Comments on: You Want Free Antivirus? You GOT IT!

By: td

td — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:01:15 +0000

I solved this problem a number of years ago… I got a MAC!

By: Javajunkie

Javajunkie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:48:46 +0000

Well, the last time i actively worried about antivirus, I was infected with Form A. Thanks for bringing me up to date with the last decade

By: David Snow

David Snow — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:26:32 +0000

Why not just buy a good on from Fry’s with a huge rebate? For the past three years I have got Trend, Kaspersky, and Norton for free or almost free (after rebate) from Fry’s. When I buy one I scan the reciept, UPC code, Pop, key, Disk & manual cover and keep them as a couple jpg files. When the next year roles around I have all that I need for the “Upgrade” rebate.

With this strategy I pay the sales tax and maybe $10 for the commercial versions. Since I am a developer and have a complex LAN, I always try the 30 day version BEFORE I buy to make sure that any new “features” don’t kill me. For example, Norton like to claim that my wife’s PC accessing the web server on my system is a “Trogen.” I no longer use NAV, but am currently relying on Kaspersky.

By: Redheadedtechie

Redheadedtechie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:31:32 +0000

I got my laptop fro free once I graduated college (one of the perks), and for the 4 years I was there, I had to deal with Sophos. If you don’t know what it is, don’t find out, it’s worthless. As soon as I got out of there I switched to AVG and Spybot S&D and love it. I tried Avast, but the interface annoys me too much.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:56:02 +0000

In my experience, they all miss something. You may have had the same experience if you went from Avast to AVG. That’s why I recommend having a virus scanner and running a scan with Spybot (or other product) every so often as a secondary level of protection.

By: Vincent

Vincent — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:25:42 +0000

Just a note about AVG. My brother recommended that to me so I used it for about a year. By the end, my computer was acting a little weird/slow so reinstalled Windows, and went with Avast this time. Right on the first scan before installing other software, it found 3-4 different viruses on my second hard drive that AVG had missed. I lost faith in AVG immediately.

By: Job

Job — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:49:40 +0000

Hi Jon, excellent review. I myself have always used AVG as scanner and have always been pleased (and properly protected) with it. I am a *very* interactive web user so should have gotten infected a million times, but AVG has kept it clean so far.

However, I am always willing to try out something new and will install AVAST.

P.S. Did PANDA free on-line scanner not make it to your review? I use it once every 6 months or so to check that the machine is still clean.

By: typoink

typoink — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:56:49 +0000

I’m late to the party, obviously, but I figure that if I found my way here, others may still.

I wanted to suggest another alternative here: Spyware Terminator. By default, it’s just a run-of-the-mill, below-average-but-not-useless antispyware app. By enabling a few settings, however, you can effectively merge ClamWin’s antivirus database into Spyware Terminator’s antispyware scanner. This allows you to use Clam’s AV with on-access scanning, a cleaner interface, and better scheduling options.

In most respects, I’d say it’s still inferior to AVG or Avast, but it has one MAJOR advantage: it’s 100% free for BUSINESS use. AVG and Avast are both only free for home use, but Spyware Terminator + Clam is a free, legal solution for small businesses.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:23:57 +0000

I decided to try a free scanner when the subscription ran out on my Trend Micro. My boss’s tech friend installed AntiVir Personal on the computers he has and I hate it. Those pop up screens are beyond annoying but it does protect against viruses.

I was looking to find a page such as yours and I’m so glad I did. I downloaded Avast and it found a virus that apparently my Trend Micro didn’t. It’s super easy to install and run and registration only took a minute or two. Can’t really call that a con.

It’s been great and I never notice it running. Hasn’t slowed down my system at all. I’ve recommend this to my boss and several of my friends.

Thanks so much for these comparisons.

By: Svalka

Svalka — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:31:31 +0000

I’m glad Avast made the top of your list — since I’ve been using it myself for the last couple of years without knowing very much about virus protection except by hearsay, your posts on AV-programs are quite reassuring.

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:57:46 +0000

@n0ia: I think installing it with another skin really makes it look more normal, but AVG isn’t a bad choice at all.

@Reese: You did not just say Windows ME. I tried Comodo and it porked everything up pretty well on my system, and ZoneAlarm somehow went downhill over the last few years. With McAfee, the A/V, anti-spy and firewall are integrated, so it makes things a little simpler for me.

@Doles: And I wonder why people don’t take me seriously…

By: Doles

Doles — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:29:42 +0000

Jon, you really should have more posts about chicken monkey donkey porn ; )

By: Reese

Reese — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:36:19 +0000

Though I am a comcast customer I can’t stand McAfee, so I currently use Avast and love it. A skin for it is a must though and while it may take a little longer to figure out than others, once you do it’s great. The skin I use is called szc-kde.

I’ve had good results with AVG in the past as well, but haven’t tried it since windows ME (yikes!).

I’ve also used ClamWin, for about 2 hours. I figure it didn’t play well with one of my other programs or something it would eat up resources and kill bandwidth, I had to uninstall it.

A good free firewall is Online Armor, I would recommend it over zone alarm any day.

By: n0ia

n0ia — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:54:39 +0000

All of the people I know that need AV software, I always recommend AVG. I’ve never used Avast, but the majority of friends/family probably wouldn’t be able to figure it out if the interface is as clunky as you say.