Top Free Antivirus

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Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That’s not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry…Internet Explorer.
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Looking for free anti virus programs that effectively seek out and identify virus threats and are low on memory and resources? Here’s two of them

Avast 4.7 antivirus – Avast is one of several free antivirus softwares on the internet that offers efficiency and reliability in detecting viruses, trojans and other malwares. The Simple User Interface is used to start on-demand scanning, work with the results and change various options. It comes with a mp3 like interface that even allows users to change the appearance of the application interface.

Size: 17.78 MB
OS: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Pros:

• * It updates easily and often and can be trusted when set on high and deep scan to keep a home computer virus free.
• * I like it when a little box pops up to alert you whenever there is a threat so you can address the problem immediately. This is useful if you’re using p2p programs like limewire.
• * “Boot” scan - Avast offers a "boot time" virus scan of your PC. This allows the antivirus engine to scan all of the files on your hard drive before any other programs

Cons:

• The media player like interface may look weird to some.

Notes: The first time I ran a search on avast using the boot time scan, it found and cleaned several Trojans that were installed on my PC. Mcafee, my previous antivirus, did not even informed me of these threats. My computer was performing a lot better after the scan.

avast interface

Download Avast here

Avira Antivir - This antivirus is highly rated in comparison with other respectable anti virus softwares. It is top ranked with NOD32 and Kaspersky and is easily configured to offer top rank protection. The built in resident Virus Guard serves to monitor file movements automatically, for example when downloading files from the internet.

Size: 17 MB
OS: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Pros:

• You don't have to register to get it and auto-updates itself all the time.
• Not only does it eliminates the problems on your PC. But it also gives you a detailed description of the viruses you are getting rid of.
• It works without conflict when running other antivirus programs

Cons:

• A window pops up when the program updates or scans, nagging you to get the professional version or their internet security suite. Click OK and it goes away.
• A bit slow when scanning.

Notes: So far, AntiVir has kept my machine clean.

Avira Antivir interface

Download Avira Antivir here