Antivirus software: Are there any free programs, if not which 1 is the best?

Answer 1

AVG

It's free and updates everyday http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Answer 2

I like AOL AntiVirusShield. Don't let the name AOL fool you. AntiVirusShield is made by Kaspersky which is one of top-rated anti-virus vendors in the world.

And despite, what all the other lemmings here claim, the facts prove that AVG is pure crap!

In recent tests, the most popular free anti-virus, AVG, was only able to detect about 82% of a very large sample of viruses. On the other hand, AntiVirusShield was able to detect better than 99% in the same test.
http://www.virus.gr/english/fullxml/default.asp?id=82&mnu=82

AntiVirusShield has excellent virus detection rates and is extremely light on using your computer resources. (6mb)

And it updates 15 to 20 times a day with new virus definitions, 7 days a week.

Free to anyone, AOL member or not from:
http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp?

Answer 3

Hi there,

Instead of all these "Mine is better than yours" answers that go on around here, I'll instead answer with the facts.

Looking at current protection ratings, AVG scores a lowly 90% protection against all known viruses, whilst Avast comes in at 92%. This means they are letting through roughly one in every ten viruses - pretty shocking.

Norton and McAfee are slightly better by protecting against 98.3% and circa 97% respectfully of all known viruses. However, Norton and McAfee can be known for being very heavy programs which can tend to slow down certain machines. If you are thinking of installing either of these I would definitely recommend you download their free trial to check it does not affect your machine in this way prior to opening your wallet.

If you would be interested in other Security products that are better than all of these, you should try either Prevx1, Kaspersky or F-Secure who all score over a 99% protection rating.

Out of these three my recommendation would be Prevx1, as this is the quickest at protecting against new outbreaks of malware.

Answer 4

AVG at http://free,grisoft.com/doc/1 -Which I have on my ex wife's computer, my two daughters computers and a laptop, and none of them have a clue on viruses etc, and my daughters are always on the MSN, lime wire and all the blogs and they don't have any problems, I would recommend it, but you will need the Microsoft XP firewall or another if you do not have XP (zone alarm maybe). Or there is another Avast at www.avast.com, I am told it is good but I have never used it.

Answer 5

Try the free trial by Panda. If you decide you like it, you can buy a 1 year version for $10.50 through http://www.pricewatch.com
I have found it the best protection with email and Ares P2P downloads (like Limewire, just better).

Answer 6

There are some free anti virus software available at zdnet downloads and other free software as well.

Answer 7

Avast is free one its pretty okay you can norton antivirus free for six month google free pack just type in google. They say AVG is pretty okay but doesnt offer on site protect. meaning if you download something you have to scan it before you open it and norton and avast scan as it downloads.

Answer 8

AVG Free edition

Answer 9

If you want it for a single PC better not use anti-virus. it makes your computer run much slower than it's normal.
You better install XP-Prfessional and adjust the firwall.
That is what i do after a long period of experiencing anti virus programms such as Norton ann Mcfee.
Good luck

Answer 10

Avast is free for home use, but not for business use. It's done rather well, but I haven't done anything overly stupid with my computer, either.

Answer 11

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ (avg Anti-Virus)