The age of today is mostly a digital one. With the development of the Internet, we slowly migrated online, and now significant parts of our lives are led online. Precisely because the Internet is essentially a public network, we cannot expect to be safe all the time –some traces of our online presence can be seen, but there are ways that we can protect our sensitive data from being stolen, copied, or corrupted. However, software, but especially antivirus software is not what it used to be. In the earlier days of the Internet, you could purchase a protective package that suited your needs and not think twice about it. However, antivirus software today is predominantly sold in monthly or yearly packages and filled with ads for other products from the same company, which can be off-putting for customers, and frankly, make them doubt whether their protection software is doing a good job of keeping their private data safe. Therefore, we will explore the best free and open-source alternatives to those expensive and annoying antivirus programs that you can use to protect your data and your money.

1. Armadito Antivirus

This antivirus software is web-based, which means that you can access it from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection. It can detect malware and viruses, as well as scan your email for any potential dangerous emails. Precisely because it is open-source, you can develop and add your modules, according to your needs and wishes. Unlike some other open-source programs, it has a user-friendly interface, which will be very easy even for users who are not very tech-savvy.

2. ClamAV

This is also a great open-source antivirus that is used by countless people around the world. Reviews say that it is very good at detecting malware, Trojans, and other threats to your system. Its database is constantly updated so that no new viruses can bypass its defense.

3. ClamWin

This antivirus software needs to be taken into consideration by anyone who uses Windows. More than half a million people use this software every day, and that is not a negligible number. It is very to install and operate, and due to it being open-source, you can customize it in any way you like to support your daily needs. There is even an automatic scanning that you can schedule so that you do not have to fret about doing that all the time. The one thing it does lack, however, is real-time protection, so you have to manually check for any potentially dangerous viruses.

4. Moon Secure AV

Like Armadito, this antivirus also uses the same engine from ClamAV, and that makes it excellent in detecting any kind of malware that you may have stuck in your computer. This one also offers real-time protection, and also does not eat up a lot of your computer’s resources, which makes it ideal to run in the background, while you are going about your business as usual.

5. OpenAntiVirus Project

This program is preferred by developers, as it allows them to add their personal touch to the antivirus. It includes in itself different tools that scan for viruses on your computer, as well as in your traffic, to give you maximum protection. This program is a work of multiple developers who work to make this software as effective as possible in detecting viruses and malware.