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What Free Antivirus Do You Install On Windows?

Posted by timothy on from the is-clamav-no-longer-good? dept.

Techman83 writes "After years of changing between AVG Free + Avast, it's coming time to find a new free alternative for friends/relatives who run Windows. AVG and Avast have been quite good, but are starting to bloat out in size, and also becoming very misleading. Avast recently auto updated from 4.8 to 5 and now requires you to register (even for the free version) and both are making it harder to actually find the free version. Is this the end of reasonable free antivirus, or is there another product I can entrust to keep the 'my computer's doing weird things' calls to a minimum?"

16 of 896 comments (clear)

  1. Uh...Avast? by Pojut · · Score: 4, Informative

    I still use Avast. Oh noes, it took me 2 minutes to fill out the little form. It takes up few resources, it has updates for it nearly every day, it's free as in beer, and I have gotten a virus in ages. What's not to like?

    --
    Living With a Nerd
    1. Re:Uh...Avast? by Enderandrew · · Score: 5, Informative

      I think it was a CNET comparison I read of 19 products. Microsoft Security Essentials was something like 2nd out of 19 products in detection, it was the only free product at the top, and it has the smallest footprint out of all 19 tested.

      You'd be hard pressed to argue there is a better free product right now.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    2. Re:Uh...Avast? by hairyfeet · · Score: 3, Informative

      Try Comodo. I have tried AVG, AntiVir, Avast, and MSE, and out of all of them I've found Comodo to be the best when it comes to resources, lack of irritation, and catching nasties. And if you are worried about PC usage? I'm typing this on a 1.8GHz Sempron I use as a netbox, and Comodo is using 0% CPU and just 12Mb of RAM ATM, and that is with both Comodo AV and Firewall.

      What I've found the best about it is that you can have it both ways. If you just want to install it and walk away that's fine, as its defaults are sensible without anything needing to be touched. On the other hand if you are the type that wants to tweak every setting or get really fine grained on the firewall, well it supports that as well. It really is a nice AV that doesn't bug the shit out of you with popups like many do.

      It'll take it around 3 days to learn your routine, after that you may get a popup once a week when you do something unexpected or an app suddenly tries to call home. It is so quiet I even leave it running while gaming and it doesn't bother me or slow things down. I really can't say enough good things about it, and it sucks that nobody ever seems to bring it up on the big review sites. I have some relatives that can pick up more viruses than a Bangkok whore and Comodo has kept them squeaky clean, and that's saying something!

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  2. Microsoft by dan828 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft security essentials http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

    I mean, if anyone knows about viruses, it'd be Microsoft.

  3. Microsoft Security Essentials by jrronimo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft Security Essentials is free, lightweight, and pretty good. Even Ars Techinca thought so, if you trust them.

  4. Avira by HellProphet · · Score: 4, Informative

    Avira Anti-vir. It is good, fully functioned with updates, custom scheduled scans and on access scanning. The only thing you have to deal with is a daily ad that you can dismiss by hitting OK and it won't pop up for another 24 hours. Also it uses up half the resources of AVG, McAfee, Norton.

  5. Re:Microsoft Security Essentials by amliebsch · · Score: 3, Informative

    I concur, Security Essentials is pleasantly small to download, fast to install, easy on resources, and reasonably effective. Be aware though it does validate with Genuine Advantage.

    --
    If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  6. Registration isn't new by MisterBuggie · · Score: 5, Informative

    Obviously you've never actually used Avast. You've always had to register for the free version, and renew the regsitration once a year. They're giving it away for free, I honestly don't see registering as a big deal.

    And the new version is actually a lot better, it finally detects rootkits... If you're looking for something that actually does its job and yet doesn't take up any space or processing power, I doubt you'll find anything...

    If you're gonna pay for your operating system, and then complain about free antiviruses, you might want to consider changing to linux...

  7. Re:Microsoft Security Essentials by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Informative

    also beware of the fake Security Essentials that does bad things and also tries to get you to pay money:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/26/microsoft_security_essentials_rogue/

  8. Re:Microsoft Security Essentials by verbalcontract · · Score: 5, Informative

    I respectfully disagree with your notion that Kaspersky is better than MSE. I had Kaspersky's basic anti-virus for 2 years before MSE came out, and it was a terrible resource hog. And not just during scans; the actual real-time protection would increase the time to open a video file from ~2 seconds after double-clicking to ~15 seconds.

    Additionally, when it detects a suspicious file, the program issues the most gut-wrenching squealing noise I've ever heard. And it does this by default; you have to go into settings to disable the noise.

    [/anecdote]

  9. Ars technica review of MSE by igomaniac · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/first-look-microsoft-security-essentials-impresses.ars

    An in-depth look at Microsoft Security Essentials, it made me decide to try it out on my girlfriend's laptop (I run OS X myself) and it's worked great.

    --

    The interactive way to Go -- http://www.playgo.to/iwtg/en/
  10. Re:Install a linux of some sort by Lumpy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Web accelerator is nothing more than a cacheing proxy. install a proxy to replace it.

    emulators, sorry, but bothand more are available under linux.

    flash works fine.

    Opera 10 - dont know I dont use it.
    Realplayer-- WHY? Who cares?

    Ipod mp4 video works perfectly fine. did you even try?

    Sorry but 80% of all your claims have not been true for 2 or more years now, and some are simply forever false. I've played SNES games under linux for over 10 years now.

    I can add to your list that Linux will run IE6 and IE7 AND IE8 fine under wine. as well as REalplayer if you really want that.

    I'll try opera 10 tonight, but I suspect it will work perfectly under Ubuntu 9.10.

    Oh I can also play WMA and WMV files as well as other non linux file formats.

    P.S. I'm really sad for you, having to live with a Dialup ISP must suck. You cant get broadband at all? no WISP service? How about CDMA?

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  11. Re:Smaller AV programs? by EkriirkE · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't think he was talking about the database size, but the fact that both AVG and Avast (I use both) have moved to highly customized skinned UIs and have completely removed any native UI components and include useless junk that slows your system (eg safesearch/linkscanner) in their installers that makes "Custom install" the only practical method

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    from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
  12. Re:i stopped using avast because of popups by junglee_iitk · · Score: 4, Informative

    Are you sure it was Avast? Because it is Avira that gives popups asking for update.

  13. Re:clam by WetCat · · Score: 3, Informative

    Clam sentinel is a program that detects file system changes and automatically scans the files added or modified using ClamWin. Require the installation of ClamWin. For Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7.
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/clamsentinel/

  14. Re:Panda Cloud by eulernet · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here:
    http://web.archive.org/web/20060713211614/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/05/03/panda_software_linked_to_church/

    The French are scandalised by the idea that an estimated six to nine per cent of the revenues paid by its police ministry for Panda's Global Virus Insurance might have gone into the coffers of the Church, which was founded by L Ron Hubbard.

    In french:
    http://web.archive.org/web/20010512221513/http://www.lexpress.fr/Express/Info/Societe/Dossier/scientologie/dossier.asp?nom=place

    The french article also mentions Diskeeper...