Best Free Anti-virus Program NID UR ADVISE PLS. HELP

[shotgun 0]

Well, Norton do really suck. It's ok to have if you have a quad-core with 4GB memory, coz it is a resource hog. In the other hand it's anoyingly invasive. But the good thing about that is, the anti-phishing filter integrated to the browser is a really a useful feature, that will help you a lot. But overall, the protection Norton offers cannot be said as the best. AVG, was one of my favourites until I found out it didnt' protect me a lot from viruses. I switched to Avast from that after I got couple of viruses with AVG.And today, with avast, I got a virus and couldnt do anything. Went to my other OS and checked it up and AVG fould like 20 threats( about 5 viruses) So i guess Im done with AVAST too.Bye, Greetings

[Gr33nN1nj4 0]

And also in your PC it could not lack good firewall:https://www.softperfect.com/

Dude, thank for for the firewall tip, I have been using BlackICE as it was the most lightweight firewall I could find, but this seems it will do the trick.

Srsly. Why do they make anti-whatever and firewalls as flashy as they can? It seems you really can't find a lightweight firewall/antivirus anymore. By lightweight I mean no skin support, uses the native OS theme, no extra features, and does one thing and does it well (You know.. that is a lot like the Unix philosophy :/)

EDIT:
:3 ~1,800KB ram usage... it is.. so lightweight and has some of the best rule editing
only problem is on the about page you click their homepage it uses IE instead of your default browser..
but all in all it is awesome.. thank you again!
Edited August 19, 2008 by Gr33nN1nj4 (see edit history)

[efrain_aguilar 0]

I download and test a lot of programs. For preventative measures and malware, I use SpyBot and Spyware Blaster (both free).I’ve found Zone Alarm Pro to be the best firewall because it lets me know when something is trying to connect, either incoming or outgoing.I’ve tried about every anti-virus program out there. The two that I’ve found to be the best and use the least amount of resources are ESET32 and Avast Professional and I have both loaded. The thing I like about Avast is that it monitors everything and you know it’s working. I have set it off many times downloading something suspicious. I like an anti-virus program that taps me on the shoulder once in while.To be safer, use Firefox as a browser. With it’s Safe Download extension, you can set your anti-virus program(s) to check everything downloaded through it. Internet Explorer just isn’t secure. (duh)As far as Norton’s, McAfee, Kaspersky, & BitDefender, all bloatware. Kaspersky and BitDefender, although they may be good, can make your system slow down to a crawl. What good is a computer that crawls?I read a lot of reviews and do a lot of testing. The above mentioned items keep my computer running fast and clean.

[kobashi 0]

I have been using AVG free for 6 years now and I still like it over most. I had norton before then and then they got rid of the free version.

[Rs-Forums 0]

AVG is very good considering it is FREE and has NO ADS.

[Jezstarr 0]

Well ive tried avg but it was a system hog and when i uninstalled it computer was much better...I then got avira which i liked very simple and easy. Automatically updates too! I also heard avast! home edition is good.But i now have a full, paid for av program which i love, they aren't too expensive tbh.

[jjkeenan 0]

Freeware Here is what I tested.Avast - Free and does not give you any ads while you register it for free. Does not ask for anything and does a lot of things other that scans, I protects you from worms, trojans and stuffs, there is a weakness in its real time scanner though which gives virus an opportunity to overrun the program. It updates frequently which is neat.AVG - Same goes with Avast but it does not have a very powerful scanner, a lot of scenarios were worms and trojans got to my PCs. It has a cool webscanner(link scanner) which checks for site before getting to it. Updates frequently too. But slows down my PC a bit that can be noticeable at times. Avira - One of the best Antivirus out there that really removes what needs to be removed. It finds even those recent virus I have even if it was not updated frequently. It also has a fast real time scanner. One con about it is that the free version keeps showing their ads about the latest version of their commercial antiviruses. what pisses me off is that there are a lot of this not included on the free version like; anti worms and trojans.All in all.. average users like me should be getting one of the 3.. Anyway, it will still never guarantee a 100% protection. Even with commercial ones.

[Jezstarr 0]

Freeware Here is what I tested.
Avast - Free and does not give you any ads while you register it for free. Does not ask for anything and does a lot of things other that scans, I protects you from worms, trojans and stuffs, there is a weakness in its real time scanner though which gives virus an opportunity to overrun the program. It updates frequently which is neat.

AVG - Same goes with Avast but it does not have a very powerful scanner, a lot of scenarios were worms and trojans got to my PCs. It has a cool webscanner(link scanner) which checks for site before getting to it. Updates frequently too. But slows down my PC a bit that can be noticeable at times.

Avira - One of the best Antivirus out there that really removes what needs to be removed. It finds even those recent virus I have even if it was not updated frequently. It also has a fast real time scanner. One con about it is that the free version keeps showing their ads about the latest version of their commercial antiviruses. what pisses me off is that there are a lot of this not included on the free version like; anti worms and trojans.

All in all.. average users like me should be getting one of the 3.. Anyway, it will still never guarantee a 100% protection. Even with commercial ones.

Very good summary, with you all the way. Spot on with the avg part too.

Nothing can stop all viruses, its amazing how many new viruses could seep through your av. Just have to be careful.

[kramnat 0]

Very good summary, with you all the way. Spot on with the avg part too.

 

Nothing can stop all viruses, its amazing how many new viruses could seep through your av. Just have to be careful.

Some problems with AVG and Avast to consider..u should try both and decide which is a better fit for your needs.

AVG

- If you are a gamer like myself, note that the virus engine cannot be disabled if you want to pause the scanning engine to prevent your machine from slowing down. Otherwise, can always invest in a faster machine.

- Lots of adverts that are tricky..sneaky programming by the software creators

 

Avast

- Not as user-friendly in installation and GUI.

- Updates are slower than AVG by approx. up to 15-20 hours which may be a factor if you have a high risk of receiving infected files than the average IT user.

 

Hope it helps.

Edited October 26, 2008 by kramnat (see edit history)

[mates 0]

use Avira and you can register for 6 months for free

[xpress 0]

As many people told, AVIRA is the best among all free anitiviruses. AVIRA is very light weight antivirus. It won't occupy much RAM. And also daily updates are available. Its detection rate is also very good. Overall AVIRA Personal is my favoute.AVG is also nice. But its a resource hog. I used it for 4 years. But I was very disappointed with its 8th version. It occupied almost half of my system RAM. And also booting became slow. So I switched to AVIRA.

[Quatrux 4]

As many people told, AVIRA is the best among all free anitiviruses. AVIRA is very light weight antivirus. It won't occupy much RAM. And also daily updates are available. Its detection rate is also very good. Overall AVIRA Personal is my favoute.
AVG is also nice. But its a resource hog. I used it for 4 years. But I was very disappointed with its 8th version. It occupied almost half of my system RAM. And also booting became slow. So I switched to AVIRA.

I agree that AVG is really resource hog, the same happened to me, when I installed it, I felt how much slower the system become, even though maybe it is possible to remove a lot of services of AVG to make it run faster, but I think lets leave it for someone else.

I never used AVIRA though ...

[tek3D 0]

I use AVG and it works very well, I don't have any problem with it. My computer hasn't been infected with any thing since I used AVG.

[quack 0]

Not sure why this thread was given a little bump, but AVG is what I've been using. I still haven't gotten infected and it's been a while! If you are going for Freeware, AVG is the anti-virus program you want. I find it better than a lot of paid anti virus software. It would be a shame if all of AVG requires a payment; I'm pretty sure if you want the premium version it costs you.

[zaryk 0]

I don't think one antivirus is sufficient enough to protect a computer, and real-time scanners always slow the computer down. Having more than one antivirus is good because not all antiviruses are made to find the same viruses nor are they made the same. So where one may find a virus and may not permanently remove it, another might do this.On my computer:Zonealarm internet Security Suite - Free Trial/Commercial - Make sure to update antivirus and spyware - set advanced options for both antispyware and antivirus to do deep scan for best results - is the best, in my opinion. I have tested nearly all antivirus programs listed in a two year period, and it has proven best. I only run it on days that I have set for my routine all day scan. But, if needed, also has antispyware, and firewall.Xoftspyse - Commercial - really good for quick efficient scans in the beginning of having problems.Removeit pro - Free/Commercial - really good for efficient scans in the beginning of having problems.A-Squared Free - Has proven to be the next best free.ClamWin - normally don't recommend but pretty good.With all antivirus and antispyware programs though, you need to take the time to make sure the program gets updated and settings are correct. You also have to set times for scanning your computer. The best preventer, in my opinion, is the person operating the computer, though. You got to make sure you don't go on sites that have been most proven to have viruses/spyware/malware/adware or download software, without researching it first. Not to brag: (Just example; Being a software tester in search of the best virus/spyware/malware/adware/rootkit/etc remover has its side of effects (bad and good), but have learned to note all pros/cons of programs, which all software has its pros/cons)On my computer, like I said, I have no firewall running, and I have no real-time scanner running. When I scan on my designated days, all my scanners (more than whats listed) may find 1 or 2 viruses, and maybe 1 or 2 spyware. I usually scan about every month or so. In that amount of time, a lot of people I know (I can't say for everyone else) will be asking me to scan their computer, and have at least 10 virus and 10 spyware.

Edited February 11, 2009 by zaryk (see edit history)