Round up: The best free anti-spyware and anti-malware software 2016

The best anti-spyware and anti-malware software

The best free protection for your PC

Using an internet-connected PC without anti-spyware and anti-malware protection is rather like walking through the bad bit of town covered in bling, waving big wads of notes around and shouting "I am very bad at fighting!" Luckily you don't need to have big wads of notes to ensure that you don't get ripped off through your router or mugged via modem: as we'll discover in our feature, there are plenty of seriously good PC protection apps that you can get for absolutely nothing.

As with any free software, pay close attention to the installers: some apps really want you to install bundled software, and they often do so by making installer screens really misleading in the hope that you'll just merrily click okay to everything. Given that the whole point of these apps is to remove unwanted software from your system, trying to stuff unwanted apps into your PC is a bit off. For more information, see our guide to avoiding potentially unwanted programs (PUPs).

Have we missed an anti-spyware program that's saved your system? Let us know in the comments below.

1. BitDefender Antivirus Free Edition

Discreet protection from malware, spyware and online security threats

BitDefender is the strong, silent type. It doesn't even ask questions when you install it. What it does instead is use a range of tactics to identify bad things. It has B-Have, which looks for apps behaving badly; link scanning to identify cons; proactive virus scanning that can detect threats nobody has encountered before; and boot scanning every time you start your PC.

Ad-free, nag-free and hassle-free, it's a great product that runs quickly and silently while you get on with something more interesting.

Its comprehensive suite of tools to protect your PC makes BitDefender our top pick. Read on to discover nine more of the best free anti-spyware and anti-malware programs.

2. Panda Free Anti-Virus 2016

Cloud-based security that takes the pressure off your PC

We're big fans of Panda's security products, and Panda Free Anti-Virus 2016 is smarter than ever before. It's cloud-based, with all the heavy lifting happening on Panda's servers - so the load on your PC is lessened considerably.

As ever there are paid products that offer more features - Wi-Fi scanning, password management, encryption, parental controls and so on - but it offers excellent real-time protection and it's ridiculously simple to use.

3. AVG Anti-Virus Free 2016

A simple interface and effective scanning with remote activation

If you prefer software that keeps quiet, AVG Anti-Virus Free 2016 might not be the app for you: it's quite vocal with its notifications, and irks us from time to time with irrelevant pop-ups telling us we've done something fantastic.

As a security app, though, it's very good. The dashboard is user-friendly, there's protection not just from downloadable threats, but from dodgy links too, and you can use your mobile to scan your PC remotely, which is pretty clever.

The paid-for Pro model has more security options - it has more robust download protection, offers data encryption includes a firewall - but the free version offers decent protection for most PC users.

4. Ad-Aware Free Anti-Virus+

All the anti-malware essentials, but lacks phishing protection

Like many security software firms, Lavasoft offers its Ad-Aware Free Anti-Virus software in a free version in the hope you'll upgrade to its paid-for products - so it doesn't have some of the more advanced features you'd pay money for, such as phishing protection, parental controls and a digital file shredder.

What it does have, however, more than covers the essentials: it scans downloads, checks for spyware, offers safe browsing via a list of known malicious websites and has a game mode so security notifications don't interrupt your frag-fests. Not bad for no money.

5. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware

An excellent tool, but the free edition lacks real-time protection

You can use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware free for as long as you like, but there's an important caveat: real-time protection, the fast 'hyper scan' mode and malicious website blocking features all expire after 14 days - and that means you're missing out on some of the program's best features.

MalwareBytes has a deserved reputation for destroying malware that other programs miss, and its chameleon technology - which once again expires after a fortnight in the free version - means it's less susceptible to attacks that deliberately target security software. Think of the free version as a short-term savior or a test drive; the Premium version costs £19.95 (about US$29.15, AU$38.32) per year.

6. SpyBot Search and Destroy

A security stalwart that's ideal for diagnosing existing infections

SpyBot Search and Destroy is a veteran of the malware wars, dating back to the first adware in 2000, and while it doesn't scan for viruses - that's in the Home version, which is $13.99 (about £9.58, AU$18.39) - the free version does a decent job of finding and fixing adware, malware and spyware.

It's more of a system repair tool than a system protection tool, however, and you need to be careful where you get it from: there are fake versions in circulation which are designed to cause damage, not fix it.

7. Avast Free Anti-Virus 2016

A comprehensive package with built-in password management

Avast is another old-timer, and has been protecting Windows since PCs were made of wood. Avast Free Anti-Virus 2016 is the lightest, fastest version the company has ever shipped (the bad old days of security software slowing your PC to a crawl are thankfully long gone) and it supplements the anti-malware protection with a nifty password manager and home network monitoring, which can identify weak points in your Wi-Fi.

As with most free products, not all the goodies are available for nothing, so for example if you want anti-phishing protection or spam filtering you'll need the paid-for version, but the free edition is still a very comprehensive security package.

8. Emsisoft Emergency Kit

A lifesaver if your PC is already infected, but not a preventative tool

Most security software tries to stop malware and spyware getting onto your system. Emsisoft Emergency Kit doesn't: it's the 911 call of security software, the app you use when your PC's been poked by something unpleasant.

It's designed to be portable, an app you carry around with you on a USB stick, and its system requirements are tiny: just 200MB of RAM, so it'll run quite happily on any PC with 1GB or more system memory. With 2 million malware signatures, Emisoft Emergency Kit can restore almost any infected PC to rude health.

9. Hijack This

For experts only - get detailed reports on a misbehaving PC

Originally developed by Trend Micro and now available via SourceForge, Hijack This isn't an app for the faint of heart or tech-phobic: it generates an exceptionally detailed report on your system, enabling you to spot potential problems and malicious software.

It's very fast and very thorough, but it's about malware methods rather than specific products. It tells you what's going on and it's your job to interpret it and take action. In the wrong hands, that power could be disastrous. This is one for experienced users only.

10. SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition

An outdated interface belies a solid manual malware scanner

Not just anti-spyware - SUPER anti-spyware. Does it live up to the name? Yes and no. SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition lacks real-time protection and scheduled scanning, so it's a tool you need to remember to run manually, and the interface appears to have been designed in the dark by maniacs.

The core product is a solid one though, with lots of scanning options, registry repair, behavioural scanning and daily threat updates. It's not super, but it's pretty good.

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Round up: The best free file compression software 2016

The best free file compression software

Why use file compression software?

The most common use of file compression is to reduce the size of files before sending them as a single attachment (via email or a tool like WeTransfer). Compression also lets you save drive space by reducing the size of files you only use occasionally, and enables you to encrypt or password-protect many files at once

Compression tools use a variety of methods to reduce file size. Some file types, such as JPG and MPG, are already compressed, so adding them to an archive won't reduce their size much - if at all.

Windows (from XP onwards) has a built-in compression tool, accessed by right-clicking one or more folders/files, and selecting 'Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder'. This is fine for very occasional use, but is very limited. It can only read and create ZIP files (there are dozens of other formats), it doesn't let you create multiple volumes of a particular size, can't repair damaged archives, and can't encrypt files. In fact, if you use it to compress an encrypted file, it will be decrypted when extracted.

It's therefore a good idea to have a third-party compression tool on hand, and with some available completely free and weighing in at just a few megabytes, there's no reason not to. These are our recommendations. Have we missed your preferred tool? Let us know in the comments below.

1. 7-Zip

The ultimate lightweight compression tool - no frills and no strings attached

7-Zip is open source, meaning it's completely free, even for commercial use. It's only 1MB in size, and is available as a portable version that can be run directly from a USB stick.

7-Zip isn't the most attractive program around, but it's so well designed that you won't miss the slick interfaces of its paid-for equivalents. You can locate files to be archived using a simple Explorer-style file tree, or drag and drop them into the main window.

It can pack and unpack 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM archives, and unpack AR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DMG, EXT, FAT, GPT, HFS, IHEX, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, QCOW2, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, VDI, VHD, VMDK, WIM, XAR and Z.

Its own 7z format is designed for high compression, and is supported by almost all file achiving tools - both paid-for and free - making it an ideal choice for sharing.

You can apply password protection to packaged archives and split them into volumes, which is handy for sharing particularly large archives. The only key feature it's missing is the ability to repair damaged archives.

2. PeaZip

Another excellent open source archiver. Larger than 7-Zip, but with more features

PeaZip is another open source file compressor, but with a few more features in a considerably larger package (around 10MB compared to 7-Zip's 1MB).

PeaZip's standard installation will make file associations and add context menu options automatically, which you might not want if you're trying it for the first time. Select 'Custom' if you want to make your own choices. Alternatively, you can use the 1.8MB portable version, which runs without being installed and won't make changes to your PC.

PeaZip can pack and unpack to 7z, ARC/WRC, SFX, BZ2, GZ, PAQ/LPAQ/ZPAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ/BCM, SPLIT, TAR, UPX, WIM and ZIP. It can also unpack ACE, ARJ, CAB, CHM, compound files (eg MSI, DOC, PPT, XLS), CPIO, DEB, EAR, ISO, JAR, LZMA, LZH, NSIS installers, OpenOffice's OpenDocument, PET/PUP, PAK/PK3/PK4, RAR, RPM, SMZIP, U3P, WAR, XPI, Z and ZIPX.

PEA, its own format, prioritises security over compression, with optional integrity check and authenticated encryption. Unlike 7-Zip, it can repair damaged archives.

Its handy extra features include the ability to convert archive formats and test archives for errors. It can't batch compress or watermark images as some of the other tools here can, but can rotate and crop them for you.

A portable version of PeaZip is also available.

3. Zipware

Incredibly user-friendly. An excellent choice if you're new to file compression

Zipware is wonderfully simple to use - simply choose 'New' or 'Open', choose your source file or archive, tweak a few optional settings and you're done.

It's free to use, but if you decide to stick with it, the website invites you to make a donation to support its development. The software itself doesn't nag you for money.

Its standout feature is integrated virus-scanning: if an archive is under 32GB, you can check it for threats with VirusTotal. This is unlikely to be of interest to power users, but is a helpful addition for anyone who's unsure about extracting downloaded archives (or who knows someone with a tendency to accidentally open such things).

Zipware can read ZIP, ZIPX, 7Z, RAR, RAR5, ISO, VHD, MSI, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, DEB, DMG, LZH, LZMA, LZMA2, PPMd, NSIS, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR, XPI, CBR, CBZ, XZ and Z archives. It can create ZIP, 7Z and EXE archives.

4. Ashampoo Zip Free

Optimized for touchscreens, but promotion of paid-for features can be overbearing

Before you can install Ashampoo Zip Free (or any of the company's software), you must register for a free account using your email address. You'll be sent a free activation key, then prompted to create a profile including your name and date of birth, but you can skip this step.

Watch out for potentially unwanted programs when running the installer; we ended up with an unwanted price comparison tool on our test PC, which wasn't picked up by Unchecky.

Ashampoo Zip Free's main features are presented as Windows-style tiles, but here the free program's limitations start to show, with paid-for features like encryption and archive format conversion (which are included with open source tools) locked out until you open your wallet.

Ashampoo Zip Free redeems itself with a very clear interface, which has an optional touch mode with larger, tap-friendly icons. All of the key features are immediately obvious rather than hidden behind ribbons and menus. Interestingly, it also gives previews of files before you extract an archive. This happens automatically, so don't be alarmed if a music file begins playing on mouseover.

You aren't given many choices when creating archives; most of the interesting features come into play when you're unpacking and sharing.

5. WinZip (trial)

The original file compressor - updated for the Windows 10 generation

WinZip has been around since 1991, and although it isn't free after the 21-day trial period (and therefore isn't ranked here) its ubiquity in the early days of file archiving - before the feature was incorporated into Windows itself - make it worth including in the interest of comparison.

The full standard version of Winzip costs £31.14 (US$35.95, AU$47.94), with automatic upgrades available for an additional fee. It supports ZIP, TAR, GZIP, Compress, CAB, RAR, BZ2, LHA/LZH, 7Z, IMG, ISO, XZ, VHD and VMDK.

The interface is a clear drag-and-drop affair, with additional options including encryption, PDF conversion and image resizing. The latter is labelled 'image compression', but doesn't perform the same job as specialist tools like JPEGmini or PNGOptimizer. Once you've set your preferences, you can save them as a preset for future use.

The latest version of WinZip includes social media and cloud integration, making it a great choice if you often need to share multiple files. Mobile apps are also available for iOS and Android.

WinZip is a classic that's evolved with the times, but unless file-sharing forms part of your everyday work, open source alternatives PeaZip and 7-Zip provide all the functionality you need minus the price tag.

6. WinRAR (trial)

The only way to create RAR archives, WinRAR is designed for power users

WinRAR is another premium tool with a history extending back to the early 90s, making it a useful point of comparison for today's free alternatives.

After the 40-day free trial period, a single-user WinRAR licence costs €29.95 (about £23.24, US$33.54, AU$46.52).

The proprietary RAR format can only be created using WinRAR, but can be extracted by almost any other program. As with 7z, this makes it a good choice for file-sharing. RAR archives are also typically smaller than their ZIP equivalents.

WInRAR can unpack CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ/TAR.GZ, BZ2/TAR.BZ2, ACE, UUE, JAR, ISO, 7Z, XZ and Z archives, and compress in RAR and ZIP formats.

WinRAR's appearance has remained largely unchanged over the years, with command line and simple graphical interfaces (custom themes are available, with an equally old-school feel). That doesn't matter though; this is a tool designed for power users.

Its efficiency is particularly apparent when faced with larger tasks, which it handles with aplomb. You can even set it to turn off your PC once it's finished creating mammoth archives (or dozens of smaller ones).

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Redmond rolls out fresh Surface Book fix for Windows 10 preview

If you're an Insider testing out a Redstone preview build of Windows 10 on your Surface Book or Surface Pro 4, you might have hit some glitches with your device – but there may be a cure to hand as Redmond has just rolled out a fresh driver update.

According to a source who contacted Windows Central, the update – which is a driver update for the Intel CSI2 Host Controller – helps to fix problems occurring to Surface devices having trouble firing back up from sleep mode.

The site further notes that having applied the fix, Windows Hello issues have also been smoothed over, and it's much more reliable than before. That makes sense as the Intel driver in question pertains to the webcam on the Surface Book and Pro 4.

So if you're having any sort of issues with the Windows 10 preview and your device resuming from sleep or suffering at the hands of Windows Hello, you should find the new improved driver under Windows Update now.

Check for that update

To check, go to Settings (in the Start menu), then click Update & Security, Windows Update – and then select Check for Updates.

Microsoft's newest Surface devices have certainly had their fair share of bugs, and were veritably plagued with problems when they first emerged, with a number of issues still ongoing.

Indeed, some folks online have suggested that this issue, or similar ones, still affect some users of the release version of Windows 10, too – although Microsoft has already released several patches in April and May to address these problems. It may be the case that there are still a couple of gremlins running around deep inside somewhere.

Of course, if you're running preview builds of Windows, you can expect to encounter oddities and problems as par for the course.

• Surface Book 2 release date, news and rumors

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Updated: Best business antivirus: 8 top paid security tools for small business

Introduction

Note: Our best business antivirus round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in August 2013.

If you're looking to protect your company PCs from malware then you could just equip each one with your preferred free antivirus package. You'll get a reasonable level of protection, and it might well seem like you're keeping costs to a minimum.

Of course you'll have to manually install each copy. And train every user in its operation. And rely on them to let you know if there are any problems. And hope they won't turn off particular functions – or remove the whole package if they think it's getting in their way. The software may be free, but it could still have some major costs attached.

If you have plenty of systems to protect – 10 or more, say – it could make more sense to choose a business security solution. These can often be remotely installed over the network, and offer a central management console to monitor devices, and create fine-tuned security policies to enforce your preferred settings.

Best of all, the price per installation can sometimes be cheaper than even our recommended best home antivirus packages. So, what's on offer? We checked out eight of the best business antivirus tools around to find out.

Most offer discounts if you buy a two or three-year package, so where possible we ordered them by their 10 PC, two-year package prices to make things fair. You can of course choose whichever package suits your needs best when buying.

• Also check out: Bring Your Own Security: Protecting business data on every device

Avast Endpoint Protection Advanced

If Avast Endpoint Protection looks cheap, that's because it's the most basic business product the company offers – there's core antivirus, browsing protection and remote management for PCs only. That may well be enough, though, and even if it isn't, jumping up to the Endpoint Plus edition will get you a firewall, spam filter and server protection while still remaining good value.

The web-based management console covers the basics only: remote installations, updates, plus there's a scheduler for automatic scanning, real-time security alerts, and so on.

The antivirus protection you get is generally rated as good by independent testing, with AV-Comparatives placing Avast's engine sixth out of 19 contenders in its April 2016 Real-World Protection report. If value for money and simplicity is key, Avast Endpoint Protection could be a sensible choice.

Costs: £370/ $534/ AU$740, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 3.5/5

Symantec Endpoint Protection

Symantec Endpoint Protection's first benefit is the company's Insight file reputation technology, an effective way to detect and block even the very latest undiscovered threats.

Other layers of protection include antivirus, behaviour monitoring, intrusion protection, a firewall, and the 'Power Eraser' to remove stubborn threats and repair your system.

VM optimisation keeps performance high in virtual environments.

Symantec's security policy options are the real highlight. You can set application blacklists or whitelists, control file and Registry access, restrict and control access to external media, and more, then monitor systems and enforce policies from a central console.

Symantec Endpoint Protection isn't cheap, but if you need its high-end features and policy control options then it still looks like a good deal to us.

Costs: £578/ $467/ AU$770, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 4/5

Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security

If reliable protection is a top priority, Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security needs to be on your shortlist. Bitdefender products are loved by the independent testing labs, highly rated for malware detection, removal, performance and usability.

Most of the features work automatically – antimalware, firewall, web advisor, URL filtering – but you can also customise the product to control user actions. You're able to restrict access to certain websites and applications, block the transmission of sensitive information, remotely deploy the product to unprotected systems, and allow or deny users the ability to modify their security settings.

All this is managed from a central console where you can control and monitor remote users, create and apply custom security policies by user, location (the product adapts when users are outside the company), and more.

Costs: £340/ $490/ AU$850, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 4.5/5

Avira Antivirus for Endpoint

Avira Antivirus for Endpoint is the company's main small business product. It takes all the core features you'd expect – antivirus, baseline network protection, web filtering – and extends them with file server protection and optimisation, along with application whitelisting and blacklisting.

Avira's Online Essentials web console lets you manage your devices. This is simpler than some of the high-end competition, but that's not necessarily a disadvantage, and there's some useful functionality here: drive partition reports, licence management, remote deployment, and assorted mobile phone tools (antitheft, phone finder, and more).

Avira Antivirus for Endpoint doesn't have the longest of feature lists, but it's easy to use, and offers excellent protection, regularly matching competitors like Bitdefender and Kaspersky in AV-Comparative's Real World tests.

Costs: £411/ $600/ AU$830, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 3.5/5

Kaspersky Lab Small Office Security 4

Small Office Security 4 may be Kaspersky's baseline business product, but that doesn't mean it's short on features. There's antivirus, web filtering, antispam, banking protection, online backup, a password manager, file encryption and more.

The antivirus feature alone is worth a great deal, as Kaspersky regularly receives top ratings from independent testing labs for its detection and repair abilities.

There isn't quite the functionality you'll sometimes find elsewhere. You don't get application or device controls, there's no mobile device or application management (although you do get some Android tools), the remote management console is more limited than some of the competition, and there's no Linux build.

Kaspersky Lab Small Office Security is good value, though, and if you only need the remote management basics then it could serve you well.

Costs: £245/ $360/ AU$499, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 4/5

Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection

Webroot SecureAnywhere products stand out immediately for being incredibly lightweight: they're tiny (2MB disk space), install so quickly you'll barely notice (from 5 seconds), and consume the absolute minimum of system resources.

Scans are fast, too, and because just about everything is done in the cloud, there are no bulky updates or definitions to download – you're always up-to-date.

Other features include behaviour monitoring, an outbound firewall, along with identity and privacy protection. These don't always have the power and options of other tools, but they're implemented with real intelligence, and generally cope well with day-to-day tasks.

A cloud-based console enables tracking all your installations, and the package runs on just about any Windows or OS X system.

Factor in the price and Webroot looks very appealing to us, but it really is a product you need to try for yourself to understand the benefits. If you're interested, grab a copy of the trial and see what it can do for you.

Costs: £148.50/ $230/ $AU258.60, 10 PCs, 1 year

Score: 4.5/5

F-Secure Client Security Standard

F-Secure Client Security Standard is a popular endpoint protection tool, highly rated for protection by the independent testing labs.

Antivirus is just the start. There's also a firewall, intrusion detection, web filtering, online banking protection and device control.

If you need more, the Premium edition adds a software updater to scan for missing patches, and an option to restrict user's web access by category.

Whatever version you buy may be deployed and managed from a simple central console.

There are some issues here. In particular, F-Secure's engine is more likely than most to flag legitimate software as malicious. But overall F-Secure Client Security Standard offers good protection for a reasonable price, and it's certainly a product worth thinking about.

Costs: £411/ $600/ AU$830, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 3.5/5

Sophos Endpoint Protection Advanced 10.6

Sophos Endpoint Protection Advanced is a powerful tool which uses many technologies to keep you safe. It blocks dangerous URLs, and is capable of detecting and removing exploit code, analysing behaviour to uncover even the very newest threats, and identifying endpoint connections with malicious servers to find compromised systems.

The results can be impressive, particularly when facing zero-day threats. AV-Test's March/ April 2016 report found the Sophos engine blocked 100% of these attacks (the industry average is 97%).

There's a price to pay for this kind of safety. Sophos Endpoint Protection's background activities can noticeably reduce your PC's performance.

Fortunately, there are plenty of business-friendly features to compensate, including device and application control, DLP, and antispam and antimalware for Microsoft Exchange.

Costs: £480/ $690/ AU$955, 10 PCs, 2 years

Score: 4/5

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