Self-termed the “front page of the internet”, Reddit is home to all sorts of useful information, and just as much useless info too. But Reddit has a long thread of discussions related to the most efficient antivirus software for Windows 10. Since the subject is of a wide interest, it’s always good to discover what the opinions of Reddit users are on it, especially when it comes to the different free antivirus software you’ll find covered by our reviews.
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Reddit is essentially a big group of forums. You need to register to use the platform, and you can talk about pretty much anything that takes your fancy. From crime and technology to pop culture and world news this is the platform that gives everyone a voice.
Windows Defender in the Eyes of Reddit Users
Surprisingly, Windows Defender is often mentioned when it comes to the question of what the best antivirus defense for Windows 10 is. Some agree that it can offer basic protection for the inexperienced user, while others don’t. All in all, the general advice is to use “Common Sense + Windows Defender. Emphasis on the former”. Another Reddit user suggests that just these two are not enough, since Windows Defender “is not bad, it’s just that it’s not very proactive in preventing zero day malware/exploits”. Of course, someone else asks where common sense can be downloaded.
One smart remark recommends following AV-TEST results, the independent antivirus ranking organization testing and ranking all known antivirus software. Windows Defender received quite a high ranking from the organization, too.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition and Reddit Karma
Bitdefender with its free version is often mentioned in comments on the subreddit “What’s the best antivirus for Windows 10?” though the solution does not seem to be so popular with users. One of them noted that it pops up when he is playing games on his PC, always doing some “mysterious” scan he didn’t ask for and even blocks some browsers from opening. His opinion is that “an antivirus is not supposed to do that”.
A more informed user replies that “Bitdefender is renowned for having the best protection in tests as well as being one of the lightest resource intensive antiviruses. I take advantage of their free version and then pair that with weekly scans using malwarebytes and superantispyware.” The same user adds that at some point he purposely downloaded something “sketchy” and Bitdefender was able to block it.
Avast Free Antivirus and Redditors
Redditors also brought up the Avast Free Antivirus solution quite often, but only briefly. One of the most interesting comments is the one that stated that Avast was the lightest of all the antiviruses tested. With other programs, according to the commenter’s experience, the CPU cooler can often be heard working, while it hardly happened with Avast. However, they add that it is necessary to do the custom setup to get rid of the useless “bloat”.
Another Redditor adds that Avast is a great program and even though he does recommend it to some users, it can prove to be particularly intrusive when used on an HTPC (home theater PC) and would be “resource-intensive”, leading to churning the disk sometimes. The commenter goes on to state that they have used the software for about three years on four different systems, however eventually decided to change to Bitdefender and is much happier with the choice now. The Redditor’s parting message is that both programs offer great security and “score well in tests”.
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