Free Anti-Virus Software

Everyone, everywhere, whoever they are and whatever they use their computer for NEEDS a fully functioning, regularly updated anti-virus program. It's a simple and as necessary as that and with virus writers getting sneakier and virus infections on the increase and becoming more virulent their importance just keep increasing.

If you DO NOT yet have an anti-virus program on your computer then you are courting disaster. Worst of all, you are doing so uneccessarily as there are plenty of totally free anti-viral programs out there which can at least give you the most basic protection!

A computer makes a rather expensive paperweight but that's what some of the worst virus infections can reduce it to. Infections range from random annoyances like randomly manic mouse movements to having the ability to completely destroy data and make a computer unusable until fixed. Wave bye bye to those family photos, your term paper that's due in tomorrow, your company accounts...

Worst of all, once you are infected the first thing most viruses will do is try to spread to all your friends, family and colleagues and to play havoc with their computers too!

It used to be the case that you could avoid opening emails with attachments and you would be OK. That kept me safe for years. Unfortunately, virus writers have found ways to download viruses through infected websites by exploiting unpatched security flaws, particularly in Microsoft browsers like Internet Explorer and even directly through open ports which become vulnerable the moment you connect to the internet.

The bottom line is, if you are not protected against viruses then it is only a matter of time before you become infected unless you are extremely lucky. AV protection is a lot less expensive than having that spotty teenager at PC World wipe your hard drive and reinstall all your software and as you can even get FREE anti-virus software if you can do without a few features the bought versions provide there really is no excuse for continuing to log on 'naked' any more!

Best Anti-Virus Software

McAfee Anti-Virus and Privacy Protection Software Suite

To Visit: [ Click Here ]

McAfee's security software suite offers 8 in 1 protection to lock down your PC against a variety of the internet's nasty little surprises. In addition to real time anti-virus scanning you get spyware protection, anti-spam and phishing protection for you email account, identity protection and it helps hide your computer from hackers while online. Mcafee also has settings to filter offensive websites, images and content to help keep your children protected while online and a PC cleanup option to remove junk files which accumulate and can over time slow down your computer to a crawl. One of the main advantages of McAfee is that it is very easy to use even if you are a computer novice. Buying directly from the McAfee online store offers immediate download and a discount over the same middleman store bought product.

Panda Anti-Viral Protection, Firewall and Prevention Software

To Visit: [ Click Here ]

Panda offers three award winning computer protection software packages which range from a simple virus scanner and remover, anti viral and firewall protection or a complete security suite. In addition, Panda offers a free online security scan which detects over 185,000 diffent types of viruses, trojans and worms as well as dialers, hacking tools, rootkits and mallware.

Computer Associates Virus, Worm and Trojan Scanning & Protection Sofware

To Visit: [ Click Here ]

Computer Associates Anti-Virus 2008 protects up to 3 PC's for one purchase price against the viruses, trojans and worms which can infect and damage your import files, photos, MP3s etc. CA also has a wide range of other computer security products to help keep your PC safe whilst you surf.

Kaspersky Labs Award Winning Anti-Virus Software Package

To Visit: [ Click Here ]

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal always comes top or near the top in anti-virus software comparison tests and is my personal choice for keeping my own computers free from virus infection. The interface is a little less user friendly than on the likes of other popular anti-virus programs like Norton (which I do not recommend) or McAfee's products but also offers more protection options than their competitors. Virus database updates are frequent and their memory resident virus shield is yet to let me down.

Best Online Anti-Virus Scans

Free Online Anti-Virus Scanning is offered by numerous websites just in case you think you have become infected with something and you either haven't yet installed an AntiVirus program or for some reason it isn't detecting any problems. Top recommended free online virus scans are provided by Panda (check out the free virus scan link on their top menu) and Symantec. Please be aware an online scan can take upwards of 2 hours to complete if you are using a dial-up modem or have a large hard drive and whilst these are great for removing problems which you currently have, prevention is vastly better than cure so always use a locally installed security package.

Recommended FREE Anti-Virus Software

AVG from Grisoft - highly recommended free anti virus software program with free updates and lots of real user recommendations. AVG often outperforms 'paid for' anti-viral software in benchmark tests and has a simple interface even the complete novice with be able to use. AVG personal for home computer users is a fully functional anti-virus protection system which is 100% free for personal use, with free updates to virus definitions and memory resident virus shield to stop virus infection before it happens.

Caveat

Anti-Virus protection is just one of the ways to protect your PC from unwanted problems but is not the final word in protecting the integrity of your computer. It should be used in conjunction with a good internet firewall and spyware scanner