Free Antivirus software

Fred_Smith · 05-04-2010, 16:21

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a good free antivirus program?

Many thanks

Hom3r · 05-04-2010, 16:27

Avast 5.0

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http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

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The best thing about it is it now has a spyware built in, plus it gives audio warnings.

Fred_Smith · 05-04-2010, 16:31

Kool thanks I'll give that a crack I tried AVG a while back but it slowed down my computer quite drastically over time

jellybaby · 05-04-2010, 16:32

I would like to recommend Avira

http://download.cnet.com/Avira-AntiV...ain;contentAux

SnoopZ · 05-04-2010, 16:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hom3r

Avast 5.0

---------- Post added at 16:25 ---------- Previous post was at 16:24 ----------

http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

---------- Post added at 16:27 ---------- Previous post was at 16:25 ----------

The best thing about it is it now has a spyware built in, plus it gives audio warnings.

Yes Avast is awesome

FractalFragger · 05-04-2010, 17:10

well i think either of these:

AVG: www.grisoft.com
MS Security Essentials: Google "Microsoft Security Essentials"

joglynne · 05-04-2010, 17:52

A vote for MSE.

I have been using Microsoft Security Essentials for several months and have found it to be very inobtrusive. Once set to my requirements it just gets on with it's job without lots of bells and whistles.

Xtinguish · 08-04-2010, 19:47

I use Avast 4.8 which works very well, but be very wary of using Avast 5 as there are major problems with it. Just look at the Avast forums and you will see what I mean. Avast 5 is also very difficult to uninstal and leaves hundreds of registry entries everywhere. It needed much better testing before being launched to the public.

Angua · 08-04-2010, 19:54

Comodo Free forever and does not seem to be bloated.

Rockabilly Spike · 08-04-2010, 20:05

wouldnt touch any of them. free for a reason. limited protection.
Was mega surprised at Norton 2010 products being so light on resources. am using norton 360 V4 on my machine at home and it uses less than 10mb ram.

anyone who is still slagging Norton in 2010, hasnt tried the new versions.
find me ONE review where they say its bloated and resource heavy.
challenge.

product of the year on AV-comparatives.
very light on resources.

try it for 90 days.

Avast and Avira could be decent combined with a firewall, good malware protection and the like.
each to their own tho.
i used Bit defender, Eset and PC Cillin all for a year or more each.
after trying the new Norton, am converted, the only other I might consider would be going back to Eset again.

AndyCambs · 08-04-2010, 20:08

I used Microsoft defender, but it was too heavy on resources. Went back to Avast - does what it says on the box.

deathtrap3000 · 08-04-2010, 20:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockabilly Spike

wouldnt touch any of them. free for a reason. limited protection.

Why do you say free antivirus programs offer limited protection? They are antivirus programs and most of the are certainly very good at protecting from viruses. If you want more than just a anti virus program then you could start looking at some of the premium products or even other free software.

squealy · 08-04-2010, 20:17

I've been using AVG for five years now and have never had a computer virus (I've had plenty of colds though). Obviously combined with a firewall (Windows now, used to be Zone Alarm) and malware protection (Spybot and AdAware).

Ben B · 08-04-2010, 20:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne

A vote for MSE.

I have been using Microsoft Security Essentials for several months and have found it to be very inobtrusive. Once set to my requirements it just gets on with it's job without lots of bells and whistles.

Another vote for MSE been using it for a few months now and it has worked perfectly, just sits in the background and does its thing with little or no user interaction.

alexcopeland · 08-04-2010, 23:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben B

Another vote for MSE been using it for a few months now and it has worked perfectly, just sits in the background and does its thing with little or no user interaction.

MSE all the way and it's about time MS did AV for free. It works I've stressed tested when it first was available by delibrately downloading dodgy files and never let an infection onto system.