Chris Hoffman/IDG
Chris Hoffman/IDG
<div class="scrim" style="background-color: #fff" aria-hidden="true"></div>
</div></figure><p class="imageCredit">Chris Hoffman/IDG</p></div>
Want to try a different antivirus? We can recommend quite a few other high-quality free antivirus programs , including Avast Free Antivirus . Paid antivirus suites pack in additional features — they may bundle their own password manager, VPN, and even backup tools — but free antivirus programs will scan your PC for malware in the background and keep it safe.
You don’t have to pay for capable antivirus software. That’s an antivirus myth .
Store your passwords in a free password manager
We often recommend premium password managers that cost money, and those paid password managers often have more polished interfaces. But you can get a free, high-quality, secure password manager so you can generate, store, and access all your passwords on all your devices.
Our top choice for a free password manager is Bitwarden . It’s not just free — it’s open-source. You get browser extensions for all popular browsers, apps for everything from Windows PCs and Android phones to Linux systems and iPhones, cloud syncing, sharing with one other person, and two-step authentication to protect your passwords — all for free.
<div class="wp-block-product-widget-block product-widget">
<div class="product-widget__block-title-wrapper">
<h4 class="product-widget__block-title" id="the-best-free-password-manager">
the best free password manager </h4>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__content-wrapper">
<div class="product-widget__title-wrapper">
<h3 class="product-widget__title" id="bitwarden">Bitwarden</h3>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__image-outer-wrapper">
<div class="product-widget__image-wrapper">
<img decoding="async" width="1024" height="517" class="product-widget__image" src="https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/bitwarden-100894159-orig.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Bitwarden" srcset="https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/bitwarden-100894159-orig.webp?quality=50&strip=all 1024w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/bitwarden-100894159-orig.webp?resize=300%2C151&quality=50&strip=all 300w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/bitwarden-100894159-orig.webp?resize=768%2C388&quality=50&strip=all 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
</div>
</div>
<div class="review product-widget__review-details">
<div class="product-widget__rating-and-review-link">
<div class="product-widget__review-details--rating">
<div class="starRating" style="--rating: 4;" aria-label="Rating of this product is 4 out of 5"></div>
</div> <a class="product-widget__review-link" href="https://www.pcworld.com/article/394731/bitwarden-password-manager-review.html" target="_blank">Read our review</a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__information">
<div class="product-widget__information--rrp-wrapper">
<span class="product-widget__information--rrp-label">
</span>
<span class="product-widget__information--rrp-value">
</span>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__pricing-details ">
<span class="product-widget__pricing-details--label">
Best Prices Today:
</span>
<span class="product-widget__pricing-details--links-wrapper">
<a class="product-widget__pricing-details--link" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=111346X1569483&url=https://bitwarden.com/&xcust=2-1-2323356-5-393013-18048&sref=https://www.pcworld.com/feed" target="_blank" data-vars-product-name="Bitwarden" data-vars-product-id="393013" data-vars-category="Consumer Electronics" data-vars-manufacturer-id="18048" data-vars-manufacturer="Bitwarden" data-vars-vendor="Bitwarden" data-vars-po="" data-product="393013" data-vars-link-position-id="005" data-vars-link-position="Product Sidebar" data-vars-outbound-link="https://bitwarden.com/" rel="nofollow">Free at Bitwarden</a> </span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Bitwarden’s Premium plan adds some nice-to-have features like file attachments, emergency access to your account, and security reports — but they’re not essential, and they’re just $10 a year if you decide you want them in the future.
There are other options, too. KeePassXC is free, open-source, and a very traditional experience. It stores your password database locally on your own device so there’s no cloud syncing. It’s not what we’d recommend to most people, but some people will prefer this type of thing.
Also, web browsers now often have solid password managers built in — and they’re free. For example, Google Chrome has a capable password manager that doesn’t require installing any extra software. If it feels right to you, you shouldn’t feel bad about using your web browser’s password manager .
Use a free two-factor authentication app
Two-factor authentication, also known as two-step authentication, is an important tool for keeping your accounts safe — even if you use a password manager. If an attacker gets your password somehow, they still won’t be able to sign in with your two-factor authentication code.
Paid password managers often have built-in code generators as a convenience feature. But you don’t need that kind of feature built into your password manager of choice.
To generate app-based 2FA codes, you can use an app like Google Authenticator , which is our favorite 2FA authentication app . It’s completely free and available for both Android phones and iPhones . Just use it when setting up two-factor authentication with your accounts .
Activate free ransomware protection on your PC
Ransomware is one of the most dangerous threats out there. While you can get expensive tools that promise ransomware protection, you can also turn on the ransomware protection built into Windows .
<div class="wp-block-product-widget-block product-widget is-half-width is-float-right">
<div class="product-widget__block-title-wrapper">
<h4 class="product-widget__block-title" id="get-windows-11-pro-for-cheap">
get windows 11 pro for cheap </h4>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__content-wrapper">
<div class="product-widget__title-wrapper">
<h3 class="product-widget__title" id="windows-11-pro">Windows 11 Pro</h3>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__image-outer-wrapper">
<div class="product-widget__image-wrapper">
<img decoding="async" width="2368" height="1330" class="product-widget__image" src="https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png" loading="lazy" alt="Windows 11 Pro" srcset="https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?quality=50&strip=all 2368w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=300%2C168&quality=50&strip=all 300w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=768%2C431&quality=50&strip=all 768w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=1200%2C674&quality=50&strip=all 1200w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=1536%2C863&quality=50&strip=all 1536w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=2048%2C1150&quality=50&strip=all 2048w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=1240%2C697&quality=50&strip=all 1240w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png?resize=150%2C84&quality=50&strip=all 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
</div>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__information">
<div class="product-widget__information--rrp-wrapper">
<span class="product-widget__information--rrp-label">
</span>
<span class="product-widget__information--rrp-value">
</span>
</div>
<div class="product-widget__pricing-details ">
<span class="product-widget__pricing-details--label">
Best Prices Today:
</span>
<span class="product-widget__pricing-details--links-wrapper">
<a class="product-widget__pricing-details--link" href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=111346X1569483&url=https://software.pcwelt.de/offer/windows_11_home/43835&xcust=2-1-2323356-5-1807627-10994&sref=https://www.pcworld.com/feed" target="_blank" data-vars-product-name="Windows 11 Pro" data-vars-product-id="1807627" data-vars-category="Windows" data-vars-manufacturer-id="10994" data-vars-manufacturer="Microsoft" data-vars-vendor="PC-WELT Software-Shop - Windows 11 Pro,PC-WELT Software-Shop - Windows 11 Home" data-vars-po="" data-product="1807627" data-vars-link-position-id="005" data-vars-link-position="Prod