Review: Free Antivirus Software

Free antivirus software may be the only option for those on a limited budget. The question, of course, is how well free antivirus software protects your PC, how easy is it to use, and if something goes wrong will you be left out in the cold? The answers may surprise you. This review looks at three free antivirus solutions: AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic, AVAST 4 Home Edition, and AVG Free Edition.
 
 

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic provides free antivirus protection for Windows XP/2000/NT/ME/98. The svelte scanner installed only 34MB and 3 running processes to our Windows XP Pentium 4 test system, making it an excellent option for those with older PCs or limited system resources.
 
 

USB Antivirus: Portable Protection

Korean-based Iocell has announced VaccineDrive, a USB drive that includes the Hauri ViRobot antivirus scanner. Iocell uses C2, their own developed operating system. They claim to the be the "World's First Portable Anti-Virus Drive. But the C2 platform wasn't even released until Sep '05, and the VaccineDrive specifically was not released until January 13, 2005. Iocell claims that C2 is 'open platform', but that can be widely interpreted and they offer little insight into what that interpretation might be.
 
 

Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition

Vendor's Site Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition is an all-in-one security suite that leaves most of the protective decision making for adware and spyware blocking and removal up to the user. One wrong choice and your system may continue to spy on you or dish up ads. It's one hefty product too, consuming over 300Mb and installing 11 services, 3 startup items, 2 Toolbars and 2 BHOs - thus it may be less than ideal for already taxed PCs.
 
 

AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall Edition

AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall Edition is light on resources, heavy on protection. The firewall provides permission-based access control reminiscent of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. The high level of control and customization will appeal to the most advanced users, while less savvy users will find the Basic interface simple to understand and use.
 
 

Top 6 Standalone Spyware Scanners

It's not just viruses that plague today's Internet users. Spyware surreptitiously monitors your computer and Internet use, while adware can bombard your PC with unwanted advertising. Both pose a drain on your bandwidth and can lead to loss of security. Following are a selection of the best dedicated adware and spyware scanning tools to ferret out these often hidden menaces. If you go the standalone route, make sure you back it up with antivirus software and a firewall.
 
 

G Data AntiVirusKit (AVK) 2005

G DATA AntiVirusKit 2005 (AVK) provides a double layer of protection, bundling both the Kaspersky and BitDefender antivirus engines under a single, easy-to-use console. The use of these engines offers an important advantage to AVK.
 
 

Review: Microsoft AntiSpyware (beta1)

A public beta of Microsoft AntiSpyware was released on January 6, 2005. Beta software is software that has not been thoroughly tested and may exhibit unexpected behavior ranging from benign inconsistencies (i.e. misspelling in dialog boxes, inability to use certain features, etc.) to serious incompatibilities (i.e. inability to access the Internet, system crashes, etc). Beta software should never be installed on production systems. Participation in the public beta is at your own risk. Tech support is not available. Those who wish to test the public beta for themselves may download a copy at http://www.microsoft.com/spyware.
 
 

PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 screenshots

Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 builds on an already solid foundation, offering a host of new features designed with the user in the mind. (Read the review). One of these new features is their Vulnerability Assessment Security Check - providing an at-a-glance list of any missing security patches that could leave you vulnerable to compromise. From the Security Check console, a single click takes you directly to the Windows Update site to get the patches you need installed.
 
 

PC-cillin Internet Security 2005

Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 builds on the already superb foundation of virus, spam, and firewall protection found in their 2004 security suite. Now PC-cillin 2005 also includes spyware removal, anti-phishing controls, Wi-Fi intrusion detection and home network controls. All this, plus free tech support via a toll-free number, and it's priced significantly cheaper than the competition.
 
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