Free anti-virus program?

[theultimateend]

I'm using Microsoft Internet Security.

It is free and it doesn't put a thumb in my ass every 5 minutes which is nice.

I get tired of AV being more annoying than virii.

 

[Dark Knifer]

I use Ad-Aware and spybot for cookies, viruses etc and there both free so it works well for me =)

 

[niglett]

avast anti virus
great stuff

 

[Huupertti]

Avira or avast, I personally prefer avira...

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I use AVIRA. Free, self-updates, isn't bloatware, catches most of them.

I'd put a big vote AGAINST AVG though, as that's total bloatware now. (Huge file size and does loads of things that you need to option for/against)

If it's a Pandora's box of virii though, I'd just format and start again. Even hope's not gonna survive in there.

 

[imp_spittle]

I've been using AVG and Ad-Aware for ages; they seem to do the trick.

I will also put in a vote in favor of Malwarebytes. I had a bad infection of something or other that wouldn't go away; Malwarebytes wiped the bastards out.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Malaware and spybot are pretty awesome. AVG in my exp is crap.

 

[Jovlo]

I use A-Squared, it's free, also removes spyware but the free version doesn't come with a firewall.
It found two more trojans on my pc that Avira missed.
Find it here:
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

It's the anti virus program the tech service of my university recommends.

 

[Trivun]

Unless you're using a free trial of something recognised that you'd normally pay for, can I just say one thing?

[HEADING=1]Do not trust freeware anti-virus programs.[/HEADING]

My reasoning behind this is that I've tried half of the freeware programs people have been listing and they've either not worked, or more often, caused more problems. Only use freeware if it's a free trial of a program that is widely recognised as being a good program, like McAffee or Norton. I use Norton 360 and although you have to pay a yearly subscription, it's the best anti-virus program I've used in a hell of a long time. I had a free year because it came with my laptop, after that ended I straight away paid the second year subscription. It's worked perfectly for me. But definitely don't trust freeware, it won't work, believe me.

 

[Insomniac55]

First off, DL this.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
Let it run it's initial scan, (Will take a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time) delete all virus' if possible.

This, but do a quick scan rather than a full scan. It will only take 5-15 minutes and will catch everything that the full scan can. Full scan is merely a 'just in case' scan that may catch a few inactive, harmless remains of past malware, and will not catch any active infection that a quick scan won't (according to the developers).

 

[Dommyboy]

Unless you're using a free trial of something recognised that you'd normally pay for, can I just say one thing?

[HEADING=1]Do not trust freeware anti-virus programs.[/HEADING]

My reasoning behind this is that I've tried half of the freeware programs people have been listing and they've either not worked, or more often, caused more problems. Only use freeware if it's a free trial of a program that is widely recognised as being a good program, like McAffee or Norton. I use Norton 360 and although you have to pay a yearly subscription, it's the best anti-virus program I've used in a hell of a long time. I had a free year because it came with my laptop, after that ended I straight away paid the second year subscription. It's worked perfectly for me. But definitely don't trust freeware, it won't work, believe me.

Do not trust the red text!

Avast and AVG work quite well, and Avast! gives you all the software for spyware and so forth too, all for free. I used to run it myself. Though get Spybot Search & Destroy, it works great and helps protect your computer too.

I find Norton to be worse then viruses, it's like bogged down spam and nothing more.

I use AVG Internet Security 9 (which is the full package, with the firewall too), and it works great. The firewall is quite well made and does what I want, unlike many others I've encountered.

 

[Trivun]

Unless you're using a free trial of something recognised that you'd normally pay for, can I just say one thing?

[HEADING=1]Do not trust freeware anti-virus programs.[/HEADING]

My reasoning behind this is that I've tried half of the freeware programs people have been listing and they've either not worked, or more often, caused more problems. Only use freeware if it's a free trial of a program that is widely recognised as being a good program, like McAffee or Norton. I use Norton 360 and although you have to pay a yearly subscription, it's the best anti-virus program I've used in a hell of a long time. I had a free year because it came with my laptop, after that ended I straight away paid the second year subscription. It's worked perfectly for me. But definitely don't trust freeware, it won't work, believe me.

Do not trust the red text!

Avast and AVG work quite well, and Avast! gives you all the software for spyware and so forth too, all for free. I used to run it myself. Though get Spybot Search & Destroy, it works great and helps protect your computer too.

I find Norton to be worse then viruses, it's like bogged down spam and nothing more.

I use AVG Internet Security 9 (which is the full package, with the firewall too), and it works great. The firewall is quite well made and does what I want, unlike many others I've encountered.

Maybe it's just that your computer is different to mine then. But I tried Avast and AVG and they both simply caused more Trojans to end up on my PC. But when I used Norton 360 it worked like a charm, and Norton has always worked well for me. And with my computer it just runs silently in the background too, perfectly fine, and it's managed to find and delete plenty of malware in the past. Like I say, maybe your computer is simply different to mine...

 

[ender214]

Avira's Professional Edition has some top ranking benchmarks in detection according to PC Magazine, trumping even Norton and McAfee. Not sure about the rankings of the free edition but it's worked fairly well for me. However, Avira lacks bonus features, has a mediocre interface, and only decent scan speeds.

 

[SonicKoala]

AVG all the way - I don't use it anymore, since I got a free one year subscription to norton right now, but as far as free virus programs go, AVG is pretty good.

 

[Comma-Kazie]

Use a combination of AVG and Malwarebytes--AVG acts as a good shield, but if something slips past Malwarebytes is the best scalpel to remove them on the internet.

Best of all, they're both free.

 

[TransMando]

There is a really good free anti-virus program called: Don't get a computer and never go on the internet. It saves you somewhere between $200 - $1500+ upfront.

I jest, I love computers.

I am not aware of anything that is free that really works. Norton isn't bad from a purchasing standpoint.

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

@Trivun, Im surprised Norton did anything. EVERY TIME I used it, it was a nightmare.

Free-Wise, I personally recommend AVG 9.0-Free.

There's... "Other" methods of anti virus but we shan't speak of those. If you buy one though, Avast! is a good one. Doing me quite well so far, not a single virus and that's with my moronic sister using Frostwire.

EDIT: and NEVER run two anti-virus programs at once. anyone who says so and INST a programmer savvy should be dragged onto the street and crushed by the computer powering Bill Gates' home.

 

[junkmanuk]

As you've probably noticed, there's an amusing, almost MS/Sony, fanboyishness about antivirus products

I've been very happy with Avast! for several years, as have the numerous friends/relatives who have it installed as well. I can't vouch for AVG as I used to use it until about 2006 but then it got worse... Based on the previous posts I presume it's improved a lot since then though.

For paid solutions, the latest interation of Symantec Antivirus came out on top in several reviews this year, surprisingly as previous years they have been criticised for their sluggishness and large memory footprint. McAfee have slipped a little this year otherwise I'd recommend that, the same with Trend Micro's offering. All three are still very capable though.

 

[Blanks]

I use Anti-Virus Gold, it's free and works fantastically

that's all i got