Free anti-virus software to protect your Windows PC
Viruses have not made the headline recently. While the Internet is the main medium for the viruses to spread, the network enables the antidote to spread rapidly as well. Anti-virus software can update their virus definitions online, which has made large scale computer virus epidemics rather rare these days. Many new PCs feature an anti-virus software as a standard feature, but unfortunately the PC packages are often shipped with a limited trial offer – most common seems to be a 60 day license of the Norton Internet Security. What to do when the license runs out? Well, don’t worry as there are some high quality anti-virus solutions offered for free.
There are three major vendors still offering a free anti-virus software, for personal and/or non-commerical use: Avast!, Avira AntiVir and AVG. All of these software and their providers have been around for a long time and they have earned a good reputation. All of these offer basic virus protection, including real-time scanning in the background, and thorough on-demand scanners.
Avast! is a very user-friendly solution that has been translated to several languages. Along with basic protection, the free version also includes additional protection for P2P file sharing, instant messaging and email. A free one year license must be obtained for the vendor. I have used Avast! for years and it has worked flawlessly.
Avira AntiVir has only the basic features, but the configuration options are a bit more advanced. For an example real-time scanning can be adjusted only to scan file read, writes or both – obviously using only read or write scanning will help to improve the performance hit caused by resident protection. Based on a number of anti-virus reviews I read, Avira scores highest score of these three in virus detection tests. I am currently using Avira and it seems to be working extremely well.
I have not used AVG personally, but it is possibly the most popular free anti-virus solution available. It is often commented as being easy on the system resources, but it has not scored the best results in detection tests. I have heard many positiive comments about AVG and it should serve you fine as well.
Best thing about all of these applications is that they seem to be much more resource friendly than Norton’s Security Suite. Note that in addition to a anti-virus software, it is wise to equip your Windows PC with a firewall. In case you wish purchase a commercial solution, then I would advice you to have a look at NOD32 (used by Microsoft Corp.) or F-Prot anti-virus software. And once you have installed your anti-virus software, be sure to test it at Eicar test site.
Download: Avast!, Avira AntiVir, AVG
December 29th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
And regarding firewalls, i would suggest dont install any, just go by the windows firewall. The more u’ll think about antivirus softwares the more confuse u would end up with. so just go with the three softwares that raj discussed those are indeed the best available.
December 29th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Dear all as per my experience u wont believe it i have done a thorough research in each and every antivirus available in the market for the past 9 years.I suggest you 3 softwares that will secure your pc under any given situation.Firstly install avira premium, secondly go with malwarebytes, and lastly install avg free antivirus. I would suggest u to run all these in safe mode. About Norton 2010 its really useless dont go for it, it will delete most of your softwares either by corrupting it or changing its registry. Kaspersky 2010 is good only for those pc having more than 2GB ram.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:37 am
i now using avira antivirus, but i also recommenda comoda antivirus cause it is very simple n free in hard drives.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 am
i want antivirus which donot offer update
August 17th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I like using NOD32 because its light on memory
and its has won the most vb100 awards.
I also recommending Threatfire, unlike what Albino the Superior’s Mammutu, Threatfire is free and
also looks at how malware behaves.
I want to know if there’s any secondary antivirus
out there?
April 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
rajan,
I am currently trialing NOD32 and I am very pleased with it. I am pretty confident that I will purchase it, replacing free alternatives.
April 12th, 2008 at 8:06 am
want a good anti virus for trial only if it will good than we purchase this.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:56 am
Yes, I’ve heard about Kerio Firewall that it’s more complicated compared to ZoneAlarm. Is that so? Despite, I’d be using Kerio if I hadn’t this university paid commercial internet security software, because it’s no doubt enough for a home user (and free)…
Where can that Eicar test file be found?
I think seriously that Microsoft have evolved a lot IE’s internet security. Isn’t it almost as good as Firefox’s security? Well, Outlook I wouldn’t use in any case, because I don’t trust it, but IE receives frequently security updates from Windows Update. Why doesn’t Firefox?
Is there some differences (in internet security) between Win XP and Vista? I mean that is there still some “security holes” in Vista or is it as “safe” as XP (or even more safe)?