Re: a question from last night's meeting, this is an excerpt from
http://askbobrankin.com/free_antivirus_programs.html?awt_l=CT97h&awt_m=1ksmFds7veP6SL
and should help. Follow the link for more on this.
Free Anti-Virus Programs
a.. AVG - is one of the most often recommend freeware anti-virus packages.
While Grisoft offers a paid version, there is a freeware version of the
virus protection on the website. It only offers anti-virus and anti-spyware
protection (no anti-spam, anti-rootkit or firewall) but provides very
effective protection from the most common threats. The Pro version has Web
Shield to screen your downloads, rootkit protection, and free support.
b.. Avast! - another freebie anti-virus program with basic features, and
ease of use. It is updated regularly, also highly recommended.
The Free Home Edition includes anti-spyware and anti-rootkit detection.
c.. BitDefender - is another highly rated freeware anti-virus tool. Like
the others, it offers just basic anti-virus protection, and I recommended
that you add anti-spyware protection as well.
d.. Avira Anti-Vir - claims over 30 million users worldwide, and the free
Personal Edition gets good reviews. There is a paid version with
anti-spyware and firewall protection as well.
e.. ClamWin AntiVirus - is a free open source antivirus program, which
means it comes with the programming source code. ClamWin has a high
detection rate for viruses and spyware, but does not include a real-time
scanner. This means you have to rely on scheduled or manual scans to detect
viruses. Normally I view open source software as a Good Thing, but in the
case of security software, I wonder if it might help the Bad Guys exploit
the defenses. Using it in conjunction with another anti-virus program might
be a good strategy.
f.. AOL Internet Security - gives you a comprehensive and free set of
Internet safety tools, including anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall to
help keep hackers out. Under the covers, this package is McAfee's VirusScan
Plus, which is rated high technically, but gets so-so reviews because it
tends to use a lot of system resources.
g.. CA Antivirus from Computer Associates (formerly called EZ Anti-Virus)
is my personal favorite amongst the freebies antivirus tools. RoadRunner
makes this available for free to their customers, but anyone can get a
3-month free trial. I've used this program for several years, and have been
very happy with the protection it provides when scanning both emails and
downloaded files.
h.. Microsoft Security Essentials is a new free security tool from
Microsoft, released in October 2009. It's meant to provide protection not
just from viruses, but also spyware, rootkits, and trojans as well.
_______________________________________________
The Eugene PC User Group's mailing list
Write to this list at: [email protected]
To unsubscribe just send an email to: [email protected]
To change your maillist options or view the archive visit:
http://epcug.net/mailman/listinfo/pcusers_epcug.net
