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Introduction
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Antivirus software provides an essential layer of protection from a multitude of virus, trojan, worm, spyware, adware, dialer, keylogger and rootkit infections. Traditionally antivirus programs just detected viruses and spyware removers just detected spyware but nowadays the boundary between antivirus and spyware removers is unclear. Most current antiviruses have at least reasonably good detection rates of all forms of malware. Malware includes viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, dialers, keyloggers and rootkit threats that perform malicious activities on a computer. With the huge increase in malware, antivirus software cannot keep up with detecting all of it. But using more than one real-time antivirus uses much more system resources, can cause conflicts and even reduce protection. So I recommend you only choose one antivirus for real-time protection. Instead, you can increase your protection using other security software. I looked at several free antivirus programs which are vital in protecting your computer from virus threats and other types of malware. |
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Discussion
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First, quite a few users have recently complained about the signature updates being very slow or not working, and this is a serious problem. There are instructions on an alternate method to download updates here. Second, AntiVir does not include web or e-mail scanning capabilities; this is only available in the paid version. The lack of an e-mail scanner is not really a disadvantage, it just means that AntiVir won't warn you of infected emails before you open them. But should you open an infected email, AntiVir will still spring into action, so it doesn't mean that you're not protected from email-based infections. Third, AntiVir has advertisements that appear with every update, although you can disable these ads. Finally, AntiVir has a time-limited license. It is renewable, but be aware that you'll have to periodically go through the hoops.
Microsoft Security Essentials is by far the best choice for average users because of the minimal user interaction required. It automatically updates and removes threats. No registration is needed, apart from a quick validating of Windows, and there are no nag screens or advertisements. The main downsides are the slow scan speeds and the lengthy amount of time it takes to quarantine malware. MSE also is not available in certain countries so users there will have to look elsewhere. Note that MSE requires a genuine copy of Windows to install.
On the other hand, Avast has a high rate of false positives. Like AntiVir, it also requires periodic re-registration, whereas MSE and AVG Free do not.
However, AVG Antivirus free has grown considerably in size and resource usage, and has very slow scan speeds. AVG also had continuous problems with updating signatures on my computer. AVG has advertisements, but they can be disabled.
These free antivirus programs are excellent software that provide a real alternative to the major commerical antivirus products. You can increase your protection if you run on-demand scans with another antivirus. On-demand scans can be run regularly to check for viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, keyloggers, rootkits and other malware that may have been missed by your main antivirus scanner. If you have a good preventive security strategy in place, however, the extra protection an on-demand antivirus scanner offers is minimal. You can also use one of the free antiviruses mentioned above as an on-demand antivirus scanner. One advantage is that you can set scheduled scans if you wish. Avira AntiVir Personal Edition: During the install, under "Choose Installation Type" select "Custom", and under "Install Components" untick "AntiVir Guard". Avast! Home Edition: During the install, under "Configuration" select "Custom", and untick all the items under "Resident Protection". AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition: In the interface, open the "Resident Shield Component" and untick "Resident Shield Active".
Please help us by rating this review
I'll also mention several popular free antivirus programs which I considered but did not include in the review because of low detection rates.
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I think you should add test of Panda Cloud Antivirus: http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll wait a few weeks first to see if it is tested by AV-Test, AV-Comparatives, etc.
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/order/24h/ 24 hours only!
I just installed mine! I am surprised at how light A-squared is! This has just replaced my free AV, for a year anyway...
Thanks for the link but notice of this has been in our Hot Finds section for a while now.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/get-squared-anti-malware-free-1-...
It's worth checking this section regularly because sometimes offers get posted at very short notice because it isn't always possible for us to get advance notice.
Hello MC-What is your opinion on the new product by BluePoint Security that tested so well over at Malware Research Group? Thanks for your opinion.
BluePoint is commercial software with only a 14 day trial and way too new for me to offer any form of balanced opinion. With only a handful of people registered in their forum, some issues are already being raised which most of us can do without. Considering the amount of established freeware alternatives (plus zero cost commercial offers posted here) I would steer well clear of this one for at least several months. During this period user feedback will become more clear and more reliable as the numbers increase and we will also see how serious they are at independent scrutiny if they submit the product for testing at AV_Comparatives or AV-Test org.
With your permission, I would like to invite your readers to take a look at the following article (about Microsoft's Security Essentials 1.0) - a review published, two months ago, in PC Magazine, by their security expert, Neil J. Rubenking:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2353386,00.asp
One quote: "The just-released Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 offers consumers protection against malware, but in real-world testing it didn't impress."
And a link to another article - "Rivals mock Microsoft's free security software" (yes, I know, the readers' reply will be "pitiless", but I want to remind them that I am not the guy who wrote it):
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9138667/Rivals_mock_Microsoft_s_f...
One quote: "It's no surprise that top-tier security vendors like Trend Micro and Symantec dismissed Security Essentials."
And my last invitation: find out about the "Top 3 countries for malicious URLs", the "Biggest malicious program", the "Smallest malicious program", the "Top 3 countries hosting sites which spread malware", and others; from Kaspersky Labs:
http://www.virus.gr/portal/en/content/kaspersky-malware-miscellany,-sept...
I thank you for your attention.
Wolfram
Very interesting readings. I was particularly suprised to see how many bad URL's originate in Canada and the US.
I really don't think Microsoft Security Essentials is such a bad program. People who have no protection will certainly try it. I wonder if Windows Update can detect if a computer has no anti-virus installed and make Microsoft Security Essentials a High-Priority download if they are not protected. It would be great if that were possible.
We have a new free antivirus that has just come out of beta. Panda Cloud is final.
http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/
I am currently using Avira antivirus...Can I also use the new Panda considering it is "in the cloud" or will there still be a conflict? If so which is recommended? Thanks
At a minimum you would risk degrading the performance of both applications by using them together. At worse you would risk infection through compromised effectiveness or a system crash.
This release of Panda supposedly fixes the CPU and memory issues widely reported plus some other bugs but I would still not rely on it as a front line solution. Maybe they have got it working right this time but I would still wait a while to review the forum threads and see some more independent test results. Even though Avira has had it's moments with updates recently (for some) I would rather keep this proven performer than replace it with something like Panda.
I know that sometimes new programs look highly attractive especially when different technology is touted as being 'next generation' or whatever. This fact isn't lost on the vendors either who seek to hype this to suit their own agenda. There's nothing wrong with this, it's just marketing, but it's still marketing. The forums, tech sites and research groups like AV_Comparatives are the places to see the best information, rather than any vendors website. I had high hopes for Panda Cloud when it first came onto the scene but so far those hopes have yet to be realized. The one thing we know for certain about Avira though is that it works. So does Avast! come to that and they have a new version due out shortly. I don't follow this development so closely so I'm not sure about the release date but no doubt Anupam will post the details here about 30 seconds after it hits Softpedia!
THANKS MC for such a thorough reply!
I gave Panda free a test drive and it starts up like MSE on my XP SP-3. On start up, I get a Warning message from Security Center, "Your computer might be at risk, Panda is not turned on" 7 sec later, the message goes away and the Panda bear on my tool bar say's Panda is on. Avast 4 and 5 beta start up immediately like an AV is suppose too. I also noticed a teeny-tiny drag, just enough to know that Panda is there, but not really a problem. Avast 5 beta is so light, that I cannot feel it there at all. I guess I am simply an Avast 5 beta user...
Thanks! I'm giving Panda free a test drive now. It would have been nice to have seen a message telling me, I have to go into my email to activate it. Some users might not figure that out, get discouraged and uninstall Panda...
I'm in love with Microsoft Security Essentials. I really don't find that it scans any slower than the other free anti-virus programs I've tried, and not being able to pause it is a non-issue for me. It uses few resources and is extremely user-friendly. In fact, I don't even notice it's there. It's the perfect fit for a Windows user. It does an exceptional job at detecting threats, and updates without any fuss. I highly recommend it. I won't go back to other free anti-virus programs.
You might like to add as a downside to MSE - not only is the scanning super slow you can't pause it.
I see there are some people that complain about Avira AntiVir Personal Edition not updating, I have not had that problem, but I would like to offer a suggestion just to see if it works.
Go to Configure AntiVir, check Expert Mode, go to the General tab, go to Update, under Product Updates select Download And Install Updates Automatically, and then click Ok; if you have a firewall or some other network related item, make sure it is not blocking Avira AntiVir from updating as well.
I noticed that sometimes when I installed or re-installed Avira AntiVir, the Automatic Update option would be unselected for some strange reason, this would just happen on its own; but after re-selecting it, it stays set until you install a new version or re-install sometimes.
I hope that helps,
-John
FYI, that is for "program" updates not virus definition updates.
Darn, silly me, thank for clarifying that.
-John
Any news on the status of AVAST 5? Thanks to anyone who can reply!
Final release date, November. You can check out Avast Support Forum, and Wilders Security Forums.
I am really intrigued by this Microsoft Security Essentials. I currently use Avira AntiVir Personal Edition which is absolutely fantastic but I may have to try Microsoft Security Essentials to see how it compares. I remember when the top pic on here was AVG so many moons ago.
Keep up the good work
IMHO, AVG was once a great free product. It worked well on my older Pentium computers, but they seemed to have gotten lost along the way. If only the companies would concentrate on making a good anti-virus and let the middle ground be filled by new apps.
Hello,
I have installed the new Microsoft Security Essentials program on my old Nannas laptop
She is 92 by the way, walks 5km every day and surfs the net with the best of them - she just hates things popping up warning her all the time though.
The only thing is of course that it doesn't offer any zero day protection. Is there a free version of any program that will work with MSE and protect against these zero day viruses etc?
Ideally something that won't cause too many popups for her :-)
Cheers,
Paul.
Check out the most recent Zero Day testings.
http://translate.google.at/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.anti-malwa...
I agree with MC, ThreatFire is a great choice.
I'd say Threatfire but you might get some other opinions as well.
Don't forget the other stuff like browser protection and alternative DNS servers if none of this is configured yet.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/safe-computing-under-hour.htm
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-browser-protection-utility.htm
Thank you very much Midnight Cowboy (and others as well).
I installed threatfire on the computer and it is working great (no pop ups so far) :-)
Much appreciate all the help everyone gives on this site.
Cheers,
Paul
The use of Avira Free is a potential risk these days. They have long standing problems with updates of the program and definition files. It's now for weeks that it is not possible to update Avira 9 automatically. They advise on the forums to update manually! Yeah right, explain that to your wife and children before they hit the internet!
Is not a problem!
Avira Company do that for the reason to by version Premium.
The surver for Premium versin don't have a problem.
That is for by Premium version
Most of the 100 million people don't know that the premium version has a deicated server that works. Most of these people see that their free version doesn't work and they look elsewhere. They don't fork out money because they expect the same ... updates from the paid product. I used Avira but this year there have been so many update problems, and their forums can attest to that, that I gave up on it. Had I not had these problems I would probably have purchased the premium edition from them. Surely the investment of a free update server system would be cost effective in bringing in buying of their paid products. Instead we get the same excuses from them and nothing has been done to rectify the issue. There's no better way than that to point your users to the competition. And for me that means I will now be sending my money to Avast, well as soon as they get a stable version 5 out I will be!
Editor's note: inappropriate language was removed
Very many excited users are waiting on the Avast 5 suite! I am personally excited about Avast 5 free final...
fact of the matter is even the paid products have problems,there is no one perfect solution to safe surfing.i appreciate avira for providing us with a free high quality av (check rating on vb 100. but you should be using layers
of protection where free or paid.by the you can configure task manager to update avira daily if updates are available.where would some of us be without
free software.
Well then find the funds to buy software (Trend, Norton, McAfee, etc) so when your kids get online you don't have to worry about it! I'm sure the wife could do the manual update if she is shown. My 5 y.o. does the manual update on our free spyware and is more technical than doing a manual on Avira or MSE.
Avira Antivir Personal is simply the best solution to all online threats. I never had any problem with Avira and its better than many expensive antivirus softwares available e.g.(Kaspersky,Nod32,Symantec etc). I compared them all and exposed them to online threats and I found Avira to be the most effective. I would recommend Avira to everyone as a reliable antivirus software.
Yes. When It Updates, Which Is Not Always The Case...
Who cares whether it automatically updates? It is "FREE" software and if you have to take the time to manually do it then it is what it is.
Please tell it to these free Avira users. Oh and good luck trying.
http://forum.avira.com/wbb/index.php?page=Board&boardID=135&s=2577d5ee07...
Why bother to manual update Avira, when Avast updates automatically and is also an excellent product? Being free is no excuse, because free is free advertising for the company which helps sell the paid product.
I was running Avira Free yesterday and it came up with 7 warnings. Two were the usual warnings about the pagefile and hibernate file, but the other 5 pointed to some Zone Alarm files on a drive that was something like:
c:\System Volume Information............zonelabs44.exe or something to that effect.
Now since it was a warning I ignored it. I deleted Avira and installed the trial version of BullGuard Security. When it went through the install it detected Zone Alarm to be installed still. I deleted the directories and cleaned up the registry, but it still showed up. The program did eventually install but it's just weird that there seems to be Zone Alarm files on part of my hard drive that I can't access?
Suggestions? Or has anyone else had this issue?
I suggest that you toggle your system restore.
Some general malware info:
http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/state-of-internet-insecurity.htm...
I have Windows Vista. I read in some forum that AVG slowed some guy's PC down, so I won't bother with it. MS Security Essentials slowed down my PC a lot of the time and Avast! slowed it down ALL of the time. Avira AntiVir works great, with quick updates and no-problems scanning.
Keep a good eye on those updates, because they won't last. Mine would not update for a whole week, until I finally got wise and dumped it for Avast free.
I've been using Avira for over a year now and see it updating constantly. I don't understand the comments I've read about infrequent updates because I've never experienced it!
The Avira free update problem might be regional. I have read many users complaining on a few different websites and there are certainly plenty of unhappy users on the Avira free forum.
hey Microsoft Security Essentials is most likely crap, like Microsoft live one care and Microsoft defender
Surely you have tested it personally against 0-day malware and read the latest tests as we have done?
LOL. I think someone just dropped by to Rant a little or a lot. The crew over at Wilders are mainly concerned with an updating bug found with MSE. Other than that, MSE has received decent reviews by them.
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