Best Free Anti-Virus

[risingeagle]

avg 8.5. it is free and it works for me and my pc's

[alliesmeister]

Why is it useless? I have never seen anyone or have any reason to believe its useless.

What's useless is Norton, really crappy AV program.

Norton isn't an AV program. It's random lines of code that some drunk dude spewed onto his keyboard one night while he was watching 7de Laan.

Resting at the bottom of the barrel were Kaspersky and eScan at nine percent, and AVG, which detected only eight percent of malicious software in addition to producing many false positives.

LINK

Sure, it's like 8 months old, but it's most certainly still valid.

Firstly I totally agree that Norton is crappy! I even had at least 6 months left of my subscription, when I ditched Norton and started using free AV's. It's a massive resource hog and on several occasions it notified me of a virus, but failed to remove it. Secondly I first tried Avast! as a free AV and then moved to AVG (because I wanted to be able to schedule virus scans). I soon realised that I cancel scans 90% of the time, because I am normally busy using the pc (playing games) when they start. I also experienced several false positives from AVG, which I checked by amoung others using Kaspersky's free file scan. So I am now back to using Avast! free together with Spybot and I have had no problems whatsoever. Another thing to recommend Avast! by is how one can turn off each of its 'resident shields' at your own discretion. I for example permanently turn off the Outlook & Messenger Shield as I don't use any programs that are protected by that. As a result the resource footprint on my pc is significantly reduced. Another feature that comes in very handy is how one can turn off all of the resident shields. In that state Avast! uses almost no resources, it of course cannot detect any virusses. I use this state whenever I play games on my pc, because I am never connected to the internet when playing games and my machine is very low-specced so I need every bit of processing power I can get. Lastly if I were to pay for a AV again, I would no doubt choose NOD32. I am yet to read of a negative experience by a user of NOD32 in this thread.

[an00bis]

protected by AVG Free since 2006, I think it's pretty easy to use, found it by accident while searching for avira, which at the time I thought was good too...

does anyone else think it's the AV companies making some of the viruses out there, lol I won't say they make all the viruses, because I think all of us has made(or tried) to make a virus at some stage in their lives.

[Stuart]

I won't say they make all the viruses, because I think all of us has made(or tried) to make a virus at some stage in their lives.

Erm ... gnope ...

[c0d3r]

I won't say they make all the viruses, because I think all of us has made(or tried) to make a virus at some stage in their lives.

Erm ... gnope ...

+1 I agree with Stu.

Making viruses doesn't pay the bills. Writing legal sellable software does.

[ryanrich]

NOD32 was always a notch above the best, but of the latest releases I prefer Kaspersky and BitDefender for the paid options. Still using avast as my free solution and still never had an issue with it.

[ralfe]

Some find AVG a bit too much to handle. E.g. : http://www.thesharklady.com/?q=why_i_re ... y_computer

Also, a lot of malware exists which specifically targets avg.

I would suggest looking at clam anti-virus.

http://www.clamwin.com
http://www.clamav.net

[ryanrich]

Hmmm well I had a small problem with avast! finally, so giving NOD 32 version 4 a try and so far very impressed.

[KALSTER]

I have AVG 8.5 installed in all our shops' computers and...it sucks. Needs occasional re-installs as it conks out and refuses to update, misses viruses and hogs resources.

Avast is much less resource hungry and catches a lot of viruses, but you have to tell it to delete something when it finds it (maybe I am just being an idiot?). Also, it misses the occasional virus, but overall I am very happy with it.

Downloaded PcCillin for free from ABSA and it sucks in almost all areas.

Bitdefender does a goodish job AFAIK, but I find it very irritating with its little constant pop-ups and nonsense. If it works though, it might be worth the suffering.

I downloaded Malwarebytes in response to the article in this month's PCFormat and it rocks!

Been using Superantispyware for a while and haven't been having many issues with it.

Ad-Aware is also supposed to be very good.

I will give Spybot a go.

[Prime]

Trend Micro internet securituy works fine! I barely notice it there. and it quietly kills viruses when they arrive

[KALSTER]

Trend Micro internet securituy works fine! I barely notice it there. and it quietly kills viruses when they arrive

It missed quite a few viruses that Avast free edition happily removed. Etc.

I don't know, I guess no anti-virus exists that will catch all viruses and I might just be full of nonsense as far as the rest of it is concerned.

[justinufo]

+1 for malwarebytes.Had a pc with ***** loads of viruses.Every antivirus and whatnot couldnt start up cause the pc was full of aids.Loaded,updated that and it took most of the ****** off

[Sojourn]

I have AVG 8.5 installed in all our shops' computers and...it sucks. Needs occasional re-installs as it conks out and refuses to update, misses viruses and hogs resources.

Go read the TOS in the free AVG... it is meant for non-business home users.
If it concked up on you it is mostly deserved.
\pawned by yourself

[jee]

Spybot have save my chops a few times.
We use Trend in the office, and i'm mightily impressed.

However, there is No virus software for stupidity yet... and social engineering creates more problems than the virusses.

Hence, the best possible programmes you can have is NoScript and Clean Slate....

[KALSTER]

I have AVG 8.5 installed in all our shops' computers and...it sucks. Needs occasional re-installs as it conks out and refuses to update, misses viruses and hogs resources.

Go read the TOS in the free AVG... it is meant for non-business home users.
If it concked up on you it is mostly deserved.
\pawned by yourself

Good point, though it did the same in my home PC.

[Sojourn]

The best free av at this point is avast imo.

[hamin_aus]

The best free av at this point is avast imo.

I would agree.

[Jonboy]

The best free av at this point is avast imo.

I would agree.

+1

[rustypup]

The best free av at this point is avast

++

although... i would like to point out that the *best* AV is the application of common sense... no matter the protection afforded you by your security products, if you're in the habit of behaving in a risky manner, you will become infected - this is a given. crying about it afterwards is just good comedy...

i love reading the "my AV didn't protect me!" posts when it is clear that the OP was, in fact, the inherent flaw in the system...

"my seatbelt broke my spleen! well, yes... i had a few drinks but i was wearing my seatbelt!"

[Stuart]

The best free av at this point is avast

++

although... i would like to point out that the *best* AV is the application of common sense... no matter the protection afforded you by your security products, if you're in the habit of behaving in a risky manner, you will become infected - this is a given. crying about it afterwards is just good comedy...

i love reading the "my AV didn't protect me!" posts when it is clear that the OP was, in fact, the inherent flaw in the system...

"my seatbelt broke my spleen! well, yes... i had a few drinks but i was wearing my seatbelt!"

Unfortunately, for some, common sense is not a free option.

[doo_much]

MicroSoft Live OneCare received an Advanced+ award from AV Comparatives (Thanks for the link Rusty).

And it's free.

[ryanrich]

Microsoft Security Essentials final version released

Anybody tried this yet?

Just installed it to give it a test run... So far so good.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Just finished downloading that actually, Ryan. Going to give it a shot now

[ryanrich]

Well after a day of using MSE I find it rather good. A good, free security suite you ask? From Microsoft no less?!

Doesn't use too many resources when compared to other free clients. It's currently using the same amount of memory as my NOD32 v4 was. From early reviews, the amount of false positives are low and detection rates are very good. So far I'd say if you're looking for an easy to use and relatively lightweight free solution for your desktop Windows OS, this is a good way to go!

[Psi_Co_killa]

iv been using Bit defender 8 and i havnt had a virus yet,

THERE'S ALWAYS people like this out there...I dont have a virus...i have payed for my protection...hahaha...

it doesnt help to think "i payed for this anti-virus app-it's scan says i'm clean-so i must be clean.." ...ignorance is bliss...
so periodically installing other anti-virus apps to "blitz" your system with is a good idea :for this u can download the "pay for"
apps like avast pro / kaspersky / mallwarebytes - most of them offer free 30 day trials etc.So install it - update it -run all the scans available on their most aggressive settings (example:avast - scan inside zips/iso's + delete infected system files-for the boot scan) let them clean what they can + then un-install them again + clean ur registry afterwards as well.

Also ask yourself :what does paying for antivirus do for me?
if i lose all my data due to a virus/whatever and i am running a bought and payed 4 virus app which failed 2 protect my data
are they gonna refund me for my loss / help me 2 recover the data / help cover the expense of recovering said data?

i REALLY dont think so...
its pretty much like the "carguard" in your parking lot at work :he wants money when your cars still there , but when some1 dinged your car or worse yet steals it and got away while he was on toilet / asleep / high / whatever
what garauntees does he offer? NONE....does he pay for the dent 2 be repaired?no...does he cover your insurance excess?no...its the same with payed for anti-virus apps.no garauntees...just give us your money anyways...

The reality about anti-virus apps is this :
When a new virus/spyware/whatever is "released" , not a single 1 of all the anti-virus apps out there will find it...period...
(i am talking "new viruses" - not "strains" of older 1's)
that is untill some people get infected ,which takes time
+ then send reports to the anti-virus app makers(avast/avira/nod32/whoever) ,which takes time
then they have to get hold of the virus(in working form) ,which takes time
then figure out its "features + exploits + registry changes etc... ,which takes time
all this takes time...meanwhile - we r ALL fair game...

no 1 can protect u completely - even if u paid 1 million rand (hehe) for u'r anti-vir (its still gonna take them time to figure the virus out + then release updates to rectify / block these viruses' actions)
till u then download that update - u r very much vurnerable...

lots of people seem to say that nod32 is the best there is...just 1 thing:if u dont have internet u cant get it updated
most other anti-virus apps give u daily downloadable updates(which u could get from a friend who has internet)...
not so with nod32....

Avast home is free to non-comercial users and is pretty good + its a free realtime scanner (with downloadable updates)
this is my 1st line of defense.

Avira (has gotten lots of bad press here...) i been running it 4 a week now alongside avast + its found stuff avast didnt
so - so far so good (also a free realtime scanner) it seems 2 update just fine (havent tried downloading an update exe yet tho...)this is my 2nd line of defense.

AdAware is another favorite and is also pretty good + free + realtime with downloadable updates (i start this before sticking a flashdisk into my pc)

Spyware terminator is also pretty decent (includes Clamwin anti-vir into its realtime scanner - also free +downloadable updates) altho its really more spyware focused - its realtime scanner can be put into "deny mode" usefull when plugging flashdisks into u'r pc - denies all processes on your pc - which is usefull.so i run it + update it before plugging my flashdisk into my pc after a day at the "office" ...im a systems engineer + i plug my flashdisk into lots of pc's everyday...
and thats where most of u'r problems come from -flash-disks (or as i like 2 call them "eletronic penises") we stick them in lots of holes everyday without even considdering the host pc's protection-if any...then bring them home and stick em into our own pc's - u put a condom on before sex - in the same way u should run some realtime antivirus apps before plugging flashdisks into your pc

its sad that we have to do all of this to protect ourselves and then the protection is still flawed...
even after running all these apps - i still got infections ...(some of which avira found...)
and i am almost sure that my (and your) pc's will never be TRULLY virus free - this is even more true if u have the internet...

it's a brave new world...
the trick is to change your usage habits + also to stay informed
01 ) yes-stay away from those pesky porn sites + porn downloads (rather just get trusted porn from friends - hehehe)
02 ) if u download anything other than porn (legitimate stuff like updates/drivers etc...) keep it for a week before unzipping the file + scan the file with at least 2(preferably more) updated antivir apps before and after unzipping...
03 ) yes - game cracks + keygens + no-cd exe's are another source of viruses (just dont do it man...pay 2 play.)
04 ) show hidden and system files on your pc (if u cant-u r already infected...)at the very least this serves as an early warning system that somethings snuck thru the net-if u used 2 be able 2 c system+hidden files-but no longer-u r infected
05 ) turn off "system restore" during any type of cleaning process u undertake , as most viruses write/hide themselves there and simply manifest again after your pc restarts.
EDIT 06 ) dont just install anything that calls itself anti-virus - only use a anti-virus recommended by at least 3 other people u know
EDIT 07 ) dont leave ur pc on at nite - if u have internet - i have done so before(downloading a mod 4 bf2 overnite) and woken up to find an antivirus app installed and sitting on my desktop(called anti-virus 2009 or sumthing...clever name....)
it claimed i had many virusses and to remove them i had 2 buy the full-version(the demo only supported scanning-not removal)

shoe...i had no idea i had so much 2 say...
Regards and Good luck
psi_