Kaspersky free version. Free Antivirus Kaspersky Free: review

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a reliable and powerful anti-malware program. It will provide high-quality computer protection from various types of viruses and spyware. The user is given the opportunity to decide how suitable it is for you.

Immediately after the installation of Kaspersky is completed, you will be prompted to enter the product activation key. If you don’t have one, you can use it for free for 30 days. The program will delight you with a simple and pleasant interface. Typically, the default security settings are set to medium. When the program is initially launched, outdated virus databases are used, which you can update manually immediately or wait for the subsequent automatic launch.

Note: Kaspersky Yandex antivirus version 2016 is already available for download, so you can install the antivirus for free.

We strongly recommend scanning all hard drives. This check may take a long time, but it is truly necessary. In the future, Kaspersky will independently monitor the security of the entire system as a whole, new downloaded files, and all removable media connected to the PC. The program also has special modules for controlling IM traffic (all messenger data), web protection and email. To scan the file system, Kaspersky AntiVirus uses both signature and heuristic methods. Thanks to this, it can detect suspicious activity of any program, even one that is not in the virus database, thus providing round-the-clock protection against new viruses and threats.

Kaspersky antivirus has 3 levels of protection: low, recommended, high. You can select and set the level that is optimal for you by going to the settings of all antivirus components. Kaspersky also allows you to find weak spots in the system, so you can make your PC less vulnerable to virus attacks. Moreover, the antivirus will help eliminate the consequences of the activity, and after infection, restore the system (you can also use it to treat your computer after a virus attack, it will be useful in case Kaspersky did not help or its license has expired).

So, if you are looking for a high-quality way to protect your computer from viruses, pay attention to Kaspersky Anti-Virus. You can download and then install Kaspersky antivirus for free thanks to our website (link to the program at the bottom of the article).

You can set up a threat neutralization option that is convenient for you, making decisions yourself or giving this opportunity to your computer. The disadvantages of this program include a somewhat “dry” interface.

If you don’t know how to renew Kaspersky Anti-Virus for free, then write about it in the comments, we will try to provide a legal method on the site.

The distinctive features and characteristics of the antivirus are:

high-quality PC protection thanks to heuristic analysis;
detection of programs vulnerable to viruses;
clearing the history and log of website visits, including deleting activity;
the presence of a game mode and the ability to control PC performance.

Trial restrictions:

30-day service life.

If you want to remove the software, then you do not need any program to remove Kaspersky Anti-Virus; this can be done through the “Add or Remove Programs” control panel.

PC requirements:

The processor frequency for 32-bit OS is 1 GHz and 2 GHz (64-bit OS);
required amount of RAM - 1 GB (minimum 512 MB);
Intel Atom processor with a frequency of 1.6 GHz and Intel GMA950 video card (for netbooks);
the required free disk space for virus databases is 480 MB minimum;
Internet is required to activate the software, as well as regularly update virus databases;
Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0;
8 and above.

Hello! For a long time I planned to write about the free Kaspersky antivirus (the one for 1 year), however, it was available only to Russians... but recently anyone can install it, so there is no point in postponing any further. The blog contains information about such free solutions as or, but unlike them, Kaspersky is considered the leader in the anti-virus software market, and our compatriots are developing it - which gives it a couple of pluses in its karma.

What kind of user wants to catch himself a malicious program and say goodbye to his many years of archive? — I think everyone needs good anti-virus protection, but what to do if you can’t call yourself a commercial solution?... there are so many questions, but there are answers to everything and an excellent solution from Kaspersky Lab.

If you came here hoping to find a free version of Kaspersky Internet Security... then I will disappoint you a little - this resource does not contain warez or broken programs. I suggest using a legal, free alternative in the form of Kaspersky Free, it is quite possible that its functionality will be enough for you

Kaspersky Free Antivirus can be used for personal use only. Its functionality is greatly reduced compared to the commercial version, which means that it will be quite easy to get acquainted with its capabilities... and the presence of these functions will be enough for basic protection of your computer.

Installing Kaspersky Free antivirus

There should be no problems installing the free version of Kaspersky - it will only take a couple of minutes to download, install and configure this anti-virus solution. As usual, download the version from the official website (Where else can you download the antivirus if not on the official website?)

I have already started to get used to the fact that it is impossible to download an offline installer for the program. A utility will download to your computer, which will download and help you install the current version of the antivirus on your computer. Surprisingly, Kaspersky Free installed on the test system quite quickly and subsequently I did not find any problems with its use.

I don’t see the point in describing the entire installation process - everything is as standard as possible, we read the license agreement and decide whether these conditions suit us or not... although who am I kidding - no one reads them, especially if it is stated that the product is free.

The interface of the free Kaspersky Free antivirus resembles Internet Security and has a similar number of icons in the main program window, but with one difference. In the free version, we do not have access to free payments, privacy protection, parental controls and protection of all devices - this is all the functionality of the paid version...

By the way, I forgot to write about activation. At the moment, there is no need to manually activate Kaspersky Anti-Virus - this happens automatically after the first launch of the program

Settings and functionality of Kaspersky Free antivirus

Due to the fact that the capabilities of the free version of the antivirus are very limited, I decided to go through in detail all the settings of this solution from Kaspersky Lab. I think many people remember the Yandex version of Kaspersky anti-virus, so Kaspersky Free is a worthy alternative to the once popular solution, I really hope that this development will not be closed over time.

There are quite interesting sections in the general antivirus settings... there is the ability to configure actions when a malicious file is detected (delete or request your action). A fairly important aspect of protection is setting a password for the antivirus settings; it is present here, but many people ignore it, which is in vain.

This antivirus must be constantly running (slider opposite “Protection”) since it scans your computer in real time, and not like a healing utility - only upon request

The “Protection” tab is probably one of the most important in the settings of the Kaspersky Free antivirus - here you can configure the file antivirus and other components. This is where the free nature of this solution comes into play - you can see for yourself how many antivirus components are not available.

All points are signed and no questions should arise, just decide for yourself which components are important to you... and if you don’t know what they are for, it’s better to leave everything by default

Performance Tab

The performance section will most likely be visited by users of weak computers, where every megabyte of RAM counts. As for me, there was no particular load on the system after installing Kaspersky Free; everything worked quickly and continued to work without any brakes.

Any antivirus will periodically scan all files on your computer (who knows, maybe the enemy got into our computer when the databases were out of date), these settings are located on the “Check” tab. Here you can choose settings by fast, and customize everything to your liking.

These points affect performance, so we can say that scan settings are a performance subsection for weak PCs (but it’s logical that it was not there, because this is an antivirus and here, first of all, protection, not speed)

Well, traditionally, the additional settings contain those parameters that are usually used too rarely or are not used at all by many users. I see no point in describing them - you can look at all these points yourself and decide whether you need to make changes there or not.

Although Quarantine and Exceptions can be quite useful when installing torrent edition toys

Experience using Kaspersky Free

All these dry words are just theory, but how does Kaspersky Free behave in practice? Is it really as good as they say and is Avast’s dominance in the field of free antiviruses shaken? If we take into account that the free version of Kaspersky is based on the technologies of a commercial product, then people will probably gradually switch to the solution from our compatriots. At one time, the Yandex version of Kaspersky bit off a large share of the pie (let’s be honest, the request is still popular - how to download the Yandex version of Kaspersky for 6 months).

Quite often you will deal with the Notification Center - here all the information is collected in a concise report... you will immediately understand if there are problems with the antivirus or if a worm has appeared on your computer and will begin to eat your files from the inside.

To successfully filter threats, it is very important to update anti-virus databases in a timely manner. If we consider that we are using an officially free and legal version of the program, then there simply cannot be any problems with updating both the databases and the program modules themselves.

Well, a full check of the computer, where would you be without it? — you cannot unequivocally say that there were no viruses on your computer before installing the program. By the way, quite often I hear words of praise towards Avast - they say I worked quietly and calmly, no problems... And installed Kaspersky - immediately a warning about viruses and threats. What conclusion do they draw? - Kaspersky is bad...

Avast missed some threats, Kaspersky successfully dealt with them... but this is bad, since life was calmer with Avast. The logic can be understood, but it is very difficult. I hope my readers are smarter and understand what's what.

Instead of a conclusion, a few words about free antiviruses

Would I recommend downloading Kaspersky antivirus for free with an annual license? - Why not?! Just an excellent freeware antivirus that is well suited for basic PC protection under Windows. Of course, if you have the opportunity to purchase a commercial version of the product, this should be done, but as a minimum kit for protection against all sorts of nasty things on the Internet, it’s an excellent solution, definitely a must-install if you don’t already have an active antivirus on your system.

In the name of the free antivirus from Kaspersky Lab -Kaspersky Free– lies the main rule of the game: you can always take advantage of the generosity of the developers. Free activation of the program lasts 365 days, then you can simply reinstall the antivirus and use it for another year, and so on ad infinitum. Download free antivirusKaspersky Free available on the Kaspersky Lab website.

Below we will look at the operation of the Kaspersky Free antivirus in detail: what functionality is offered for free use for a whole year, how to install the program, what can be configured in it, etc.

What does Kaspersky offer for free?

Free – in this case does not mean defective. Kaspersky Free is based on the same antivirus engine as Kaspersky Lab's paid products. The difference between the Kaspersky Free edition is its functionality: this product is designed to provide basic computer protection. However, this is what is needed for the majority of users who use the computer for non-commercial purposes and have not crossed the path of vindictive programmers.

The following are available for free use in Kaspersky Free:

Full-fledged anti-virus module;
Real-time computer protection;
Web protection (checking incoming Internet traffic and blocking malicious scripts);
Checking software messengers to block malicious and phishing links in incoming messages;
Checking mail;
Auto-update of anti-virus databases;
Cloud protection Kaspersky Security Network.

As you can see, Kaspersky Free offers more than many other free antivirus products. Few of them will offer something more than the classics of the genre - an anti-virus module and real-time protection. And certainly rare security software will tinker with spam on ICQ or Skype for free.

Installing Kaspersky Free

The installation process is simple. Let's start the installation.

We agree to the developer's license.

Next comes the choice of whether or not to participate in the Kaspersky Security Network cloud protection. By working with a product like Kaspersky for free, it would be more fair to take part in cloud protection and allow Kaspersky Lab developers to use their experience in dealing with threats. Perhaps this will help someone someday and prevent problems. Whether to help software developers or not is a personal matter for everyone.

After installing the program, click "Complete" and check the launch box.

First launch of Kaspersky Free

When you first launch the program, you will be prompted to register for free via email. For a bonus in the form of antivirus technical support, we will from time to time receive email marketing masterpieces from Kaspersky Lab. But let's hold off on this matter for now.

Once in the main window of Kaspersky Free, the first thing we will do is pay attention to the license term countdown in the lower right corner.

By clicking on this countdown, we will move to the licensing window, which will contain detailed activation data, as well as the ability to later switch to extended protection - functional edition Kaspersky Internet Security.

Updating anti-virus databases

Returning to the main window, the next step is to update the anti-virus databases. Already in the main window of the program we will see the status of the update module - “The databases have not been updated for a long time”. Let's fix this - press "Update".

And we update the anti-virus databases.

Anti-virus scan

In addition to the update module, in the main window we will see another one available in the free edition of Kaspersky Free - anti-virus scan.

In the anti-virus scan section we will find traditional scanning modes:

Full scan, including all areas of the computer;

Quick scan, which checks startup programs and services, objects in system memory;

Custom scan – scanning mode for individual files;

Scanning external devices – anti-virus scanning mode for storage devices connected to the computer (flash drives, external hard drives, SD cards).

Real-time protection

If threats are detected, Kaspersky Free will notify you about this in the information window in the lower right corner of the screen and place the files in quarantine.

The red color of the program interface will also indicate a security threat.

The preset settings of Kaspersky Free provide for starting a search for rootkits in the system after detecting and neutralizing viruses.

Quarantine and other additional tools

Among the additional tools of the free Kaspersky Free

we'll see a little. This is a monthly report on the operation of the antivirus, a section on switching to paid versions of Kaspersky products, a section on enabling and disabling Kaspersky Security Network cloud protection, as well as quarantine.

It is in the additional tools that the quarantine is hidden, where you will need to go to restore controlled files that the antivirus may mistakenly regard as dangerous. You can also visit quarantine to remove detected threats if they are unnecessary files.

Kaspersky Free settings

Access to the settings is provided by a button in the lower left corner of the main window.

The antivirus is preinstalled already optimally configured. As we see in the first tab "Are common", Kaspersky Free is configured to launch automatically along with Windows and provides for quarantining detected files before deleting them.

In the second tab "Protection" If necessary, we can temporarily refuse some Kaspersky Free security modules.

Next tab "Performance"- a rare occurrence, even in an antivirus, or in any other program. However, if we are talking about products from Kaspersky Lab, which are famous for their gluttony of computer system resources, this configuration tab is very useful. It provides pre-installed options:

Refusal of scheduled anti-virus scans for laptops in energy saving mode;
Performing scheduled checks while the computer is idle;
Low priority use of system resources during Windows boot;
Automatically launch a search for rootkits after detecting malware.

The option to give priority to the use of system resources to other computer programs when the load on the processor or hard drive is high is not preinstalled, but it is possible to install manually. This option can be enabled on older or low-power devices.

In the tab "Examination" Instead of the preset automatic selection of Kaspersky Free actions when threats are detected, we can set one specific one for all cases in a row - only informing about the threat, only treatment, treatment and, as a last resort, removal or deletion in each case. The preset automatic selection is the best option, and users with little computer experience are unlikely to change these specific settings. But you can refuse to check external connected devices. If flash drives, SD cards or other storage media are connected only to trusted other devices, why be distracted by refusing to scan every time. If you plan to work in a dangerous environment - visiting sites with a dubious reputation, installing and testing third-party software, you can move the security level slider from recommended to high.

In the last tab "Additionally" We will find sections with other software settings.

We will consider some of them separately.

Adding files to Kaspersky Free exceptions

In order for the antivirus to leave alone and not terrorize a controlled file that is mistakenly considered malicious, this file must be added to the exceptions. In the settings tab "Additionally" select a section "Threats and Exceptions".

By clicking the option "Configure exceptions", in the exceptions window that appears at the bottom, click the button "Add".

In the first field, use the browse button to indicate the path to the file. This file will not participate in anti-virus scanning in the future, nor will it be accessed by other Kaspersky Free modules whose checkboxes are preset in the "Protection components". Press the button "Add" at the bottom of the window.

Using the same principle, you can add executable program files to the exclusion list by clicking in the “ Threats and exceptions" option “Specify trusted programs”.

Storage of quarantine objects

By default, Kaspersky Free provides a month-long storage period for files in quarantine. You can change this period in the settings tab "Additionally" by selecting a section “Reports and Quarantine”.

In addition to choosing a more or less long period for storing objects in quarantine, we can configure its cleaning not according to time, but as it is filled with data. To do this, you need to uncheck the option to store objects over time and select the option to limit the quarantine size, indicating the allowed volume in MB in the field.

Refusal to animate the interface

Where animation of the software interface is certainly useless is in the case of antiviruses, and especially with Kaspersky Lab antiviruses. On weak devices it is better to abandon effects for the sake of performance. In the settings tab "Additionally" select a section "View" and uncheck the preset animation checkboxes.

Pausing Kaspersky Free protection

In case the vigilance of protective modules needs to be temporarily lulled, for example, in order to install dubious software without obstacles, Kaspersky Free provides a convenient tool for pausing protection. In the context menu on the Kaspersky Free icon in the system tray, click "Pause protection" and select one of the proposed options - suspension for a certain time, for an indefinite time, or until the first reboot.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a powerful tool for fighting malware. The antivirus provides basic protection and has powerful enough functionality to protect your computer from all types of viruses.

Immediately after installation, Kaspersky prompts you to enter an activation key. You can choose to activate a trial period of 30 days for free. After activation, the updated program interface opens in front of us. The default security settings are medium. At the first start, the anti-virus databases are not updated; the update can be started manually, or it will start automatically later.

It is recommended to check the entire hard drive immediately. The check will take a long time, but it is necessary. After scanning, the antivirus will constantly monitor the file system, including new downloaded files, as well as media connected to the computer. In addition, there are modules for monitoring IM traffic (data transmitted in instant messengers), mail checking and web protection. Kaspersky Anti-Virus scans files not only through signature databases, but also using heuristic analysis. In other words, Kaspersky can identify suspicious program activity even if it is not included in the virus database. This is protection against the latest threats.

Go to the settings of each antivirus component and set the level of protection that is acceptable to you. There are 3 levels: Low, Recommended and High. In the settings you can also specify the action that will be performed when a threat is detected.

The antivirus also offers features such as scanning for vulnerabilities, eliminating traces of activity, and restoring the system after an infection. The first of these functions is very useful and allows you to make the system more resistant to virus attacks.

In general, Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a good barrier to viruses on their way from the Internet to your computer. During use, you can configure the method of neutralizing threats that is comfortable for you. You can make decisions yourself, but you can also entrust this procedure to an antivirus, especially if you are a beginner. The only disadvantage of this protection tool is the current slightly “bland” interface.

Key Features and Functions

good protection, including heuristic analysis;
searching for vulnerable programs that can be used to infiltrate viruses into your system;
removing traces of Internet activity, clearing website history;
computer performance management functions, game mode.

Limitations of the free version

trial version for 30 days.

What's new in this version?

2015 15.0.0.463 (27.08.2014)

in the improved Activity Monitoring module, protection against cryptor programs has been introduced, thanks to which the antivirus is able to create backup copies of system files before infection (they are temporarily stored in the Temp folder and are automatically deleted after the program ends);
optimized startup and resource consumption on weak and medium-sized machines;
improved overall performance;
implemented support for Mozilla Firefox 28.x, Internet Explorer 11, Google Chrome 33.x / 34.x / 35.x browsers;
added support for Windows 8.1 Update;
more stable program update module.

Program version: 18.0 . Distributed by: For free. Size: 161 MB.
Operating system: Windows. Downloads: 1058 273 .
Last update: 2018-01-2 .

If you are thinking about purchasing full protection for your PC or laptop, then you should definitely try the new antivirus from Kaspersky Lab. It implements the latest algorithms that ensure safe surfing on the Internet, as well as a scanner that will quickly determine the location of malicious software in your OS and neutralize it.

To test all the main advantages of Kaspersky 2018, you do not have to pay for the entire package at once. You can use the 30-day version, which is freely available, but nevertheless has all the functions of a paid license. Moreover, after this period, the program will still continue to work, automatically switching to a “stripped down” version.

Separately, it is worth noting the improved anti-phishing protection module. Now the user can visit any website without fear. If a resource contains a threat, it will be automatically blocked. And constantly updating anti-virus databases will protect your computer from all types of threats without exception.