Free Anti-Virus Programs - Comments Page 4

It's worth bearing in mind not merely the cost of antivirus software in monetary terms but also the cost in reduction of efficiency of your computer. In that regard, free antivirus is not always the ideal choice.
A good place for comparisons:
http://www.pcantivirusreviews.com/comparison
Personally I'm switching to VIPRE...

From http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html:
"All-inclusive and comprehensive protection FREE avast! antivirus Home Edition includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT detection based on the best-in class GMER technology. No additional purchase is required."
That's the freeware version. Includes anti-spyware protection.

I have been using norton anti virus for past 3-4 years. Your view regarding this software is correct and I also held the same view until the recent Norton 2009 which gives much better system performance. Now, hardly I have to shut it off for smooth functioning of my PC.

This article still poses AVG Free as antivirus only. The current free version of AVG 8.5 includes antispyware, antivirus, email scanning, browser link scanning, auto daily updates & scheduled scans. As an IT professional, I also install Malwarebyte's Antimalware for manual "2nd option" scans no matter what the primary defense is. There is no single silver bullet anymore. http://free.avg.com & http://www.malwarebytes.org

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks, Ive updated the description for AVG in the article above. But note that the free AVG does not do email scanning, or screen your downloads.

I bought the Avira AntiVir Premium in June and it is supposed to have virus update everyday, but it never did. After a week or so trying I went to their support page and found out that they have a problem with one of the servers, and I have to do manual update through a link. I did it for a month and they never repaired their faulty server. I asked for a refund and they did refund immediately. Now I am on AVG free one and I don't have any problems.

Comodo Internet Security-- very good free anti virus/spyware plus award winning firewall for free. I'm surprised this one wasn't listed. It's one of the very best and was released for public use around March 2009.

The other one that is free right now (8/009) is Panda Cloud Antivirus, which is in final Beta testing with the public.

(I'm a community computer tech for a living)

Internet Explorer Question -- While doing a download from Internet Explorer a pop up showed the New Internet Explorer 8. I thought, sure; why not. I downloaded it and now it will not go to Internet Explorer at all. It just times and times, but never goes to the site.

It doesn't show in the control panel... to uninstall it, even though the properties shows it as loaded in the C:\Programs file. In that file it does not offer an Uninstall. How do I get rid of it and reinstall the normal Internet Explorer??

EDITOR'S NOTE: Use System Restore. See http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.html

My LCD computer monitor "Wriggles" but not all the time. I took it in for repair and they found nothing, the fault did not occur. Any clues, the power supply maybe? Any cheap solutions?

EDITOR'S NOTE: If it didn't happen while connected to another PC, then I would suspect the power supply. They're cheap and easy to replace. All you need is a screwdriver - give it a try!

One more note about using the antivirus Comodo.com: It's the ONLY free antivirus which is licensed for use in businesses. All the others are strictly for home use only.