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Quiet by design
No popup ads, no upgrade banners and no scare messages. Anakrio speaks up when it finds a threat, and when you open it. The rest of the time it stays out of your way.
About Anakrio · built in 2026
We got tired of noisy antivirus. So we built our own.
Anakrio is a free antivirus for Windows, created by Hampus Breivik and Johan Austbø. No popup ads, no upsell screens, no paywalled protection. Just layered detection that does its job and stays out of your way.
$0
Pro license, renewed for free
0
popup ads or upgrade nags
3
detection layers working together
10 / 11
Windows 64-bit supported
Our story
In 2026 we, Hampus Breivik and Johan Austbø, ran out of patience with free antivirus software. The pattern was always the same: install a "free" program and get a steady flow of popup ads, while the protection underneath was not very effective.
We kept asking ourselves why free has to mean annoying and weak. We could not find a good reason, so instead of complaining about it we decided to build the antivirus we actually wanted to use: quiet, effective and honest about what it does.
That became Anakrio. It checks files with known-malware signatures, YARA rules and static heuristics, watches the places where threats usually arrive, and puts anything dangerous into a safe quarantine. All of it, including real-time protection and Full Scan, is part of the free Pro license.
We are not pretending to be a replacement for common sense or backups, and we say so openly further down this page. What we do promise is that Anakrio will not nag you, will not sell your attention, and will tell you why when it flags something.
What we believe
Six ideas shaped every decision in Anakrio.
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Protection that is real
Free should not mean weak. Every file is checked by signatures, YARA rules and static heuristics, and real-time protection watches the places where malware usually lands.
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Honest and explainable
When a file is flagged, Anakrio records why: which rule matched or what looked suspicious. Nothing is deleted behind your back, and quarantined files can be restored if we got it wrong.
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Private by default
Scanning happens on your PC. Your files, scan results and quarantine never leave it. The app only talks to anakrio.com for license checks, signature updates and new versions.
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Free for real
Register with your name and email and every Pro feature unlocks. No payment, no card, no trial countdown. The license lasts a year and renews for free with one click.
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Built to be checked
Every installer has a published SHA-256 checksum, signature updates are fetched over verified HTTPS, and license keys are stored only as hashes. Trust should be something you can verify.
How Anakrio protects you
Several independent checks, because no single technique catches everything.
Signatures
Every file is hashed (SHA-256) and compared with a database of known malware. The database is built from public threat feeds published by abuse.ch (MalwareBazaar and ThreatFox), refreshed on our server and downloaded by the app. New signatures are loaded while Anakrio is running, so no restart is needed.
YARA rules
YARA describes malware by its patterns instead of an exact fingerprint, so it can catch variants nobody has seen before. Anakrio ships with core rules for things like the EICAR test file, ransomware that destroys shadow copies, generic ransom notes and hidden PowerShell download-and-run commands. Advanced users can add their own .yar files.
Static heuristics
Windows programs (PE files) are inspected for packed or encrypted code, sections that are both writable and executable, odd entry points and suspicious API imports. Scripts (PowerShell, batch, VBScript, JScript, HTA and similar) are checked for encoded commands, hidden windows, remote downloads and attempts to switch off Windows protection. Double extensions such as "invoice.pdf.exe" count as a warning sign too.
Real-time protection
Downloads, Desktop, Documents, Temp, AppData and Startup are watched continuously. New files are checked before you run them, and a confirmed threat is stopped, its process ended and the file moved to quarantine.
What happens when a file is checked
From the first hash to the final verdict.
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A file appears
You download it, copy it, unpack it or open a scan. Archives (zip, tar, gz, 7z) are opened and every file inside is checked too, with safety limits against decompression bombs.
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Known threats first
The SHA-256 hash is compared with the signature database. An exact match is a confirmed known threat.
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Patterns next
YARA rules look for malicious patterns. Each rule carries a confidence score, and the strongest match counts.
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Then structure and behavior
Heuristics inspect executables and scripts and add up points for each suspicious trait. One weak sign is not enough to accuse a file.
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A careful verdict
A file is reported only when the combined evidence is strong enough. A valid digital signature stops content heuristics from condemning a legitimate program on their own.
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Safe handling
Threats are stopped, renamed, locked down with restricted permissions and kept in quarantine. You decide whether to delete or restore.
What Anakrio will not do
These are the things that made us leave other free antivirus programs, so they are the first things we ruled out.
- Show ads or sell your attention. There are no popups, banners or promotional screens.
- Upload your files. Scanning is done locally and your documents stay on your computer.
- Hide how it decides. Detections come with a reason, and the rules are readable text.
- Charge for protection. Real-time protection, Full Scan, YARA, heuristics and updates are all part of the free Pro license.
- Promise the impossible. No antivirus catches everything, and we would rather tell you so.
Honest about the limits
Trust starts with saying what a product cannot do.
Static analysis only
Anakrio examines files without running them. That is safe and fast, but it cannot see what a program would do once it is executing, so brand-new and heavily disguised malware can slip through.
False positives can happen
Heuristics and rules judge by patterns, and legitimate software sometimes looks suspicious. That is why threats go to quarantine instead of being destroyed, and why you can restore a file in one click.
It is one layer
Keep Windows and your programs updated, keep backups of anything that matters, and be careful with attachments and downloads. Good habits plus Anakrio beat either one alone.
Privacy and trust
What stays on your PC
Scanned files, scan results and quarantine never leave your computer. Anakrio does not upload your documents for analysis.
What we store
Your name and email to issue and recover your license, a hash of your key (never the key itself), its expiry date, and short-lived technical logs for abuse prevention. We do not sell your data.
What the app contacts
Only anakrio.com: to verify the license, fetch signature updates and check for new versions. If the server cannot be reached, the app keeps working with what it has, and Pro stays active for up to 7 days without a successful license check.
How we protect the service
Signature feeds are fetched over verified HTTPS and validated before publishing, the admin area uses strong password hashing and optional two-factor login, and the installer checksum is public.
Read the full privacy notice or our security contact.
The people behind it
Anakrio started with two people who wanted a better free antivirus.
HB
Hampus Breivik
Co-founder
JA
Johan Austbø
Co-founder
Questions about Anakrio
Who is behind Anakrio?
Anakrio was created in 2026 by Hampus Breivik and Johan Austbø, who were fed up with free antivirus programs full of popup ads and weak protection.
Why did you build another antivirus?
Because we could not find a free one we wanted to use ourselves. We wanted something quiet, effective and honest, so we built it.
Does Anakrio show ads?
No. There are no popup ads, banners or upgrade screens in the app.
Is it really free?
Yes. A Pro license is free, valid for a year, and renews for free on the renew page. There is no payment step.
What does Anakrio send to your servers?
Only what is needed to run the license (your email and key) and to download signature updates and check for new versions. Scanned files and scan results stay on your PC. The privacy page lists exactly what we store.
Where do the signatures come from?
Mainly from public abuse.ch threat feeds (MalwareBazaar and ThreatFox), collected on our server and published as one signature file that the app downloads over HTTPS. We can also disable a signature that turns out to be a false positive.
Which Windows versions are supported?
Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit. Installing needs administrator rights.
What do I do if Anakrio flags a file I trust?
Open Quarantine in the app and restore it. Then write to us with the file name so we can look at the rule or signature behind it.
Can I add my own YARA rules?
Yes. Put .yar files in the rules folder inside Anakrio's Data folder and restart the app. A broken rule file is skipped and reported instead of stopping the others.
Windows SmartScreen warns about the installer. Is that bad?
New software that few people have downloaded yet often triggers that notice. Compare the SHA-256 checksum on the download page with the file you downloaded to confirm it is genuine.
How do I report a bug or a security problem?
Bugs and questions go to our support address. Security issues go to security@anakrio.com, as described in our security.txt.
Try Anakrio for free
Download the installer, register for your free Pro key and run a Quick Scan in a couple of minutes.
Questions or feedback? Write to support@anakrio.com.