Free anti-virus program?

[Beastialman]

Ha ha, virus's.

You know I remember a long time ago I got a message on Skype alerting me that I had a virus, I read through the message (from another user I didn't know) and laughed as he didn't put Windows 7 (which I'm using). What's funnier is that I walk down stairs and one of my dad's friends had fallen for the virus.

 

[SirDX]

I use this combination :

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) - Real-time scanning.
Malware Bytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) - On-demand scanning.
SUPERAnti-Spyware - On-demand scanning.

Using this combo, I've not had a virus in a five years (and I download a lot!). (I only just recently switched from Avast! to MSE a month or three ago).

I'm surprised it didn't spazz out or anything. Usually you shouldn't mix/match Different Protection Softwares.

MSE is really high quality. And these are all different types of protection. MSE is antivirus, MBAM is anti-malware, and SAS is anti-spyware. Before I used this combo, I was using Avast/MBAM/SAS for more than two years without a glitch.

 

[Jive_pimp]

There is a really good free anti-virus program called: Don't get a computer and never go on the internet. It saves you somewhere between $200 - $1500+ upfront.

I agree. Staying off the internet is the best way to not get a virus.

I add my vote to Avast home edition and Malwarebytes Antimalware. I use this combo on every computer in my house and have never ever gotten any malware on them.

IMHO don't pay for AV software when there are perfectly good free alternatives out there.

 

[Lilani]

I use AVG on my Windows, and I've been to quite a few dubious sites without infection.

 

[slowpoke999]

Ok here's the story, the virus my sister unintentionally downloaded was System Defender, which slows down your computer and creates a ton of false positives making you think there actually are other infections.

Looks like she doesn't know what Firefox is, and thinks the internet is the safest thing on the planet.

Note to self:She's never using my computer again.

Now ive just spent the past 2 hours letting an actual anti-virus program scan my computer to remove it.

 

[Syntax Error]

The best way to remove malware if you suspect infection is to scan using HiJackThis, and post the log produced in places where there are knowledgeable people. Places like theeldergeek, majorgeek and bleepingcomputer. They have subforums there that are dedicated to HiJackThis logs (not sure about bleepingcomputer though) and will be read by their resident experts. They'll tell you what to do. Note that should you go this route, don't post your log at all of them (choose one), since they're all trained differently, and their instructions might contradict each other, causing your computer to explode if you follow through with the different instructions you got. That's what I do and they've never failed me.

Anyway, I use NOD32 and it works like a charm. Though AntiVir is also good. And just a tip: if you're using flash disks, hold 'Shift' while inserting the device. This disables the autorun.inf file (the file most malware latch themselves into, since this is the very first file that is executed whenever a device is inserted).

 

[Shadowfaze]

Im using Avast! it has not failed me yet.

 

[Bluelaser]

I like Avast!, but it can bee annoying.

 

[Enigmers]

AVG 9.0 pisses me off, but Avast! works fine, SuperAntiSpyware works great as well.

 

[Joethelama]

Why did you let her use it.

 

[GreyWolf257]

Spybot: Search and Destroy.
Some of it is free, so you will have to look a lot. Also, there are a lot of knock-offs that may be infected, so be careful.

What was she looking up? On second thought, never mind.

 

[gsf1200]

Use Combofix if you have windows xp. Only get it from bleepingcomputer, nowhere else. Then run any of the free ones(AVG,AVAST,ANTIVIR,) they are about the same, and ALL are better than norton! Then run Hijackthis and Spybot S&D occasionally.

 

[Deofuta]

Please excuse my laziness as I have yet to read all of the entries, but if looking for an excellent free service you could try Malwarebytes Antimalware. Works great for me.

 

[CuervoJoe]

I use Anti-Virus Gold, it's free and works fantastically

that's all i got

That's a rogue AV, I believe.

I wouldn't use AVG, as it doesn't offer proactive protection against rootkits. The best free AV is Avira Antivir personal, and I would also reccomend a good firewall, (look at matousec firewall tests) and possibly a behavior blocker such as PC Tools Threatfire, which is free and very good.

Avast is also a very good free AV.

ONLY EVER USE ONE AV, ONE FIREWALL, AND ONE BEHAVIOR BLOCKER
Otherwise, they conflict.

Also, I recommend Malwarebytes Anti-malware and Superantispyware as on-demand scanners.

 

[mikecoulter]

I rather like using Spybot Search and Destroy to immunize and scan weekly. And keep AVG Free on at all times and scan once a week. I prefer it to MSE.