Making your PC virus protected is a must do. Unsecured computers have a huge risk of being compromised. Your identity could be stolen and used to perform illegal activities on the net or all your bank accounts and financial accounts could be hacked into. The importance of having your PC virus protected cannot be emphasized enough. However, antivirus software can be quite expensive but fortunately; some of the best antivirus software can be got for free as well.

The Avast Free Home Edition is one of the best free antivirus soft wares and has excellent virus and spyware detection rates. Its user interface is simple, functional and also, customizable. Its protection feature monitors seven ways in which viruses could enter your computer including email, web browsing, and file sharing and more. If you suspect that your PC has been exposed to viruses or spyware then Avast also allows you to scan during start up so you can detect and remove these infections.

The Avira Free Personal Antivirus is one of the best free antivirus products as well although it is not as full featured as Avast. It has an attractive interface but you may need to do some tweaking if you want it to function like Avast. According to AV-Test.org, Avira does a little bit better than Avast for virus detection however, it does have one snag. The free version of Avira does not protect against spyware as they have reserved the spyware detection feature for the paid version.

The AVG Antivirus Free Editions is also a popular antivirus product. Its user interface is very polished while being easy and comfortable to use. The AVG antivirus free edition detects both spyware and viruses but it does according to AV-Test.org, its detection rate is lower than both Avira and Avast. AVG does have some disadvantages one of which is that there is a good deal of functionality left out in the free version as compared to the paid version. Also, though it provides your PC with the basic protection, Avira and Avast are better as they cover more pathways. All three are easy to install as well as uninstall so take your pick.

Some other free antivirus softwares are a personal favourite such as Webroot Spy Sweeper and Kaspersky. With the former you can fit the settings to suit your style and the latter is one of the few antivirus softwares that work even against certain viruses or worms that make other products useless. Of course, the best way to protect your PC is to buy antivirus software however, if you cannot afford it you can use any of the above mentioned softwares.