Alternatives to AVG anti-virus software

I heard that AVG will no longer provide free update service on their 7.5 free edition as of June 25th. Does anyone know of good (and preferrably free ) alternatives?

are you sure they aren't just moving to a new free release, like 8.0 or something? It was the same when the moved from 7.0 to 7.5.

edit: 8.0 was launched in April, so download that version and you will be sorted.

Avast is less annoying, better looking, and just as highly rated. Also, completely free for normal users.

http://www.avast.com/index.html

Free Antivirus is of course free for the basic package, and good.

I am confused now... I thought that 8.0 didn't have the free version anymore, but when I follow the links to the free downloads, it lets me download the free 8.0 version...ok, sorted then

Thanks for the suggestions

http://lifehacker.com/395046/five-best-ant...us-applications

AVG is the best rated according to don's link. That makes me happy 'cause it's what I use. God it's good to be simple.

Although, I noticed this in one of the comments on that page:
Unfortunately, AVG8 has a feature, called Link Scanner, that drastically slows down browsing and slows google searches to a crawl(because they have to determine the maliciousness of each link).

Bugger, but thanks for the information. Could explain why at home Firefox is slower than stalagmites growing at the moment...any suggestions?

You can turn the link scanner off in options or disable the add-on if you're using firefox.

Wow, that was quick. Thanks Exile, I'll give that a shot when I'm home.

Whatver you do, don't take the advice that my mate, a network tech, gave me, and pay good money for PC-Cillin anti-virus. Fucking horrible. Takes up stupid amounts of memory.

McAfee I find is okay and has the firewall also. Updates automatically. Costs 50 yoyos per year I think.

I have used zonealarm for a few year and even though it isnt the greatest there is a nice feature where (if they havnt fixed it) where you can put your windows clock back a bit and get more time before you have to pay to continue to get updates.

The most on the ball anti-virus/firewall i have used is bulldog - however unless you have a fast comp it will cause you problems. ON a 1.3ghz comp I couldnt remove more than 6 files from the recicyle bin without windows displaying an error.

The softare was checking each one for viruses and causing the process to time out. They also boast daily updates. Great if your comp is an F1 job, not if its a morris minor.

The best free antivirus software is Avira Antivir: http://www.free-av.de/en/index.html

http://wiki.castlecops.com/AntiVirus_Comparison

http://www.av-comparatives.org/ -> Click on Comparatives and May 2008 Online results

8.0 is free and available to download or update from 7.5

Just steer clear of Norton, that is worse than having a virus in itself!

Since AVG is kinda hiding the free version, at least its not clearly visible with some searching... here is the direct link for the FREE (non trial) version.

AVG Free 8.0 Download

Or for minimal clicking, right click here and save link as

I was thinking the same last night and eventually found the link as L8knight has. A little bit naughty on their side but it is there and I have installed it.

I have Sophos anti virus which I get for free through my university. What is people's opinion on that? Would it be better to switch to a different anti virus (that is better but preferably still free)? Thanks.

I posted a link to a comparison in post #15.

Basically, Sophos and Avira came out on top - with Sophos detecting 74% of the virus samples and Avira 72%. Althought Sophos had much more false positives (above 400) and Avira only 8. That shouldn't be a much concern, you just may have to double check if a possible found virus really is a virus.

Thanks. I hadn't looked at that link before. Good to know. I am not sure if I ever even had a virus (whether it really was one or not) but I'll keep that in mind and double check any positive before I take any further steps.

Yep, I posted the same damn thread when that happened and only afterwards realized my mistake. To my credit, they did seem to hide the link to the free version a little more than before.

I tried PC cillin once and it killed my system. Of course, my system was '98 and yes it was a virus!

All anti-virus software screws up your computer big time as they typically are constantly scanning everything that goes on. The best advice is to uninstall all anti-vuris software and have your router firewall enabled and close all unnecessary ports (nearly all for most users). Then don't use Microsoft Outlook or Internet Explorer - use Firefox and Thunderbird. In a Windows Environment, that will almost guarantee no viruses, assuming that you do not open any nasty attachments in emails (golden rule - never open an attachment that is a ".exe", or is from someone you do not know or one you do not expect. In general, you should ask people to send attachments as ZIP files.

Adhering to the above simple rules means that you will not have your computer dragged to the ground by useless anti-virus software (in my opinion it is all very clever but useless software). If you find this too much to remember, then switch to Linux or MacOS - there you won;t get viruses unless you specifically ask for them.

By the way, the above advice is not just that of an anti-Microsoft nerd. I am an experienced Computer Scientist, and recently have implemented the above strategy for my neighbour, whose Windows PC was being killed by Norton Anti-Virus software. Removing Norton Anti-Virus, and routing their internet access via our wireless LAN, has sorted out al their problems - no viruses and a properly responding computer.

Maybe this will help out a little bit Click ---->Free anti-virus comparison and ratiing Just remember everyone have their own taste what work for them.

This advice is perfectly fine if you are in control of the PC and the only user. If, like me, you have a child who is known to download demo games and occasionally click links from friends then its basically nuts. Yes you can drum it into kids that they shouldnt but many things rely on friendship links to work their way onto systems via this friendship.

Also assuming that Mozilla is without any security issues is a little complacent. Its just software and as open to bugs/etc as anything else.

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/k...rabilities.html

Switching to Linux is still probably just a little beyond your average PC user. Even today.

And I say that as a confirmed Linux using Firefox loving experienced computer scientist too.

I should add that norton AV is known for dragging a system down by being a huge resource hog...

On my home PC I'm a user of Avast.

In case anybody wants to do some browsing for freeware of any kind [including antivirus / firewall applications or whatever], my favorite two are:

www.freewarefiles.com
www.snapfiles.com

Highly recommended to read user ratings prior to installing anything, as you are usually presented with various alternatives for every search. What can I say, I am a freeware junkie!

Most virus packages eat up CPU power like crazy. I abandonded GData and changed to Kaspersky 7.0, which works great for the past 6 months. Paid 30 Euro for a year.