Hackers are getting craftier and more creative every quarter. Establishing and maintaining the security of your data requires powerful, reliable tools, and many of them will test your budget.
Thankfully, plenty of free antivirus software exists. Explore our list to find a solution that enables end-to-end network security, protection against malware, and reduced system threats and malfunctions.
These free ransomware protection platforms detect foreign attacks and eliminate any data breach or ransomware, big or small.
Our market research experts at G2 have evaluated the top eight best free ransomware protection software, which you can check out to make a firm decision.
At G2, we rank software solutions using a proprietary algorithm that considers customer satisfaction and market presence based on authentic user reviews. Our market research analysts and writers spend weeks testing solutions against multiple criteria set for a software category. We give you unbiased software evaluations – that's the G2 difference! We didn’t accept payment or exchange links for product placements in this list. Please read our G2 Research Scoring Methodology for more details.
These free ransomware protection tools offer endpoint protection for your devices and detect the presence of harmful malware or trojans. This end-to-end system rules out any scope of data breach or theft and keeps your network infrastructure protected from hackers and phishers.
Choose the best anti-ransomware tool to shield your data and enable secure data transactions from one device to another.
To qualify for inclusion in the free ransomware protection software category, a software must:
This data has been pulled from G2 in 2024. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity.
ThreatDown by Malwarebytes, an endpoint security and antivirus platform, classifies undetected ransomware in your system and remediates or fixes it. This tool eliminates potential risks and threats without affecting the system’s CPU cycles or operating system capacities.
With ThreatDown, you can rest assured that your systems won’t hang or freeze because of an infected system or cloud drive file. It triggers an endpoint response mechanism during the second ransom attack.
Pros of ThreatDown |
Cons of ThreatDown |
| Web control and application control | False positives of system infections |
| Endpoint intelligence and malware detection | Poor customer support |
| Auto-remediation | Compatibility issues across macOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows |
“The product is very reliable and does not interfere with Windows or Mac operations. The vulnerability scanning and patch management are better than most remote monitoring and management (RMMs), and it has a nice intuitive platform for small MSPs and IT sysadmins.”
- ThreatDown Review, Alex I.
"When I log in to the dashboard, it tells me I have exceeded my seat count and that I'm 24 over my licenses, yet on the same screen, it says I've used 25/26 licenses. It's annoying. I also manage four different clients on ThreatDown, so I have to maintain four different multifactor authentication (MFA) logins, none of which are push-based, so I have to go into Authenticator myself for each to log in."
- ThreatDown Review, Sun K.
ESET PROTECT remotely manages on-premise, cloud, or hybrid server data and offers endpoint security. With built-in AI data privacy and protection, system admins don’t need to run manual or remote system maintenance.
ESET PROTECT safeguards your network against employee identity thefts and provides deep scan summaries to monitor system and server health.
Pros of ESET PROTECT |
Cons of ESET PROTECT |
| End-to-end cybersecurity protection | Poor customer success support during deployment |
| Integrated extended detection response (XDR) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) | Complex internal app setup |
| Friendly customer service partners | Limited features for small business |
“Detailed reports on the security of your computer, compatible with all the operating systems we use on a daily basis. Personally, I like the macOS version: excellent security features for cloud and advanced protection, a well-done control panel with very clear options from the beginning. It is easy to navigate in the desktop application. It completely satisfies my security audits, the software is very smart with capabilities directly applicable to our company, preventing fraud and improving the whole network system of our organization.”
- ESET PROTECT Review, Faizan S.
“It has very limited controls when dealing with Linux Endpoints. Also, some features are difficult to understand. For large deployments, initial setup can be time-consuming.”
- ESET PROTECT Review, Aditya A.
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection offers extra layers of data security and cryptography to businesses of all sizes. It creates a security web for your digital assets, digital content, and critical financial databases.
Webroot Business Endpoint goes beyond mainstream ransomware systems and provides complete incident response support to detect, identify, and eliminate ransomware and malware.
Pros of Webroot Business Endpoint Protection |
Cons of Webroot Business Endpoint Protection |
| Unique journaling and rollback remediation | Ineffective as per the current threat landscape |
| Threat intelligence and endpoint detection response support | Poor and old-looking interface design |
| Deep scans of local drives and data files | Identity protection systems have broken Chrome or Edge in the past. |
“Webroot does not drain system resources like other protection suites I have used before. Somehow it still delivers better protection, as well. It really is the whole package.”
- Webroot Business Endpoint Protection Review, James H.
“The product has essentially become ineffective as the threat landscape has evolved; OpenText (who purchased Webroot, has not expended any resources to bring the product into effectiveness against the current threats.”
- Webroot Business Endpoint Protection Review, Jim B.
Sophos Intercept X: Next-Gen Endpoint protects your networks and devices with strong endpoint security. It runs regular diagnostics for your system apps and reports any instance of cloud or on-premise ransomware across visible and hidden files.
Sophos Intercept X also keeps data on the cloud safe and sound. By offering exclusive cloud cybersecurity integration, you can remotely secure private, public, and business data.
Pros of Sophos Intercept X: Next-Gen Endpoint |
Cons of Sophos Intercept X: Next-Gen Endpoint |
| Integrated XDR/EDR interface | Overwhelming features and integrations for beginners |
| Complete root cause analysis | No response tools for third-party apps |
| Live Response and Discover | Sometimes, the cache feature of the console doesn't work. |
“Our day-to-day lives have been made easier by capabilities like Live Response and Live Discover under the endpoint detection response capability. The recently launched third-party integration on top has proven to be a lifesaver. Our team can now work on any malicious detections and log them to notebooks using the investigation/cases capability. The ability to block SHA values using the blocked items functionality has greatly aided us in addressing the shadow issue.”
- Sophos Intercept X: Next-Gen Endpoint Review, Ashfaque S.
“One thing its extensive feature set and configuration options in Intercept X may be overwhelming for users who are not familiar with endpoint security solutions.It may require a learning curve for administrators to effectively configure and manage the product."
- Sophos Intercept X: Next-gen Endpoint Review, Subir Kar I.
Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Detection Platform is an antivirus software that authorizes secure data transfers and migrations across network servers. It safeguards you against unethical breaches and hackers by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your data.
This tool offers lightweight sensor-based machine learning (ML) that provides comprehensive data security without the hassle of running constant scans.
Pros of Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Detection Platform |
Cons of Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Platform |
| Real-time detection and execution | Lengthy integration process |
| ML-powered lightweight sensor for device protection. | Delayed troubleshooting |
| Deployed in minutes; no reboot required | Weak customer support |
“CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection is the best-in-class product with easy use and implementation. The XDR detections – which are detected on the endpoints – provide you with visibility of all minor to major adversaries. We use this product in our day-to-day activities where our security operations center (SOC) team monitors and integrates the same with other solutions for better visibility from the network. The customer support is really fast and accurate.”
- Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Detection Platform Review, Aakash K.
"The recent outage due to CrowdStrike agent was caused due to inefficient testing and rolling out faulty sensor updates. They can improve their testing infrastructure to better manage product rollout."
- Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Detection Review, Manish D.
SentinelOne Singularity identifies, responds to, and eliminates a broad scope of ransomware and cyber vulnerabilities. Over 8,200 companies use SentinelOne Singularity to encrypt their database infrastructure and set recovery workflows for infected data.
This cybersecurity solution excels in protecting data on remote devices, providing ransomware threat detection, and securing routers and IOT devices so that your integrated platforms send and receive data packets without any potential packet loss.
Pros of SentinelOne Singularity |
Cons of SentinelOne Singularity |
| Secure data on cloud workloads or container registries | More expensive than most security tools |
| Malware, trojan, and adware protection | Deploying security agents consumes memory |
| Advanced threat detection | Limited reporting capabilities |
“What I like best about the SentinelOne platform is how easy the platform is to use. There is not much of a learning curve to it if you have worked with similar tools. Additionally, I like how there are many resources to learn about the solution when they may be used by someone for the first time."
- SentinelOne Singularity Review, Aaron S.
“Threat hunting is a lot of information to digest. If computers have small hard drives, sometimes the agent is disabled because it cannot update the database file needed.”
- SentinelOne Singularity Review, Jason P.
WatchGuard Endpoint Security deploys virtual agents to supervise and monitor your business operations. It offers encryption services, firewall defender, incident response, threat intelligence, local drive scans, and endpoint security.
WatchGuard endpoint security is extremely lightweight, making it ideal for resource utilization and smart investment.
Pros of WatchGuard Endpoint Security |
Cons of WatchGuard Endpoint Security |
| Endpoint protection integration | Unreliable patches |
| Website blocking | Weak notification updates |
| Additional data visualization features | Can eat up a few CPU cycles due to large memory |
“The control panel is very easy to use, and it has protected our network endlessly. I wouldn't recommend any other product.”
- WatchGuard Endpoint Security Review, Michael B.
“It does not show all of my client computers in a single dashboard. Ad360 and EPplus have separate web consoles.”
- WatchGuard Endpoint Security Review, Miroslav B.
Avast Endpoint Protection protects your networks and devices from breaches. Its next-gen risk mitigation and vulnerability scanning features defend your network from unauthorized access or potential ransomware. It also offers dynamic data masking, password protection, and network health and diagnostic management to sustain a safe and secure work environment.
Pros of Avast Endpoint Protection |
Cons of Avast Endpoint Protection |
| Next-gen virus and automated patch management | Console issues and system compatibility issues |
| Threat defense and server security | Reduced network bandwidth speed |
| Single console for macOS and Microsoft Windows | New license required for renewal |
“Avast is a simple product that is very friendly to use and reliable when it comes to identifying threats. Overall, I would say Avant is a good endpoint protection product at any scale."
- Avast Endpoint Protection Review, Kanchuka W.
“So, with this Avast protection, subscription management is completely impossible. Thus, the subscription is the primary reason people choose to cancel their plan with this software and look for a new supplier. If Avast changes this, people will start considering it again. Another feature that needs improvement in this software is that it reduces network bandwidth speed as it runs in the background, which was a huge disadvantage because most of the software required high speeds.”
- Avast Endpoint Protection Review, James C.
Choosing the best free ransomware protection software can guarantee security coverage for your dispersed databases and local or company networks. Compare products quickly with our ransomware protection chart.
These tools work in tandem with other customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications to protect overall database architecture.
|
Software |
G2 rating |
Free plan |
Paid plan |
|
ThreatDown |
4.6/5 |
Free Trial |
Starting at $69 per endpoint per year |
|
ESET PROTECT |
4.6/5 |
Free Trial |
Custom |
|
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection |
4.6/5 |
Free Trial |
Custom |
|
Sophos Intercept X: Next-Gen Endpoint |
4.6/5 |
Free trial available |
Available upon request |
|
Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Detection Platform |
4.7/5 |
Free Trial |
Custom |
|
SentinelOne SIngularity |
4.7/5 |
Free Trial |
Custom |
|
WatchGuard Endpoint Security |
4.4/5 |
14-day Free Trial |
Available on request. |
|
Avast Endpoint Protection |
4.4/5 |
Free Trial |
Starts at $29.67 per device per month |
Free ransomware protection software offers end-to-end antivirus protection for all systems integrated with your cloud infrastructure. Once configured, it spreads to your on-premise and cloud service providers via single sign-on (SSO) functionality. It then monitors the entire network cloud infrastructure and saves it from potential threats.
The top ransomware protection software on G2 are Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Crowdstrike Falcon Endpoint Detection Platform, Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus, and Sophos Intercept X.
Most are cloud-native applications that store a large chunk of data on cloud servers. These systems do not cause lags or malfunctions.
There might be a memory usage limit for free ransomware protection software.
Free distributed denial of service (DDOS) protection software secures your network, web applications, and remote systems from DDOS attacks. DDOS attacks bombard your system with requests until the traffic overwhelms the network infrastructure.
Protecting your system against unwarranted attacks has become a mandate rather than merely recommended guidelines. With an increase of AI-based thefts on the internet, a safe lock for your company data empowers your employees to follow the best data security practices to prevent you from failovers or security breaches.
Learn how to provide maximum security coverage with the best endpoint protection software and build an army to save your data.
Edited by Aisha West