Kaspersky Free Antivirus Software Now Available for PC Users

PC users who have been around the block know that having a machine on the internet without antivirus is a bad thing. Unprotected PCs have a short lifespan if you are using them to browse the web. For a long time if you wanted antivirus protection you had to shell out money, but for many years there have been some good free options that PC users could turn to for protection. Another free antivirus offering has just launched and it is from a name that many will be familiar with- Kaspersky.

Until now Kaspersky has always charged for its antivirus solution and charged a premium price. The reason the software has carried a premium is because it was one of the top software suites in independent testing. This week Kaspersky Free was announced allowing people to get in on free protection at zero cost. As you might expect, PC World says that you do give up some features compared to the full paid version of the software.

The free version of the antivirus offering has antivirus protection for files, emails, and the web. The free software does support automatic updates and will place flagged files into quarantine. The software promises all the basics that you need to protect your system from the perils of the internet. If you want more features than basic antivirus such as parental controls, online payment protection, and VPN access you will need the paid version.

Kaspersky is honest about its intentions with the free software. The company says that by offering the software for free it can increase its footprint in the computer realm allowing more data to feed its machine learning engines. Kaspersky’s CEO writes, “Kaspersky Free doesnt come cut with all the usual nonsense like advertising-oriented user-habit tracking and confidentiality infringements which free AV normally suffers badly from in order to make it financially worthwhile to its manufacturers.”