Computer viruses designed to harm or gain access to your computer are more common than ever. Each type has an end goal in mind: to make money, whether through selling your personal data or demanding money through a ransomware attack.
According to the latest data from Australia’s Scamwatch, three in every four scams reported involve impersonation or “criminals pretending to be people we should trust”. In its most recent report, Scamwatch figures revealed that Australians reported $73.2 million in losses to Scamwatch over the May 2024 quarter, with $173.2 million to ReportCyber, which oversees cyber scams. In early October, Scamwatch issued an alert that cyber criminals were emailing people and “falsely claiming they have hacked into their computers or webcams and have access to compromising images and videos of them”. The criminals include personal details and addresses in the emails to intimidate people into sending them money or “they would release the images”.
Luckily, there are plenty of antivirus software options available to protect your device, and many of them are free. In this roundup, we’ve done the research to find the best free antivirus software.
Note: the below list represents a selection of our top category picks, as chosen by Forbes Advisor Australia’s editors and journalists. The information provided is purely factual and is not intended to imply any recommendation, opinion, or advice about a financial product. Not every product or provider in the marketplace has been reviewed, and the list below is not intended to be exhaustive nor replace your own research.
