And the best free antivirus is...

S

Hi Digitans

,
There are many free things on the internet and would like to know the best free antivirus program. U can buy NAV but what's the fun ? Freeware is what I look for.
AVG is good but it's resident shield is ineffective. The other antivirus programs I used either ask me to pay for updates or give updates only once in ages :wink:

!
Any experience with free Antivirus programs? :?:

F

Well about 3 months ago i personally tried 4-5 different antivirus on different machines of our college. And fromt hat experience Antivir is the best option and not AVG.
Antivir has very small footprint. Just 4.2 MB download size, so great for dialup users. It dosent hog system memory like norton on AVG does. Its reviews suggest it has better detection rate than AVG and on par with NAV, in fact there no virus that NAV can find and deal with and Antivir cant.
auto updates are easy, you can also download update manually.
And yesh update files are also small unlike NAV which makes you download huge files.

Just give it a try, you wont be disappointed
Get it here
*www.free-av.com/

Grisoft's NEW AVG 7 FREE Edition based on AVG 7 PRO rules.

S

well

know what the best option is
one to rely on only one software and install few of them
by the way i think free is fre e
it is better to invest some thing now then u invest later after u lose ur data to cure virus
well avg i have many times seen it only inform ur computer has been infected
so best way pay some thing and buy a nice av from ur local store'
i think most of paid one are nice i say most not all
i dont mean fre ones are bad but
go back to thoery no thing in the world come to u free
so thanks
saha

L

go
*housecall.antivirus.com
the best online antivirus scan i ve seen. although i have norton i go to their site and run their scan every week. it takes time to download their engine but thats a price you pay

! no free lunches out here!

AVG my choice!!!

N

AVG has a good detection rate

AVG and Antivir both are good

kaspersky rulezzz

S

AVG dude.s.. this thread shd've have a since there are very few free AVs..

well mates
many might have different opinions ..... but i would go with Avast !! its the best free antivirus ...
regards
arvind

I've used AVG for a long time. It detects many trojans but failed to detect blaster in my CD even after 3 months since blaster's removal tool was made. I update my antivirus every 3 days. I couldn't update my windows coz I had fresh installed version and th CD contained the updates. The funny thing is I downloaded Blaster as an critical update from MS site.

Let me put up my review
AVG:
pros:
1) Basic inteface. No stress on cpu and mem. I played Serious Sam and Quake 3 without knowing that AVg was doing a scheduled scan.
2)Easy to configure and install.
3) Updates released every 2 days.
4) Has heuristics
5) It has 2 separate programs and a process which takes negligible mem and cpu. Even when 2 programs (control centre and AVG for Win) are not loaded it can warn about viral activity and tell u to launch antivirus progam due to the process.
cons:
1) doesn't have database of virii. It can say which class of virii it is but not its exact name
2) It can detect virii but not remove them. It can remove small trojans but nothing more. How can it give info how to remove blaster when it can't name it?
3) there are 2 separate programs. Control centre does the detection of viral activity. When it finds a virus it tells u to launch the main program and scan. So u have to scan the whole hard disk. If it caught why not remove it immediately?
4)no tech support entertained.

I am using avg free for over two years now.My comp vever got infected with a virus.....I also have nav which i dont run continiously...just for a weekly manual scan...My choice AVG.A ntivir is good but gives too much false warning.Their heuristic scan is too much sensitive yaaar !!!!!!!!

P

AVG is good.

A

AVG rules !!! in free catag its best

S

been using avg but am not at all satisfied with the performance and am very very pleased with the performance of

surprise surprise

its zonealarm security suites antivirus.

altho i downloaded it and am running it without payiong abuck to thge zone guys i will say its good and as far as the resident detection is concerned i have seen antivir screw the a**es of quite alot of viruses

but antivir is not gud in treating the infections
here comes into play zone's antivirfus
it has got quite a gud tretament paln and itr has almost treated every virus threat i threw on it.

people i downloaded Norton System Works and with it i got a keygen also
the keygens ok but as they say nothin comes free so it was a trojan and the first antivirus to detect it was antivir with zone being the second and AVG sittin mum.

people i dont have the free version of AVG i have and use the professional version and seriously i think it suxxxxxxx

zones security suite has everything that u need starting from the firewall, antivirus, privacy manager and loads other stuff buddies.
my vote goes to Antivir for best detection and resident shield in the free category and zone in terms of curing infections.

S

so guys as far as antivirus is u need too try out newer ones and as already said there is nothin like a free lunch so start diggin ur pockets for money and buy the best or use my rules and download warez

F

well no.
I will rather format my PC than useing Norton. I hate norton, it consumes too much system resources, delayed restart is pain in a$$.
I wont use warez of Norton bcoz its best. For 99% of our needs there is good enough freeware out there.
Every single software on my pc is either legit or freeware. Warez come with their own problems. I can understand people using pirated OS and office ( office has very good alternative in the form of openoffice and 602prp PCSUIT ) but there are sooo many alternatives to everything else including Norton. I dont like AVG but i would rather use AVG if given choice between AVG and Norton, both consume system resources but AVG consume less resources.

Antivirus is 1 thing but you know 80% of the virus can be avoided just by enabling the firewall in windows xp or free firewalls like zonealarm. for rest 20% AVG, Antivir are good enough.

P

I think avast is also not a bad option either!!

@silvertwins

About zone av. r u able to play games without perfomance penalties with zone running in the background?

AVG is my hero ;-)

Try BitDefender v8 Pro Plus,It has got AntiVirus,AntiSpam,Firewall and a very good Real Time Scanner.Try it out.
*www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/products.php?p_id=25

U

I havent had any problem with AVG so far ... recently upgraded to AVG 7.0 Free

well hi everybody
i think Avast from Alwil is the best bet ...
its fast improving its freeware version
regards
arvind.

O

Try the "Eicar AV Test" to test how effective your Resident Shield is. A test virus,which does nothing,is present in a file to be downloaded. A standard test recognized by all AV products. Use this to test if your Resident Protection is effective.

Download links are present on this page -> *www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm

Please post your results over here too alongwith the product you are using.

I was using AVG 6.0 Free Edition

.com file - detected by Resident Shield
.txt, .zip files - detected when a manual scan was initiated

E

In my opinion, not a single Anti virus can guarantee against all viruses even if updated regularly. You have to use more than one for a complete safeguard. I used to use AVG, but now am using Kaspersky (not FREE), and Panda.

L

My vote goes to AVG

N

And The Best Antivirus Is...

AVG is ruling................
Not others.....................................................
But I've installed McAfee Internet Security which I got for free.

C

If u you wanna be free from Viruses use Linux, the best option !

swatkat said:
Try BitDefender v8 Pro Plus,It has got AntiVirus,AntiSpam,Firewall and a very good Real Time Scanner.Try it out.
*www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/products.php?p_id=25

is this a freeware??

Eager_Beever said:
In my opinion, not a single Anti virus can guarantee against all viruses even if updated regularly. You have to use more than one for a complete safeguard. I used to use AVG, but now am using Kaspersky (not FREE), and Panda.

if u meant running 2 anti-virus at the same time on a PC .. i think it is not a gr8 idea....
2 anti-viruses will conflict with each other

G

surely they will. cause when we are installing one , it detects any other Av previously installed and . recommends us to remove it.

BTW i am using Avast and found no problem with it.

E

AntiVir is cool dude.
Just go for it.
its above even AVG and kapersky.
and my experience says that.
bbye and take care.
Elitecoder

Elitecoder said:
AntiVir is cool dude.
Just go for it.
its above even AVG and kapersky.
and my experience says that.
bbye and take care.
Elitecoder

Why post twice ???

Antivir doesnt have real time scanner for email. Is there any other which has it like AVG which detects the email settings automatically.

The softwares opinions should be based on Avast, Antivir.

Hello AVg free has healing disabled -- any body knows that--

IMHO Avast Home is the best..

Have u heard of ClamAV.. Try that, I tried it . Its good.

D

Avast Home is pretty gud. I m using it, found no probs whatsoever, not resource hogging, has variety of options, resident shield, network shield, p2p shield, IM shield etc. Updates AV definitions daily. A decent AV that absolutely FREE !!

Avast is good.but i kinda wanna download avg since 90% of u guys suggest its da best.is it free to donload da full version.or should i stick to avast!

Hey how do u activate the various shields in avast or is it automatic cuz i use ares(p2p),and i dunno if avst scans all the downloaded files.

Right , first dont post twice

and

when u install the software select the custom option where u can find the two options of web activation and bat where both have to be checked.

Then in the Avast setting u can enable all the protections availble.

AVAST is free.

Kaspersky Rocks!

Kaspersky is not free dude!
Well now that kaspersky is giving out the beta v2006 for free, u can have it as free till november i guess!

And i agree, Kaspersky Rocks!!!

Ashish & kalpik - Well hope u cud solve my query in the Q&A section on KAV beta. I cant get those virus and trojan off.

Hey guys jus giv in ur suggestions abt the Free Antivirus from AVAST !
As it is i will hv to use it as soon as my AVG Trialversion stops working in another 19 days

.

Hey so shud i use the AVG full version edition (by purchasing it online) or shud i stick to the AVAST ! Antivirus s/w (home edition wich is free)

Is the AVAST ! Antivirus s/w better than the AVG (full version) s/w

Plz suggest guys !!!

cheers n e-peace.....

S

Bit defender is the best antivirus. But it isn't free. Antivir is good for systems with less RAM.
It has high detection rate. Between Avast and AVG, I will select AVG because it is third to Bit defenderand PC cillin.
They are the VB100% logo award winners and are rated as the best antivirus softwares.
BitDefender the first and AVG the third. For freebies AVG may be the best. :idea:

NB: I use Anitvir :!:

Hey Sreekanth V!

AVG is the *worst* antivirus out there and im sure many people would agree to this. Search *wilderssecurity.com to confirm!

Avast is a very good AV probably the best freeware AV

Good paid AVs:

Kaspersky, Nod32, Bitdefender, VBA32.

Regards

Kalpik

R

Avast is the best

S

It is not my opinion but VB100% logo awards are well reputed and AVG get a special appreciation from it. But I think the paid vertion from AVG is the rank holder. Yet the free vertion too is not bad. Only some advaced functions are disabled. But the best paid antivirus is Bitdefender according to VB awards. And I am sorry AVG is not the second rank holder but the third. Second one is PC Cillin. Norton AV failed in some tests and is ranked as the sixth. Anyway AVG maynot be the best but it isn't the worst.
But Avast may be fully free and so users may get full functions from it, and so it may be very good one, I agree with you. I personally prefer Antivir, which is fully free and less resource hungry and powerful enough. I dont care whether it is the best or worst AV but it kept my PC virus free for a long time. And that is enough for me.

Sreekanth V said:
But Avast may be fully free and so users may get full functions from it, and so it may be very good one, I agree with you. I personally prefer Antivir, which is fully free and less resource hungry and powerful enough. I dont care whether it is the best or worst AV but it kept my PC virus free for a long time. And that is enough for me.

AVg, Avast , Antivir differ by only few mb's .

But let me share this Antivir removes viruses which evn Avast and AVG doesnt. Has anyone noticed that?

According to VB, NOD32 is the best AV (32 Passes/3 Fails) AVG is 9 Passes, 20 Fails!!! Avast is 13 Passes, 19 Fails. Norton: 28 Passes, 6 Fails. Kaspersky: 27 Passes, 13 Fails.

So if going for free, go for Avast or Antivir. Antivir is really good except for the fact that its updates are HUGE to download and generally the update system is considered buggy!

Kalpersky has the *BEST* detection rates.

You should not go THAT much by VB anyway. Cause their testing methodology is wierd! I mean if a program misses 3 viruses, it is awarded pass and if one detects ALL viruses and just gives ONE false positive, it is Failed??? I seriously dont get this!!! I mean i prefer having one false positive to 3 virus infections anyday!!!

Go to *www.av-comparatives.org/ for good AV reviews.

Regards,

Kalpik

kalpik said:
According to VB, NOD32 is the best AV (32 Passes/3 Fails)

Antivir is really good except for the fact that its updates are HUGE to download and generally the update system is considered buggy!

NOD32 isnt a freeware, isnt it ?

Antivir updates are just betwwen 3-4mb, doesnt sound huge.

NOD32 isnt freeware ;(

Compare the update size to 50-60 kb updates of Avast or NOD32!

kalpik said:
NOD32 isnt freeware ;(

Hello, we are talking abt FREEWARES AV

D

Kaspersky for me.

Yeah you are absolutely right! We are talking about free AV's. Its just that somebody mentioned that AVG has got the most VB awards, thats why i mentioned that NOD32 has the most VB awards!!! Check previous posts before u make such statements!!!

V

Avast is the best from my experience. Really good. The best Antivirus i used..

V

escan av is best#

D

Avast Rulezzzzzzzzz.

i've been using it for a long time now, no problems yet........

devilhead_satish said:
Kaspersky for me.

Another dude who doesnt understand FREEWARE AV. :lol:

@devil kaspersky is not free
@achako avast is the best in my regard
@abay where to get e scan av ?

Avast is the best.

head to head: againgst norton or panda (take your pick) who wins?
norton or avg(or any other free solution)

S

AVG itself may win since it is free. The question is which is the best free antivirus ? So norton can be deleted. Then, is panda free?

T

hi,

to say as per my opinion, AVAST! rules this segment. i have gone through many AV's but found this as the most reliable and the most secure with greatest adv being its FREEEEEE!!!. so, i guess, try out this and your system will not infected.

Sreekanth V said:
The question is which is the best free antivirus ?

Then, is panda free?

What are you talking abt , didnt u go thru the thread to find which 1 are free.

Yes , panda, Micr Trend are free.

Using Avast! Since last 5 Months. Regular Updating is Still Keeping Trouble at Bay! I Like its Skin able attitude!!

I Vote 4 Avast! 6.6 HE!

Panda and Trend Micro are NOT free FYI.

kalpik said:
Panda and Trend Micro are NOT free FYI.

i meant the online version of scanning.... "FREE ONLINE VIRUS SCAN"

y dont u start a poll on which's the best anti ?

cording ta ma exp. avg's the best

QwertyManiac said:
y dont u start a poll on which's the best anti ?

didn't u notice that the thread ur posting is the one related to your query. :lol:

I

iinfi said:
swatkat said:

Try BitDefender v8 Pro Plus,It has got AntiVirus,AntiSpam,Firewall and a very good Real Time Scanner.Try it out.
*www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/products.php?p_id=25

Click to expand...

is this a freeware??

Nop BitDefender isn't Freeware

I would vote for Zone Lab's Security Suit, have been using it for a long long time (Its AV was not tat good but improving n u 'll have to set Bit Level Detection in it for the best, it does say its slow on Bit level but when u compare the speed with Kaspersky they both are same in terms on Speed)
:!:

infohardik said:
Nop BitDefender isn't Freeware

I would vote for Zone Lab's Security Suit, have been using it for a long long time (Its AV was not tat good but improving n u 'll have to set Bit Level Detection in it for the best, it does say its slow on Bit level but when u compare the speed with Kaspersky they both are same in terms on Speed)

But both are trialware. We're discussing abt freeware softwares and not not any other.

AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG AVG

S

All free antivirus are crippled down vertions of its own paid one. Do you know any antivirus which is completely free with all the functions and without having any paid vertion.

Sreekanth V said:
Do you know any antivirus which is completely free with all the functions and without having any paid vertion.

AVG, Antivir, Avast dont have pay version and has all the functions

Also do the free online scanners

S

I mean professional editions of all these exist. Even then Antivir is the best one because its personal edition is better than the other's piad vertions. And its professional vertion is not so needed to home users but useful for business solutions.

Can anybody tell me what's the difference between the pro and free version of AVG Antivirus.

Please help.

my vote for kaspersky !

T

for me, for the past 6 months
avg free edition + zonealarm + ms spyware + spybot + adblock + regular updates = safe from viruses
earlier i used the (licensed) NAV 2001, alas could not afford the 2005 version

technovice said:
avg free edition + zonealarm + ms spyware + spybot + adblock + regular updates = safe from viruses

seems u didnt understand the topic of the thread. :lol:

technovice said:
ms spyware

Hmm, so u play mouse and cat with spywares and that too microsoft certified ?

"ms spyware was caught by spybot"- will be ur message...

V

Two Thumbs Up for Antivir. Its a good option.

My vote for Avast!

QwertyManiac said:
technovice said:

ms spyware

Click to expand...

Hmm, so u play mouse and cat with spywares and that too microsoft certified ?

"ms spyware was caught by spybot"- will be ur message...

Hello, We're discusing AV's

Yeah i know, but see what mr.technovice has written , an ms certified spyware :lol:

My vote for NAV 2005 and AVG 7...

yesssssssss...!

just installed AVG Free7 and It rocks baby. The update process is a bit slow than its professional version but that's okay for me.

U know that's the reason why I like Digit forum and their members most (on internet).
moreover a home user will not use a professional version as most of the main features are available in the free version

EAST YO WEST AVG IS THE BEST.

Be it ny thing u HAV , The Best is NAV

Well, i got my PC in 2000, had norton then, stayed with norton for four years paying them every year(even bought NAV 2003)...i had a modest system of 1 ghz processor speed & 128 mb ram. I had to seperately switch on my computer for the virus scans...it used up all the system resources...i wasn't doing much in computers, just programming & web designing...didn't need any more hardware. Recently i had my hardware updated...thinking that due to less processor speed & ram the program was taking time...It was still heavy on resources...in between i tried various other antivirus softwares...Mc Affe...PC Cillin...and many more...(trials) but wasn't satisfied...

Presently I'm using AVG 7 free edition. it has a simple interface, Unlike Guarav i am not finding the update slow, so far no infections have been detected & my computer is as fast as it ever was.

PS: With it i'm also using Kerio personal firewall and i think it makes a good combination.

QwertyManiac said:
Be it ny thing u HAV , The Best is NAV

This would have been accepted if it were a few years/months ago. But now it has lost the battle for the best AV....

I thought we were talking about free antiviruses.I like Avast and have been using it for over a year now.I have never been attacked since..

No infection since I ve started using Avast. Also it detects some spyware (from some crack sites) as trojans.

F

Im pretty happy with Avast as it recognised some trojans on one of my systems. Also I like the fact that there updates seem to be small. Well at least for me it seems to download them very fast I think.

exx_2000 said:
Also I like the fact that there updates seem to be small. Well at least for me it seems to download them very fast I think.

The updates are quite big ......

AVAST is a good AV...

Regular Updating / Even after a Gap of 5 days Updates 4 Avast 4.6 r small. Takes abt 45-50 secs...

But if u go 4 update once a month....

F

Regular Updating / Even after a Gap of 5 days Updates 4 Avast 4.6 r small.

Lol no wonder, My friend says the same. I guess that updating every day makes my updates small then.

Well, I return from Hostel once a week [after a period of 4.5 Days !] So When I log on to net it automatically updates itself and barely takes 2 minutes...[ That is on my SLOW BSNL Dial-UP] So u need not do it regularly.... [If u do... abt 13-16 secs !! ]
--------------------
Every Fortnight I backup my "D:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4" Folder with WINrar [to Avast4.6UPDATEDtillddmmyy.exe ] . Ofcourse I hv to stop all background Processes[pertaining to avast].... This way I hv all my Avast Updates [even Engine Updates....] . So in any case when i need to reinstall Avast.. [Like Formatting My C:\ ] I simply Install Avast [the Avastsetupeng4.6.exe ] ..Restart...Kill Background Processes related to Avast! and Extract the Files compressed in my Backup to Avast4 Folder [i.e replace old

files ].... I retain all my Updates....

And Next Update doesn't take long at all....

To those who use AntiVir PE.
I'm trying this one out. Whenever I try to update (internet update) Antivir tries to download a file abt 3.x MB .. Why the update is that Big ? I think It is trying to downlaod the whole Setup file. I already hv the latest setup file of Aug 19th. So What I'm asking is that Does AntivirPE provide Incremental Vir.Defs. update like Avast/NAV/... If any one has any Idea kindly enlighten me.

AntiVir does not have incrimental updates!

Damn.... then it is a VERY big drawback. Hv to revert back to Avast...or try some different AV ...Like may be NOD32 ? NOw I hope NOD32 provides incremental backup. hv to chk it. Tx.

NOD32 isnt a freeware.

Thread discsussion is abt FREE AV'S

NOD32 does have incrimental updates though its not free!

S

Can any one here make a comprehencive list of all free antiviruses?

AVG
AVAST
KASPERSKY
ANTIVIR PE

there can be more

are free, moreover you can convert them to professional version just by purchasing a license from them

from when did kaspersky became free?

Usually all motherboard vendors for p4 mobos (intel 865 ,925 ,915 etc) give pc-cillin AV bundled with their mobos. So if u'r using p4 u probably hav a AV there in the Drivers CD. I am certain that ASUS and ASrock do that.

Kaspersky is NOT free buddy!

thier online scan is free but...

All online scans are free..

B

I was facing some real troubles with viruses on my computer and needed a good anti virus. Norton was not the answer because I ma using a slower machine so it was ina way better too have a virus rather than Norton, and i would format my computer after a couple a days. but that was not the answer.
I checked out certain free anti virus on the internet. AVG was good but not good enough. than i tried Avast and i was still not happy. Atlast i tried Anti vir. this AV is AWESOME. works in the back ground as if it was not even there. that updates are easily downloaded, so no issues about that.
We have choose whatever we like, but I think that ANti Vir realy takes care of the job.

N

AVG

AVG and Norton For Protection

S

avast 4.6 is my winner, nice interface!

hey
you can try Avast...its free!!!!

and one secret

digit family also uses avast...
(if you a lucky to see any of the taskbars in the pics in the mag... u will see avast!!!
and moreover the 'person attending SOS section from digit himself uses avast...he admitted)

i am myself using avast for 2years..

its great...

-SUDE

sude said:
hey
you can try Avast...its free!!!!

and one secret

digit family also uses avast...
(if you a lucky to see any of the taskbars in the pics in the mag... u will see avast!!!
and moreover the 'person attending SOS section from digit himself uses avast...he admitted)

i am myself using avast for 2years..

its great...

-SUDE

how did u know that????

Antivir in my view is the best. OK interface but deep scanning and registry scanning is awesome. It is simply supppppppppperb........................

M

avastttttttttttttttttttttttttt really rocks

well jamyang312 check out the diGit mag of december2004 on page104

-SUDE

oohh
i missed that!

R

according to professionals worlwide,Pc-cillin antivirus is regarded as the best solution for corporates n business solutions.
The doods at Trend Micro(the makers of Pc-Cillin antivirus) also have the latest technology in this field.Only Symantec comes close to this much.

On XP Pro SP2 I am using Norton AV 2006 and ZoneAlarm and N2006 is better than any previous release of Symantec. Also, on my win2003 SP1 server I am running AVG (retail) and Agnitum Outpost. All the softwares above are duly updated and upgraded. No problem so far.

D

nav is best but it slows down hte computer.
mcafee is also good

I regret....I did not give my PC spec. I am using P4 3GHz with 768 MB DDR 400MHz RAM and (20+80)GB HDD. So, I dont really see any performance degradation. But take my words....Norton2006 is faster than its predecessors. Try yourself. I have used almost all of them and just dumped 2005. Though, there may be others better than this which i have not used.

kaspersky!