anti virus

**jerry** · March 14th, 2009, 09:15 AM

Does a free anti virus work just as well as a paid anti virus? What is the best free anti virus?

**NooNoo** · March 14th, 2009, 10:35 AM

In most cases yes.

You have to understand that each antivirus product is only as good as the reaction to a new virus... in other words, some poor user out there has to get the virus and has to report it to their antivirus company before they can code a new update for the virus and release it.

You might want to try comodo as that is a firewall and antivirus combined. The antivirus side is new, but they have proven to be the best firewall out there ever and it's free.

**slgrieb** · March 14th, 2009, 12:50 PM

In contrast to Noo's answer, I'll say "NO!" There is no free antivirus solution that has been as consistently effective over the years as the best paid programs. There are several independent organizations that test Antivirus software. ICSA Labs, AV-Test.org. and Virus Bulletin.com are good resources. I think Virus Bulletin has the best testing methodology, but I'd encourage you to look at all of them. You can find additional info from sources like PCMagazine, PCWorld, CNet, etc.

**CCT** · March 14th, 2009, 07:38 PM

The 2 people above me are tech experts.

I am an amateur.

I use Zone Alarm firewall, Avast anti-virus and Windows Defender anti-malware as 'active' barriers with a router.

I also run regular checks with Malwarebytes anti-malware, Spybot Search and Destroy anti-malware, HijackThis anti-malware and SuperAntiSpyware anti-malware.

I avoid sites that are 'bad' and take computer warnings seriously. I clean my caches and temp files regularly with CCleaner.

Even then, I regularly copy off my important stuff to 2 (two) other places so I have the data protected.

Buying or getting free - if you aren't careful, you are screwed.

**houseisland** · March 14th, 2009, 08:01 PM

Are common sense and caution as good as anti-virus software? Maybe. Keep up the patches on your OS. Don't porn surf. Don't go to hacker sites. Don't go to online gambling sites. Use a browser that fewer people are shooting at, like Firefox or Opera. Don't install warez or hackz-n-crackz. Don't click OK for any suspicious messages that pop up in browsers. Do a fair bit of research before installing freeware apps. Use a mail security program, like Mailwasher (the old freeware version), that does RBL lookup and allows the previewing of messages as text before choosing to delete them off the server or to download them to your PC. Your antivirus software will probably never have to do anything.

For freeware antivirus software I like Avira and Avast better than the alternatives. They had at one time better stats than some of the payware solutions. Avira is on most of my W9x boxes and VMs. I have Avast on some other things. Avira has a very small system footprint. Avast has a small footprint.

Any of the major payware company suites will probably be OK if you have a newer system. I used to use Panda because I could buy it for $6 to $13 a copy if I shopped carefullly and could install it on three PCs. I use Trend Micro now because ... welll because....

I also have Sophos on some of my wife's old systems because she gets it free through work. It is another very small footprint solution. It is not common outside of the corporate/academic world, though.

If you are a gamer you will probably be happy with something like Esset's Nod32 or a Kaspersky product - minimal system impact and you can easily turn the idiot-mitten system lockdowns, scans, and updates, the things that get you killed in games, off if you choose. They also have good stats.

____________________________________________

It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

**Ferrit** · March 14th, 2009, 09:41 PM

I am in agreement with slgrieb. A free version "DOES NOT"
work as well.
I mean think about it. If you have an antivirus program that works equal to someone elses who sells it.
Who in his right mind would give it away?
Thats just the common sense of it never mind the technical end.
As houseisland said so well it really also makes a huge difference what your surfing habits are.
In the end it also comes down to what do you store on your system and could you afford to loose it all to a worst case scenario?

**jerry** · March 15th, 2009, 03:21 PM

alot of opinions out there. Thanks guys

**NooNoo** · March 15th, 2009, 04:11 PM

Just one thing to add

Free antivirus is better than no antivirus....

**Ferrit** · March 15th, 2009, 08:00 PM

Originally Posted by NooNoo

Just one thing to add

Free antivirus is better than no antivirus....

While I would mostly agree that is true .
I think in some cases a false sense of security can be very very bad.

**geeksRus** · March 15th, 2009, 10:14 PM

Just to throw some more fuel on the fire...what would be the point to distributing a free antivirus that doesn't work? Who would buy your Pro or Enterprise version then? BTW I use Avira's free version. It is top rated and I like the small footprint. Just my 2 cents.

**geoscomp** · March 15th, 2009, 11:13 PM

I mean think about it. If you have an antivirus program that works equal to someone elses who sells it.
Who in his right mind would give it away?

generally the free version is just the antivirus, while the paid version is the complete internet security suite. Giving you the free version, with it's usual upgrade commentary gives the company the connection to you as a customer....standard marketing techniques. That doesn't mean the antivirus is deficient in any way as an antivirus..just that it isn't a complete security suite. If you understand that and take the steps to make sure you have all the other parts of the suite in one way or another, you should be fine.

**Niclo Iste** · March 16th, 2009, 12:47 AM

Realistically speaking all virus scanners are reactive defenses that are only as good as their latest update. Even the most up to date highest level virus scanner can still be breached by a very new innovative virus. The trick really is more in knowing how to avoid being in such a situation and having an effective virus scan that can make up for the relative ability you have in avoiding infections. If one were to not want any chances of any infection at all I'd say never install anything, or plug in any media, or go online. However we all know that isn't even an option. If you're not wanting to pony up the cash for a more secure scanner then I can only suggest making up for the lack of a high end scanner by practicing safer habits in what you open and accept in your mail, web surfing, and download activity. Even with the best you need to still practice caution or you can still fall prey however not as frequently. As was stated earlier "Any antivirus is better than no antivirus" and that is true as even the worst scanner out there will at least inhibit the infection from doing its absolute worst. This of course doesn't mean that the worst can't happen.

By the way I prefer NOD32 over all the other scanners out there. I've had to do some bench testing for a company and NOD32 was the most balanced and effective as far as size, speed, and performance impact.

There are tons of free scanners out there and the ones I use most frequently are AVG or Bitdefender. I haven't tested all the free ones for many reasons. The biggest is I don't get paid to test free stuff and I don't get any big spending clients who have a need for the "best free scanner".

**BOB IROC** · March 16th, 2009, 11:52 AM

One thing I want to add is that some ISPs like Comcast and AT&T offer McAfee security Center to their subscribers for free. I think the same is true of other DSL and Cable internet providers across the country. Just food for thought.

In addition to antivirus you have to think of spyware. I have become a huge fan of SpyWareBlaster. Its free as long as you manually update it and it seems to be a good immunizer. I use that on my personal computers and all computers I fix and give the end user some nice simple instructions on how to update it or where to pay their $10 to get the autoupdates.

**Niclo Iste** · March 16th, 2009, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by BOB IROC

One thing I want to add is that some ISPs like Comcast and AT&T offer McAfee security Center to their subscribers for free. I think the same is true of other DSL and Cable internet providers across the country. Just food for thought.

In addition to antivirus you have to think of spyware. I have become a huge fan of SpyWareBlaster. Its free as long as you manually update it and it seems to be a good immunizer. I use that on my personal computers and all computers I fix and give the end user some nice simple instructions on how to update it or where to pay their $10 to get the autoupdates.

I'm not so sure the McAfee is free. I've had some clients go over their bill when talking to me and they realize that the ISP charged anywhere from 15-55 dollars for the so called free McAfee. They tend to have a 1-3 year license listed next to the charge.

**BOB IROC** · March 16th, 2009, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by Niclo Iste

I'm not so sure the McAfee is free. I've had some clients go over their bill when talking to me and they realize that the ISP charged anywhere from 15-55 dollars for the so called free McAfee. They tend to have a 1-3 year license listed next to the charge.

I just checked Comcast which is the cable provider here in Chicagoland and AT&T which supplies DSL and uVerse and both state that iMcAfee Security Center is in fact FREE with your ISP subscription.

http://security.comcast.net/

I would link the AT&T but you need to log in to see the info and download McAfee. I have AT&T DSL but choose to use McAfee Enterprise because I am licensed to do so from work.