Surfinusa
Premium
join:2001-02-08 | Looking for a good free Anti-Virus Program
Any suggestions? |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
| I'd recommend AVG Free. Have been using it for years and install/recommend it often. »free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/
As many people will respond, you'll get as many different answers.
My suggestion - just pick one of the top 3 free ones and you'll be fine!
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Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter |
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Alwill
Lost time is never found again.
Premium
join:2002-09-25
Sydney, OZ
| reply to Surfinusa
This AV Poll 2007 shows the two programs, AVG and Avast, which have free versions to be among the top attracting most votes.
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Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy - Anonymous |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| reply to Surfinusa
I recommend Avira. It is far superior to the other two free ones. I love it! I switched from Kaspersky in January and so far I think it is the best AV I've had in a long while. It rated A+ at the highly respected AVComparatives website in the last tests last November. The other two rated much lower. Avira rated higher than all the others tested...including KAV. The latest tests are due to be published on March 1 and bets are being taken at Wilders as to which AV will be tops and Avira is by far the one most favored.
»www.free-av.com/
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"If you want to do DRM on a PC then you need to treat the user as the enemy." Ross Anderson in "`Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions"
»www.msfirefox.com/ |
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Surfinusa
Premium
join:2001-02-08 | Thanks
What about Firewall free? Any suggestions? Zone Alarm or ??? |
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danny9
Go Ahead, Make My Day
Premium
join:2002-07-14
Clinton Township, MI
clubs: 
 ·VoicePulse
 ·Comcast
| For a free anti virus, I would go with Avira, first, Avast,
2nd choice. Both are very good, but detection rates are better with Avira and it uses less resources.
Fire wall: Comodo
»www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
Again, try the ones you maybe interested in.
Get a feel for them and what runs on your system the best.
Good searching! 
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To Think or not to Think: That is the real question. VoicePulse 07/29/04 |
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Alwill
Lost time is never found again.
Premium
join:2002-09-25
Sydney, OZ
| reply to Surfinusa
said by Surfinusa  :Thanks What about Firewall free? Any suggestions? Zone Alarm or ??? There is also a Firewall 2007 Poll currently being conducted you might care to look at.
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Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy - Anonymous |
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Jer03
join:2006-08-16
Las Cruces, NM
| reply to Surfinusa
Any of the free AVs will give you adequate protection when combined with a good firewall.
Without question Avira has the best detection rate. However, it was buggy on my system, and I removed it. The lack of POP 3 email scanning is a problem for some, but I do not believe it is less secure that the Premium which does scan POP 3. Both of the other two freebies do scan POP 3 mail.
I have not used AVG in such a long time that I have no knowledge except what I hear from those I know who use it.
All of those folks are completely satisfied, and it seems to run without problems. It is an "install and forget" AV. It automatically updates.
It is the most popular AV among the people I know who use anything else other than Norton or McAfee.
Avast is my personal favorite of the freebies. It has always run well without a single problem when I have used it. It may be the heaviest of the three, but I never have noticed it.
My own recommendation is also to trial each of them. Start with whichever one you choose, but the only way to determine which is best for you is to give them a full trial.
I would also use at least a free version of either, a-squared, SuperAntiSpyware (my favorite), or AVG 7.5 AV. A periodic scan would be worth the time and effort.
Best,
Jerry |
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LeCurNon
join:2007-01-31
Escondido, CA | reply to Surfinusa
Visit virusbtn.com the professional AV testing lab. They have a VB100 page that rates AV products. Requires a free registration. Virus Bulletin is located in the UK and markets to professionals engaged in AV as users. |
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SpannerITWks
Premium
join:2005-04-22
| reply to Surfinusa
You can't do much better than Avira/AntiVir, free or paid ! Consistantly a top performer and detector/preventor.
Spanner
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I Only Know What I Know, But I'm Learning all The Time - Stay Safe - Spanner intheWorks
/SpannerITWks |
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LeCurNon
join:2007-01-31
Escondido, CA | re Avira: According to Virus Bulletin the Win NT, 2000, 2003 version 6.35 October 2006 failed the VB 100% test. New and older tested versions did pass 100%. |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
| reply to SpannerITWks
Perhaps this has been corrected, but I tried the free version of AntiVir a couple of months ago, and I found that the update downloading was very slow at times (especially after a major revision). Having read that the paid version uses different servers that work much faster, I considered buying the program, but the website provided no US-located facilities. In fact, I saw no way to pay for the program in dollars- you had to use Euros, so you not only had to pay the program cost but also a currency-exchange fee.
Even though AntiVir free seemed good in other respects, an antivirus program is crippled without current signatures, so I gave up on AntiVir and went back to Avast. I have never noticed any update problems with this program. |
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TAP
join:2006-03-16
| said by daveinpoway :Even though AntiVir free seemed good in other respects, an antivirus program is crippled without current signatures, so I gave up on AntiVir and went back to Avast. I have never noticed any update problems with this program. I totally agree with you. You point to the most important aspect of using an antivirus software, it's the updating.
The most reliable, real and complete automatic update system makes avast! Home Edition so different from other freebies. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| reply to daveinpoway
I got Avira in January after the major update. I have had NO problems with updating and I am way off in Hawaii. I even, contrary to advice, have it set to update at 2AM Hawaii Standard Time which is during prime time for the Avira servers yet I have not once had an update not work or even hesitate. Updates, including engine ones, are very fast. For the first time just one half hour ago I did get a pop up saying there was IE script error which was preventing the ad that one gets after updating. But the updating was already done...it was not affected ...just the ad which I didn't even realize was using IE which I seldom use. The script error was familar though as the current Winamp produces those in droves as its library dashboard is married to IE now.
At any rate, I think the updating problems are in the past. Plus, I saw yesterday where you can buy aVira for $27 or maybe it was $29...one of the two) USA dollars and I think it was the ad that pops up after the update (the one that tonight gave off the IE script error and didn't popup). I too had been put off by the apparent no way to buy from a USA redistributor but I did see last night that you can buy direct from Avira for 27 or 29 dollars USA price...no conversion from Euros. That is a good price and if I ever have problems with the updating (other than an IE script error that doesn't affect the update itself) then I will buy it. After I have used the free for a year, I would probably buy it anyway to support them.
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"If you want to do DRM on a PC then you need to treat the user as the enemy." Ross Anderson in "`Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions"
»www.msfirefox.com/ |
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Surfinusa
Premium
join:2001-02-08 | reply to Jer03
Pop3 scanning is a must. I don't need to get a virus through email. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| If you use Outlook Express, Microsoft has said many times NEVER use a AV to routinely scan OE. Plus, all Microsoft MVP's that frequent the Microsoft NGs state to not use an AV on OE or any email system for that matter.
The correct procedure is to ALWAYS download to disk any attachment in email and scan with your on demand AV scanner before opening. But you can forgo that and just let your AV real time scanner catch it when you try to open it. Why bother having a realtime scanner if you don't trust it? You don't need a separate email scanner. The only reason for those is so the vendors can sell to ignorant users more stuff and "justify" charging higher prices. They don't care that those scanners will mess with your email and can and will corrupt your files.
Also, most good broadband ISPs these days already scan all email incoming and outgoing at the gateway servers so your doing it also is redundant.
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"If you want to do DRM on a PC then you need to treat the user as the enemy." Ross Anderson in "`Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions"
»www.msfirefox.com/ |
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Surfinusa
Premium
join:2001-02-08 | Well Roadrunner doesn't scan incoming emails and Gmail doesn't scan incoming emails or attachments. I have had NAV and it does a good job scanning Outlook 2003. But now I am looking for a free AV that scans incoming email. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
1 edit | Road Runner has been scanning ALL incoming and outgoing mail at their gateway servers since late 2002. I don't know where you got the idea they don't scan. They use Symantec corporate and I was involved with Time Warner corporate in Virginia back several years ago in getting them to detect a varient of KlezE. The technical support manager of my division, a supervisor at TW corporate and Symantec and I all worked together on the detection. TW takes virus detection very seriously.
You cannot send an email from RR account that has an infected attachment. The only way would be to password protect the attachment as the Symantec scanner cannot open a password protected attachment. If you try to send an infected attachment you will get a message from the RR gateway mail server: ERROR:550: E-mail message contained a virus. You should get an email from Road Runner, if they have detected an incoming piece of mail with an infected attachment saying they cleaned the attachment or it was not cleanable and was deleted, etc.
»help.rr.com/HMSFaqs/e_mgsp.aspx?···%2fAbuse
»help.rr.com/HMSFaqs/e_outbound_e···Policies
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"If you want to do DRM on a PC then you need to treat the user as the enemy." Ross Anderson in "`Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions"
»www.msfirefox.com/ |
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HeelYeah
Premium
join:2004-02-11
Raleigh, NC
| reply to Surfinusa
This is the free version of KAV offered by AOL. Just deselect the AOL toolbar during installation.
»www.activevirusshield.com/antivi···dex.adp? |
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Surfinusa
Premium
join:2001-02-08
1 edit | thanks i guess you don't have to be an AOL user?
Also is this a firewall also or just AV? |
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