An advanced antivirus has many benefits including ransomware detection, elimination of all powerful forms of malware, and a lot more. But at the same time, installing and employing advanced antivirus instruments can be too heavy on the system resources. They are expensive and use the RAM greatly besides consuming heavy power and reducing the speed of the PC. Lightweight antivirus apps for Windows 10, on the other hand, utilize fewer system resources yet offers enough protection from malware attacks.

Things to consider before getting a lightweight antivirus for Windows 10

Here are the few traits that you should look for before installing antivirus software on your computer:

• The antivirus application should not be employing your system resources in large amounts.
• The antivirus software should be able to detect, block, and get rid of a huge range of malware such as viruses, spyware, ransomware, key loggers, rootkits, Trojans, etc.
• The antivirus should be efficient against phishing endeavors.
• Antivirus software should be effective in detecting zero-day hazards.
• The antivirus should be able to regularly update the virus definition.
• The antivirus software should be logically priced.
• You should also pay attention to whether the antivirus includes some extra features like an in-built firewall, VPN, parental control features, password manager, etc.

Best lightweight antivirus apps for Windows 10

Kaspersky Total Security

An award-winning antivirus from Kaspersky labs provides many amazing characteristics to detect and eliminate malware and crypto lockers besides supporting your data

Key features

• Provides bank-grade encryption facility to keep net banking use safe.
• Contain advanced parental control traits and a VPN feature to encrypt data.
• Immediate scanning and email scanning detect malware and phishing hazards.
• Offers webcam security along with anti-ransomware and anti-spyware characteristics.
• Users can use Kaspersky Security Cloud to save data and manage passwords, etc.

McAfee Total Protection

As the name indicates, this antivirus software for Windows and Mac provides complete protection. Unlike other lightweight antiviruses, McAfee provides some of the best protection features. This antivirus software has home network security, performance optimizer, password manager, and secure web browsing-like characteristics.

The software cannot be incorporated into the list of free software as it needs a subscription to use and has no free malware removal feature. Based on your requirement, you can select the plan. It provides three plans including Individual/couple, single device, and family plan. Depending on the offer the prices can decrease.

Panda Free Antivirus

Being a lightweight antivirus for Windows 10, Panda is another best way to handle your system’s security needs easily. The app has a clean UI with an intuitive dashboard, making it an easy-to-use application for beginners.

Although a free application, users can still gain unrestricted free VPN data with the Panda Dome Premium plan, otherwise it has a data limit of 150 MB per day.

Bitdefender

Are you searching for the best lightweight antivirus? Bitdefender is the tool of the next generation with the use of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. Providing multilayered protection to protect against cyberattacks, this lightweight antivirus tool is able to remove malware effectively.

Avira Free Antivirus

Avira free antivirus is the next one on the list of lightweight antivirus for Windows 10 because it is very easy to use, light on the system resources, and also one of the world’s best cloud-based scanning instruments.

AVG Free Antivirus

AVG antivirus application is a free antivirus tool that is able to satisfy the needs of the users in protecting their systems against malware attacks in spite of being a lightweight antivirus for Windows

Key features

• Able to block unsafe links, downloads, and email attachments.
• Automatically updates the virus definition instantly.
• Defend against spyware and other malicious programs.

Avast Free Antivirus

Avast is another best lightweight antivirus software that can provide wide protection to your PC against cyber threats without exhausting your system resources. It has the greatest threat detection network and utilizes a heuristics engine to monitor your system regularly to detect deviating behavior.

Key features

• Identify and blocks spyware, ransomware, and phishing attempts.
• Employs smart analytics techniques and machine learning to protect a system.
• Scans unspecified files immediately and sends threats to the Cloud.
• Encrypts the passwords.

BullGuard Antivirus

BullGuard Antivirus is another great lightweight antivirus that can protect your systems with a number of easy-to-use services and traits. This antivirus solution utilizes advanced machine learning and profound learning techniques to detect malware.

Key features

• Susceptibility Scanner identifies unsafe apps and networks and warns the user.
• Provides triple-layer protection.
• Optimizes and accelerates games

360 Total Security

Here is another great lightweight antivirus that not only uses less RAM but also defends the computer against several online threats in a professional manner. 360 Total Security accelerates the system by removing junk files and also makes extra space in the system.

Key features

• Watch behavior to identify document hijacking.
• Provides premium online shopping security.
• Provides privacy cleaner and Wi-Fi security features.

Comodo Free Antivirus

This lightweight antivirus tool is able to manage various cyber threats effectively and protects your PC. Created with a zero trust architect, a heuristics engine, and an in-built firewall, Comodo also contains cloud AV and a lot more.

Key Features

• Stop host intrusion.
• Capable of separating unknown programs.
• Provides incredible online security.