Best free antivirus/ firewall

[ibshaw]

Hi, I have been using free versions of AVG antivirus and Zone Alarm firewall for some time now and, possibly by good fortune, have had no problems whatsoever with any nasty things that can come to you in today's online environment however recently I have noticed a noticeable slowing in performance of the network (I have 2 desktops and 3 laptops on a home network, 1 -wired and the others wireless). I regularly run scans of AVG and MalwareBytes on them all but was wondering if any of these packages could actually be using a lot of my network resource just by working in the background and if anyone could suggest alternatives ?

 

[Golden]

Hi,

AVG led the way in free anti-virus software, but have unfortunately in recent times not been as well regarded as they used to be. Malwarebytes is an excellent product with low resource usage.

I recommend uninstalling AVG and trying Microsoft Security Essentials. Give it a try and see if it improves your network performance.

I would also turn on Windows Firewall.

Regards,
Golden

 

[Hopalong X]

Malwarebytes Free uses no resources until you scan with it.
It does not run all the time it is an "on demand" scanner.

You still need an active antivirus.
MSE is a good one used by many on the forum.
Also Avast free version is a good choice and used by many on the forum.

I have no suggestions for free firewall except Windows firewall.

Mike

 

[StalkeR]

Hello for free I suggest Malwarebytes,as Golden say above. Fore firewall Windows Firewall is good. Also give a look at this thread.
http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/72070-whats-best-anti-virus.html

 

[ibshaw]

Thanks for all replies, I will certainly try some of these suggestions....

 

[Borg 386]

You may want to check out this thread for more info on free firewalls:

http://www.sevenforums.com/security-basics/75541-free-software-firewalls-windows-7-a.html

 

[A Guy]

I am happy with the free Comodo Firewall. I did NOT install the antivirus, just the firewall, and the Defense+ parts. A Guy

 

[CanIHaz]

For antivirus/firewall, you can try the combination of Avast Free w/ PrivateFirewall or Online Armor. Either of those 2 combination runs light with great security protection.

 

[ibshaw]

Thanks to everyone who replied..... really good suggestions which I will try, cheers.