[ikk157]

What’s the best FREE antivirus for low end laptops/pcs?
I recommend AVG/Kaspersky
But the better question is what is the best antivirus these days, some days ago i was using AVG and suddenly it started to give me virus alert for all of my files.
All files name were changed to gFilename.jpg even if the file is .exe for example i have Winrar.exe it became gWinrar.jpg and takes 0 kb from my storage, idk from where i got this virus and i deleted AVG and installed Bit defender, yes it was lagging alot but i left it for some hours to scan and delete all the virus and im still using Bit defender till now, so it doesn't matter if your PC is low end. Keep your security #1

I have used Kaspersky and it’s EXTREMELY heavy. It’s loaded with a bunch of unnecessary features which makes my laptop struggle to run it. And after hearing your experience with AVG, i think that definitely a software to avoid. I will give Bit defender a try.

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the best is to practice to avoid virueses . start by looking the extensions of the file and make sure you know the real size of the file . for antivirus windows already come with it and it is reccomended just to use the default . for lightweight it isnt lightweight on lower end laptop but any antivirus isnt lightweight . for best performance just ditch antivirus or turn it off when you gaming . some antivirus have game mode

Honestly this whole “be careful” approach isn’t very effective in 2019... otherwise you won’t be installing anything on your pc, which defeats the purpose. Not to mention that pcs can easily get infected with virus just sitting idle without any action from the user.

And I don’t use my laptop for gaming nor am I planning to do so. If it can’t run an antivirus software, there’s no way in hell can it run any decent games honestly.

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Go with his suggestions and for an extra layer of security you can go with malwarebytes my personal favorite which doesn't hog resources at all, but let me tell you its free version doesn't come with real time protection you have to rely on manual scans(which i think are fine on their own course).

Thank you for the suggestion, along with trying bit defender as suggested on a previous response, I will also give malwarebytes a try. I honestly don’t mind not having real time protection. It could even be an advantage as the antivirus won’t keep on constantly hogging resources with its real time protection.