Does anyone have a Link to a Good Free Anti-Virus Protection?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

Last edited Mon Feb 20, 2012, 09:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Thanks!

[Scuba]

1. Lots of folks like Avast.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. do you have a Link?

thanks.

[Scuba]

6. Sure...

http://Lmgtfy.com/?q=avast virus protection

[Pholus]

3. I use AVG Free for my wife's computer... Avoid Stopzilla

That seems to work alright in conjunction with MacAfee which is available from our employer.

By all that is right and holy, avoid stopzilla. In multi-scanner comparisons I have concluded that they fake detections to try to get you to buy the pay version.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. do you have a Link?

I can not find a Link,,,everything takes me to a PAID version.

[Pholus]

9. Right here!

http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage

Select the orange button to download on the left.

On the next page, scroll down past all the features of the paid product to "Downlaod from download.com"

What you get is a virus scanner. It does not give "real time" protection, but it is fairly effective at finding (and removing) viruses.

In the end, avast and avg together as scanners with avast turned on full time should be decent protection.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

17. yes, because AVG no longer offers FREE full time protection, right?

it used to but, now it does not....

[Pholus]

22. I am not sure about the history.

If we were closeby I'd help you ditch windows in favor of linux. The switch is not that painful anymore but you get a lot more stability.

My spouse's box has MacAfee for runtime protection because of an offer through her job. AVG is the backup since apparently no single virus protection scheme works by itself. It works well in that role.

Sorry.

[Incitatus]

5. If you are running a registeres version of Windows, you can use this:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

I have not used it myself, but have heard it's good.

[Lasher]

8. I have used MSE for a couple of years now I guess.

It's great.

[Pholus]

10. That looks great too! I think I'll be trying that today as well... nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. thank you for the link.

installed and scanned and found no issues, thanks

[Major Nikon]

14. I have several computers in my home, all run Microsoft Security Essentials

I haven't had any problem since installation. Previously I ran McAfee and had problems on two occasions which took me days to fix.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

15. I refuse to use McAfee. yuck!

pa*tooie!!

[Major Nikon]

19. I got it free from work

My employer has a license that allows us to install it on our home computers so we don't bring viruses back to work. It caused my computers to run much more slowly and it was a royal pain in the ass to remove, not to mention I was infected twice while running it. I wouldn't install it again now if you paid me.

[hobbit709]

18. What I don't like about MSE is it won't run on XP X64.

Though it works on 64 bit Vista and 7.

My main line of defense is the paid for version of Malwarebytes. since I got the multiple use license it only cost me $20 each.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

24. Wish I could get it to install (I just reinstalled Vista 64bit after a HD flameout).

Keep getting a error.
I imagine I'll figure it out but Gawd, I hate Vista.

[Trailrider1951]

7. Here ya go:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html

scroll down for links to both Avast and AVG Free. I liked AVG Free so much I bought the product! Also, that website contains links to boatloads of free software. Enjoy!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

12. thanks for the link - I was using AVG but, lately it keeps redirecting me to the paid version

wonder if this will run in tandem with that microsoft one?

I will check this out

[TreasonousBastard]

13. MSE, Avast, and AVG have been mentioned, and there's...

Avira-- http://download.cnet.com/Avira-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10322935.html

They all work, but most have issues with memory usage when you install them like they're supposed to be used. I used AVG for years until every time I upgraded it slowed down my machine. For a couple of years now I've just used MSE with no issues.

Every so often I download the latest Malwarebytes-- http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody;1d and run it. It's about the best for finding any nasties that might sneak past MSE. (But so far nothing's snuck in)

It's not a good idea to have more than one running at the same time-- they tend to get in each other's way and all sorts of scary messages can pop up. Or, they might just slow your machine to a crawl.

[mikebl]

16. AVG and MS Security Essentials

[Populist_Prole]

21. Either of those 2 are good but

I've come to favor MSE more because it's less resource intensive. I still hold AVG in decent regard but even they have become bloated somewhat. The 7.5 version was best IMO.

[Glassunion]

20. Free and easy...

The power button... never use it.

[rug]

23. Amoazon has everything.

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=10786691

But none of them are foolproof.

[MADOKIE58]

25. LINKS

AVG IS THE BEST I HAVE USED BUT ITS NOT FREE ANYMORE AND NORTON IS USELESS