Antivirus

AVG Free Edition AVG has developed a reputation in recent years for developing one of the most popular antiviruses out there on the market today. AVG’s free edition of this antivirus comes with all the important components, including virus scanning, real-time updates, and automatic protection. Although AVG claims that it uses very little system resources it substantially slowed down my PC performance. Granted, I was testing this antivirus on an older PC, but the amount of system resources it used up while I was running the program really made a huge impact. Another very handy feature of this free edition is it’s famous “Virus Vault”, where you can handle infected files in a safe environment – this is to ensure that you will not lose important files that you will need to recover. Direct Download Avast! Home Edition Available only for strictly home use (no organizational use allowed), Avast has developed a strong following in recent years for being a no-nonsense free antivirus for those wishing for quick and easy protection, in addition to many other features normally only available in paid versions. Features of Avast include P2P and instant messenger protection, network and web shield, virus chest, system integration, an integrated virus cleaner, and much more. Automatic updates ensure that the virus definitions never go out of date, and that you are always protected with the latest virus scanning technology.  Direct Download BitDefender Free Edition Bitdefender has come a long way in recent years, becoming one of the top choice free antiviruses out there on the market. It is an on-demand type of antivirus, which means that it is not always on, but rather, can be called upon by when it is needed. Although this may seem counter beneficial at first, it is actually a hidden and powerful advantage – in that it does not use up vital system resources scanning your computer when it is not necessary. This is good news of course for people with slow computers, but also means that it can easily be installed and used whenever you want, without it’s installation getting in the way. Even with new state of the art computers and operating systems, an always-on antivirus is not always the way to go, and can even slow down the best systems at times. Being an on-demand antivirus, it is best used for system recovery mode, and is ideal for users who are connected to the internet on a regular basis, but not for those who are “always on” the internet. For these types of users, Bitdefender recommends that you upgrade to a more powerful version of their software (the paid version). Bitdefender comes with all the mandatory features of a free antivirus: - Virus scanning and removal - Scheduled scanning - Immediate scanning The free version of this software also comes with various other nifty features such as the “reporting feature” where you can see the status of past scans, and a “Quarantine” feature, which lets you isolate infected files for treatment – important if you are not into losing important files due to viruses – which is really all of us. Must Register to Download Norton Security Scan Once in a while a piece of free software is released by a big software company with a respectable track record, which takes the online world by storm. It is definitely possible that Norton Security Scan could be one of them. Developed by Symantec, and bundled with the free “Googlepack”, the much respected developers of the award winning “Norton Antivirus”, and “Norton Internet Security Suite”, Norton Security Scan is a cut down version of the popular antivirus software, which provide all the necessary features of an effective antivirus software without all the bells and whistles. Norton Security Scan offers users the ability to scan their computers “on demand”. This means that you can up Norton whenever you need to scan your computer for viruses, and don’t touch it when you don’t need it. This is important, as many of the latest antivirus products out there, though claiming to be system resource friendly, actually waste a lot of computing power constantly scanning your PC, even when you least need it (such as during idle times). Norton Security Scan avoids this problem by allowing you to scan your computer by choice whenever you need it, and does a very fine job of it too. Norton also offers the ability to perform scheduled scans, to ensure that your computer is always protected, and as Norton users so little system resources, scans often go unnoticed on my PC (just the way I like it). All this, coupled with it’s regular virus definition updates, and intuitive user-interface, Norton Security Scan is one antivirus that won’t be beaten anytime soon. Download as part of Google Pack Kaspersky Lab Free Virus Scan The free virus scan claims to be able to scan your computer online for any viruses or spyware on your machine, without you having to install new software, or uninstall your existing antivirus. The website argues that by running Kaspersky online, you can quickly see what viruses your current antivirus installation has let slipped through. As the free online scanner uses Microsoft's ActiveX technology, you need access the Kasper free scanner using Internet Explorer only. Free Scan