the antivirus will open automatically. Select the function you need from the list and click on it. We recommend that you perform a full check of the device by clicking on the large "Check" button.

Video - How to install 360 Total Security antivirus

All the above antiviruses are free!

Thus, to start using the antiviruses described above, it will be enough to download them to your computer and install them. After installation, you will need an Internet connection to update the anti-virus databases - thanks to this, the protection will always be up to date. At the same time, for weak PCs, they use a minimum of the system's potential and often miss viruses that are very difficult to detect.

Video - Top antiviruses. Choosing the best

It goes without saying that in our computerized age, protecting information or entire systems from is essential. In other words, any computer, in addition to the built-in tools of the system itself, must have at least some more or less functional antivirus. Let's try to consider the lightest antiviruses and, based on the test results, we will determine what is best suited for protection today.

Safety first!

As for antivirus software, now you can find not dozens, but hundreds of options. Of course, it will not be possible to consider all of them, especially since in terms of functionality they are completely unequal among themselves.

Therefore, we will focus on several of the most famous software products. Perhaps the comparative results will tell someone which is the lightest antivirus for XP or the server version of Windows. Let's make a reservation right away that the same “explosion”, although it still remains a very popular and in-demand system, is nevertheless hopelessly outdated. However, a solution will be offered for it.

The lightest antiviruses: the main aspects of testing

Of course, not every person who constantly works with a computer can afford to purchase the most modern configuration with a powerful multi-core processor chip, large volume random access memory, a modern video card, etc. Therefore, let's see what tests show for the lightest antivirus for a computer with an average configuration. Let's take 4.1 GB of RAM and an 80-gigabyte hard drive as a basis. It seems to be just right for testing.

As for the main tests, consider the performance of several independent laboratories. Among the checks, we highlight the following:

  • parallel work with resource-intensive applications;
  • threats from unsafe sites;
  • speed of copying or moving data on the hard disk;
  • work in the background.

Kaspersky Internet Security

So, we have one of the most famous anti-virus packages of our time. Many may object. Why was it necessary to include a Kaspersky Lab software product in the list? The fact is that, unlike all other anti-virus packages, this program is the least demanding on system resources.

The results of testing on the above configuration, although not ideal, look quite encouraging. This primarily concerns the identification of potential threats when browsing the Internet or when installing any software. However, along with this, there are clearly expressed disadvantages. So, for example, the boot time of the system itself increases significantly, after it starts, it takes a long time to connect via a Wi-Fi connection, when downloading files using the same torrent client, the time to save to disk is quite long. This is due to checking content in real time. By the way, Kaspersky is the only package for which this time goes off scale.

When accessing the hard disk (copying files), there is a clear slowdown in work. Not critical, but still there. And when you start the Photoshop package, in general, the system starts to slow down in earnest (the antivirus itself consumes too much RAM). So to say that this is the lightest antivirus for a laptop or a stationary terminal, the language does not turn. In principle, it can be used if you do not work with heavy applications in parallel. But in terms of protection, it is in the lead, even despite the increased load on system resources.

ESET Smart Security

Another major player in the antivirus software market is the smart security from ESET. On the this moment the eighth version of the program is available.

In principle, the behavior of this application is somewhat reminiscent of Kaspersky. Boot time of the system has been increased, in addition, the initial check of automatically loaded components takes a long time (this is especially noticeable in Windows XP). The overall defense showed nice results even when the Anti-Theft function is disabled. When accessing the hard drive, there are no delays, there are no problems with the speed of access to the Internet either, however, when launch Skype The app takes a long time to load. However, if you look at the resource usage monitor, you will notice that the load is not as great as it might seem at first. It reaches its maximum peaks only at the moments of renewal. anti-virus databases and initial scan. It can and should also be used, but it cannot be called the fastest, although compared to Kaspersky it is heaven and earth.

Dr. Web Security Space

Now about one more well-known package, which is rightfully considered one of the the best means protection of computer systems.

What do its results show? Firstly, during installation, the program offers to install your own firewall, which you do not need to do in any case, since conflicts with the native Windows firewall and a significant increase in system load may occur. Booting the system is quite fast (according to the report, about 60-65 seconds), but in reality it takes much more time before the hard disk access stops completely. Parallel to Photoshop work almost impossible wifi network when connected, he thinks a little longer than usual, but in everything else - the indicators are quite high.

Now fly in the ointment. As it turned out, the program sometimes spontaneously activates something like a hidden full scan. At the same time, the load on CPU can increase by 50%. However, this only occurs when using default settings default. If you disable all unnecessary, you can get high-quality protection.

Avira Antivirus Pro

Avira makes a good enough impression. In principle, in terms of its performance, the antivirus is somewhere in the middle of the list. Its only problem is running resource-intensive applications. With Photoshop, this is not expressed too strongly, but some guest (child) operating systems refuse to work (at least when they are first launched).

In general, it cannot be said that this is already the easiest; nevertheless, it can be used as reliable protection (especially since it is unlikely that anyone will put virtual machine). If you characterize it briefly, a good solid middle peasant.

Avast Internet Security

As for this software product, it scored true in almost all indicators, some errors were noticed when identifying potential threats.

But when launching Photoshop or accessing the hard drive, monitoring the load on the system showed an unprecedented result. For example, the consumption of RAM in active mode is only 80-100 MB! The only negative is the excessive talkativeness of the program. Yes Yes! It is talkativeness, since the voice notification mode is enabled in the default settings. However, turning it off is not difficult.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Finally, the native brainchild of Microsoft Corporation. As testing shows, it must also be included in the list of "The lightest antiviruses". Since Windows systems are still the most common in our country, it suits them almost perfectly, because who, if not the creators of this family of operating systems themselves, knows what kind of security holes they have. In addition, when using this package, the appearance of conflicts in the firewall is excluded.

For all other indicators, the result can be called satisfactory, except for the excessive load on the system when accessing the hard drive. Sometimes when installing third party programs false positives may appear, as some of them try to make necessary changes to system files.

What is the lightest antivirus?

What do the test results say, in which the lightest antiviruses were presented? Avast shows the best overall performance. First of all, this is a practically absent load on the system, even when working with heavy programs. The protection system, of course, is not ideal, but for weak machines or configurations on Windows based XP, I think it is ideal. In addition, if you do not take into account the technical aspects, we can say that Avast is the lightest free antivirus. But most programs need to either be bought or permanently activated when using even shareware versions.

On the other hand, today there is not a single program that would meet high security requirements, and, moreover, would not load the system. And, of course, other well-known antiviruses like Bitdefender and based on it were not considered here, due to the fact that the antivirus itself is too voracious, and its modifications like 360 ​​Security, although they work quite quickly, do not provide the proper level of protection, and even often give false alarms. However, what exactly to use is already a purely personal matter.

The main evaluation criteria, which included 200 indicators, were:

  • virus protection;
  • the convenience of use;
  • impact on computer speed.

Malware protection is the most important evaluation criterion: indicators within this group of parameters accounted for 65% of the overall antivirus score. Ease of use and impact on computer speed accounted for 25% and 10% of the overall score, respectively.

Anti-virus programs were selected for research on the basis of popularity among consumers and affordability. For this reason, the list of antivirus programs studied included:

  • Free programs - both built-in and offered separately.
  • Paid programs from leading antivirus brands. Based on the principles of selection, the study did not include the most expensive versions software products from these brands.
  • From one brand for one operating system, only one could be represented in the rating paid product. The second product could get into the rating only if it is free.

This time, products developed by Russian companies were included in the category in the international study. As a rule, the list of products for international testing includes products with a sufficient market share and high recognition among consumers, therefore, inclusion in the study Russian developments speaks of their wide representation and demand abroad.

Top Ten for Windows

All antiviruses in the top ten cope with protection against spyware and protect against phishing - attempts to gain access to confidential data. But there are differences between antiviruses in the level of protection, as well as in the presence or absence of a particular function in the tested versions of the antivirus.

The pivot table shows ten the best programs by overall rating. It also takes into account the features of the packages in terms of the set of functions.

How good is standard Windows 10 security?

As of February 2018, the percentage of Windows PC users with stationary computers installed OS Windows 10 accounted for 43%. On such computers, the antivirus is installed by default - it protects the system Windows program Defender, which is included with the operating system.

The standard antivirus, which, judging by the statistics, most people use, was only on the 17th line of the rating. Overall, Windows Defender scored 3.5 out of a possible 5.5.

Built-in protection latest versions Windows is only getting better every year, but it still falls short of the level of many specialized antivirus programs, including those that are distributed for free. Windows Defender showed satisfactory results in terms of online protection, but completely failed the phishing and anti-ransomware tests. By the way, protection against phishing is declared by antivirus manufacturers. It also turned out that he does a poor job of protecting your computer in offline mode.

Windows Defender is quite simple in terms of design. It clearly communicates the presence of a particular threat, clearly demonstrates the degree of protection and has the function " parental control”, which restricts children from visiting inappropriate resources.

The standard protection of Windows 10 can only be called decent. Based on the overall rating, 16 programs to protect personal computer on Windows OS turned out to be better than it. Including four free ones.

Theoretically, you can only rely on Windows Defender if the user has regular updates turned on, their computer is connected to the Internet most of the time, and they are advanced enough not to consciously visit suspicious sites. However, Roskachestvo recommends installing a specialized anti-virus package for greater confidence in the security of the PC.

How We Tested

Testing was carried out in the most qualified laboratory in the world, specializing in antivirus programs, within half a year. A total of four groups of anti-malware tests were conducted: the general online protection test, the offline test, the false positive rate test, and the automatic and on-demand scan test. To a lesser extent, the final rating was influenced by checking the usability of the antivirus and its impact on the speed of the computer.

  • General protection

Each antivirus package was tested online for a set of viruses, totaling more than 40,000. It also tested how well the antivirus copes with phishing attacks - when someone tries to access the user's confidential data. Ransomware has been tested to protect against ransomware that restricts access to a computer and data on it in order to obtain a ransom. In addition, an online test of a USB drive with malware is carried out. It is needed to find out how well the antivirus copes with the search and elimination of viruses when neither the presence of malicious files nor their origin is known in advance.

  • USB offline test

Detection malware located on a USB storage device connected to the computer. Before the scan, the computer was disconnected from the Internet for several weeks so that the anti-virus packages were not 100% up to date.

  • False alarm

We tested how effective the antivirus is in identifying real threats and skipping files that are actually safe, but which are classified as dangerous by the product.

  • Auto-scan and on-demand scan test

It was tested how effectively the scanning function works with automatic check computer for malware and when manually started. The study also tested whether it is possible to schedule scans for certain time when the computer is not in use.

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