Best free Antivirus Software?

[JC175]

I've recently installed the RC of Windows 7, and one thing I overlooked before the install was compatability of antivirus software. Previously I was running the corporate edition of Symantec Antivirus, which is still running seemingly normally on the new OS, however Windows reports it is "reporting its status to Windows Security Centre in a format that is no longer supported".

I'm not sure if I should worry about this or not, but for safety's sake, what is the best free antivirus software out there? I've heard NOD32 is very good.

 

[JC175]

Anyone? It seems people are afraid of tech threads these days.

 

[RetiarySword]

Symantec I don't trust, their anti-virus stuff is shit. NOD32 rocks, but I'm not sure you can get it free. AVF free edition rocks.

 

[FredFredburgur]

I use Ad-aware.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

I use AVG, it works pretty well for me.

The free version is pretty good, although I'm on a free 30-day trial of their full version.

 

[sms_117b]

AVG is a solid free anti-virus, but you can't go wrong when you pay for Kaspersky, not had a problem since I installed it.

 

[timsupportsmetal]

I use Avast! Antivirus. But I'm on Windows Vista, and I've never had a problem before.

 

[Kogarian]

I use Spybot Search and Destroy...kind of anti-spyware, but it does good (better than my Norton, actually).

 

[CrafterMan]

Symantec I don't trust, their anti-virus stuff is shit. NOD32 rocks, but I'm not sure you can get it free. AVF free edition rocks.

Why is their antivirus stuff shit?

 

[tangylaser]

zone alarm

 

[-Seraph-]

ComboFix [http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix], you don't need anything else. It will get rid of viruses, root kits, spy ware, it is the nuclear bomb of anti viruses. Why you ask? because it's constantly updated and made by former Microsoft employees that are tired of the shit companies do with virus' and whatnot. My friend is a professional computer whiz and it was the best thing in regards to viruses. It's pretty much a .exe you download and will update every time you use it and boy is it quick. A scan takes like 5 minutes tops, just don't run any online programs while it's going or it will shut them off.

To the person who recommended spybot...no...just...no. That is a shitty program that is pretty much ineffective and actually puts more crap on your comp, hell it's pretty much spyware itself.

 

[TheTygerfire]

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

It's great ^_^

 

[ViolentlyHappy91]

Okay, time for clearing up some stuff.

AVG is alright, but leaves a LOT more to be desired, letting 1 in 100 viruses through.

Avast! is also very good, it's better than AVG but it harder to use if you're new to it, it lets in probably 1 in 150.

NEVER USE ANY COMMERCIAL COMPANY LIKE SYMANTEC, McAFEE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT!

The best free antivirus software I have found is Avira Antivirus, it's easy to use, pleasing to the eye, and I'm yet to have a virus infect a computer in my house while it's running.

tl;dr
Use Avira.

 

[supermaster1337]

I use norton... has been alright for me.

 

[Dommyboy]

Spyware Doctor will have some issues with restarting in Windows 7, Avast! will give you some crashing problems in other applications and Avira is still good to use but annoying with the pop up. I am using AVG at the moment and it seems to be working alright though it's not the greatest out there but it works quite well with Windows 7 64bit.

 

[Aenir]

lol norton...
I use AVG Free.

 

[Gitsnik]

Symantec I don't trust, their anti-virus stuff is shit. NOD32 rocks, but I'm not sure you can get it free. AVF free edition rocks.

Why is their antivirus stuff shit?

Well from a corporate standpoint it is buggy, under zealous and prone to crashing anything that isn't Microsoft Office or Internet Explorer.

I don't know about Windows 7 but I use and recommend Sophos Antivirus. It's not free though, so I usually push for Avast! for windows users, maybe Bit Defender but I'm a bit half and half on this one (mostly because of who initially recommended it to me), and if you want to fork out some money, the guys over at the Panda Antivirus company do some shit hot stuff. Panda is the reason I've not had a virus get through my defences in the last 4 years - catching a lot of stuff that wasn't caught by Sophos, Clam, AVG or Avast.

My $0.02Au

 

[InProgress]

Avast! is also very good, it's better than AVG but it harder to use if you're new to it, it lets in probably 1 in 150.

I wouldn't say Avast! is harder to use then AVG. Used both and both were easy to use.

OP, I use avast! in case you were wondering.

 

[JC175]

ComboFix [http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix], you don't need anything else. It will get rid of viruses, root kits, spy ware, it is the nuclear bomb of anti viruses. Why you ask? because it's constantly updated and made by former Microsoft employees that are tired of the shit companies do with virus' and whatnot. My friend is a professional computer whiz and it was the best thing in regards to viruses. It's pretty much a .exe you download and will update every time you use it and boy is it quick. A scan takes like 5 minutes tops, just don't run any online programs while it's going or it will shut them off.

To the person who recommended spybot...no...just...no. That is a shitty program that is pretty much ineffective and actually puts more crap on your comp, hell it's pretty much spyware itself.

I'll check it out, thanks, but wow. That product description is pretty full on.

"Also, due to the power of this tool it is strongly advised that you do not attempt to act upon any of the information displayed by ComboFix without supervision from someone who has been properly trained."

And personally I haven't had any real problems with Symantec products apart from them being severe RAM hogs.

EDIT: From Wiki:

ComboFix may attempt deletion of all files from the system drive on systems infected with a specific rootkit.

DAYUM.

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

Nod32 has worked wonders for me.
It picked up 3 viruses Norton had overlooked.