Free Virus Scan - Comments Page 1

check out 1st offering on this page:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/wsc/en-us/default.mspx

free anti-virus for 12 months!!!

I have a computer repair shop and deal with viruses daily. I've been on the front lines for years now. We no longer recommend Norton or McAfee. We use AVG Antivirus Free Edition or AntiVir. They catch far more threats and don't eat up system resources like the big boys. Plus, no error messages to speak of. We rely on Panda and TrendMicro for accurate second-opinions.

Years ago I downloaded Free AntiVir from a German site. So far it works pretty good, warning each time a virus infected mail is coming in or scanning disks or files from external sources. I really like to recommend this antivirus, it is easy to use, trustable, user friendly and..... freeeeeeeeee!!!

I use NOD32/Clamwin http://www.clamwin.com/ on one PC and Avast/Clamwin on the other. In both cases the more well known AV programs are used for real time scanning and Clamwin for running after the fact scans. No conflicts experienced after using dual AV programs like this for a couple of years. Clamwin is free, but besides being free seems to scan more deeply than many other AV programs...either that or its scanning engine is very slow, but finds malware that the others do not.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Just be aware that Clamwin is open source. That's normally a Good Thing, but in the case of security software could give the Bad Guys insight as to how they might write malware to exploit the defenses. Using it in conjunction with another AV program seems like a good strategy.

I've been using avast! for about a year. Is it the "best"? I don't know, but with all the various things it scans, it works great for me. And, I use it in conjunction with Spybot Tea Timer. Between the two, I feel fairly comfortable. But, then, I'm far from an expert in this computer stuff. I didn't even start with it until I was about 60.

I also use and recommend avast! as a free antispyware program. Unlike AVG, which reserves some bells & whistles for its paid version, this slick program from the Czech Republic holds nothing back. The spyware definitions are automatically updated practically every day.

I too have been using the free AntiVir Personal program for a few years now. (They recently added the modifier "Classic" to the program name to more clearly differentiate it from the non-free "Premium" version.) The site for this product is http://www.free-av.com/. While it is a German company, all their Web pages and their support forums are available in both German and English.

I don't get very many virus alerts from the product, but I am conviced that that's because I am a pretty careful Internet user, and not because the program isn't catching things. This is backed up by the fact that I run Trend Micro's and another product's scan every once in a while, and those programs come back with "clean" reports too.

The product seems to be updated frequently, and I don't just mean the definition files. The program is quite easy to use, and easy to update. If my mother can handle the updates by herself, anyone can. :)

I think I may go a little overboard but it works for me. I run Avast and AVG together for anti virus. I do shut Avast outgoing mail check off. I use Microsoft Antispyware,Win patrol,BHO Demon, Spyware Blaster and Zone Alarm which all run in the background except Spyware Blaster which "inoculates" the pc. I use periodically Cleanup,Ewido,Reg Scrub,CW Shredder,CClearer.Spybot S/D, Ad-Aware,Some of Karens power tools and Micro Malicious Software Fixer and Diskeeper Lite for defrag. Most of these have been on for more than a year on this pc and more than 4 years on previous pcs. Very seldom does any spyware show up when I check and I only run the extras about 1 time a month. I have got warning on viruses but none got into the pc, Best of all to me all of the above are free versions.I always update those that don't update them selves just before using them. What works for me may or may not work for others and I would not recommend you do as I do.I figure where one may be a little weak the other would take over. Ed

Re: your recommendation for Grisoft AVG

I was running the Windows version of AVG for several years until I recently got hit with a most stubborn virus. I updated my AVG virus list multiple times to no avail. AVG identified the problem only as a generic trojan virus. I tried to delete it, heal it, move it to quarantine, etc. but nothing worked. As soon as I rebooted, the problem was back. I invested (wasted) dozens of hours trying to identify and remove all of the various files and registry entries. The problem alwasy returned after reboot. So, I read Consumer Reports Magazine Computer Protection issue and saw their recommendation for a freeware anti-virus program called Avast!, which included not only anti-virus features, but also a firewall. Avast! was able to rid my computer of the stubborn virus as well as continues to notify me each time it repels an attack-in-progress. So far, I LIKE IT!

I have had Panda Titanium Anti-Virus for 2 years now and it does a great job protecting my computer from viruses and spyware.