The best free antivirus clients

Disclaimer: This information is provided to help people out. Removevirus.org is not recommending one free product over another. All logos and trade marks are the right of the respected owner. The below clients may also have paid versions of the free software. Removevirus.org recommends Spyware Doctor with Antivirus for the best protection. However the Spyware Doctor with Antivirus is not a free security client and is not reviewed below.

Antivirus clients are many and widespread and have become a main branch of commercial software available today. However, there are a few antivirus applications that are available for free and able to provide reasonably good protection.  We say reasonable because the best clients and support you will have to pay for.

avast! Antivirus

avast! Antivirus is a free antivirus program developed by the Czech company ALWIL Software.  It has a virus database that gets updated on a regular basis, and has a user base of about 100 million users as of December 2009. avast! Antivirus contains anti-spyware technology along with rootkit protection, and has received many user awards in the past. The features found in this antivirus software are:

• An internationally certified and recommended virus scanning engine.
• Resident protection which is provided by separate shields that can be customized individually. These are – File System Shield, Web Shield, Mail Shield, P2P Shield, IM Shield, Network Sheild, Behaviour Shield. (Professional Edition also includes a Script Blocker)
• Anti-Spyware ability
• Anti-rootkit ability
• Self-Protection – prevents malicious software from damaging or stopping avast! and avast! files.
• Automatic updates.
• Audible, clear warnings.
• Virus Chest, which allows malicious data to be quarantined.

avast! Home Edition should be registered online in order to be used. After it is first installed, there is a period of 30 days for the user to register online at the “avast!” website homepage. After this first registration, the free version can be used for 12 months, after which registration must be renewed every 12 months in order to continue using the free version. avast! Antivirus also offers a paid Professional Edition of the software which is targeted at commercial users. The paid version of this client does provide better updates and protection as well as support

avast! Homepage – http://www.avast.com

Avira Antivirus

Avira Antivir is a free antivirus application that is widely used all over the world by over 100 million users, as of September 2009. It is developed and distributed by Avira GmbH, a Germany-based software company. The features offered by the free version of Avira include:

• Bootable CD regardless of operating system, which can be used to recover from a situation where a virus is preventing the computer from booting. This CD also contains an Avira bootable version which can be used separately to scan for viruses and restore the operating system.
• Local AntiVir antivirus shield.
• AntiDialer to protect against expensive dialers.
• Protection for previously unknown macro viruses.
• AntiPhishing to prevent phishing over the internet.
• AntiSpyware and AntiAdware.
• QuickRemoval to remove viruses at the press of a button.
• Internet Update Wizard for easy updating.

Avira has received many good reviews and many awards as the best free antivirus software, and best antivirus software overall. It is said to have the highest rate of malware detection as well. Avira also offers a Professional version for paying customers, with a few additional services included.

Avira Homepage – http://free-av.de

AVG Antivirus

AVG Antivirus is a popular free antivirus client developed by Grisoft, a company based in Czechoslovakia.  It is said to have more than 110 million users worldwide. AVG Antivirus is developed for both Windows and Linux/FreeBSD systems, including server versions as well. The features available with the free version include:

• Separate components – AVG Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, LinkScanner, Anti-Rootkit, Web Shield, Security Toolbar, Firewall, Anti-Spam, Identity Protection and System Tools Protection.
• AVG LinkScanner which makes sure that web surfing is made safe on the computer.
• Identity Protection prevents identity theft on the internet or by malicious software.
• AVGADMIN, a remote administration tool that can be used to manage AVG on a centralized network.
• Fully time-customizable update manager.

AVG Antivirus also provides a professional version that includes a few extra features. However, the free version has been accused of advertising the professional version via pop-ups on a daily basis.

AVG Homepage – http://free.avg.com

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a lightweight application that can be obtained free of charge to protect your computer from malicious software applications. Being lightweight, it offers a limited amount of features and scan modes, but it offers more than other lightweight anti-malware applications available today. The upside of this being a lightweight application is that it’s fast and doesn’t use up a lot of system resources.
Mawarebytes provides a customizable and comprehensive user interface. It also co-exists very well with other antivirus and anti-malware programs, which along with its lightweight nature makes it very useful. Its main features include:

• Support for many versions of Windows including XP, Vista and 7.
• Quick scanner that uses less resources.
• Ability to perform full scans for all drives.
• Extensive malware database that gets updated every two days.
• Ability to quarantine dangerous files and restore them if needed.
• Ability to set an ignore list for the scanner.
• Settings to enhance your Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware performance.
• A small list of extra utilities to help remove malware manually.
• Support for many languages.
• Works together with other anti-malware utilities.
• Command line support which allows quick scanning.
• Context menu integration to scan files on demand.

For a small fee, it is possible to register Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and get even more useful features. The free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware can be downloaded at http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials, which was initially known as Morro, is a free antivirus application provided by Microsoft for its operating systems Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It was built to replace the previous antivirus software created by Microsoft, Windows Live OneCare, which required payment. As Microsoft Security Essentials is offered for free, it has an extensive user base. It is also lightweight and speedy, which makes it very useful. As it offers tight integration with the Windows environment, it disables Windows Defender, and provides much more extensive protection from malware, spyware, viruses and rootkits. Microsoft Security Essentials can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/. The features provided by Microsoft Security Essentials include:

• Microsoft Malware Protection Engine (MSMPENG).
• Virus definitions from Windows Defender, Windows Live OneCare, and ForeFront Client Security.
• No registration or personal information needed, MSE simply checks the Windows registration details.
• Virus database which gets updated 3 times daily, updates can be downloaded through Windows Update service.
• Dynamic Signature Service is used to check for suspicious behavior in programs to detect malware.
• Automatic action taken in case user does not respond to ‘malware removal’ prompts. System restore points will be created at the point of removal.
• Tight integration with the latest versions of Microsoft Windows.

Spybot Search and Destroy

Spybot Search and Destroy is an anti-spyware program that is provided free-of-charge by the Irish company Safer Networking Ltd. It was originally developed to defend computers against adware, but later it was redesigned to incorporate protection against a variety of malicious software applications. This anti-spyware program can be installed on Windows 95 and upwards.  Spybot has been awarded repeatedly for its free installation and updates and its excellent features. Some of its many features include:

• Spyware and Adware detection and removal with comprehensive, frequently updated databases.
• Registry repair.
• Repair of Winsock LSP and ActiveX objects.
• Removal of Browser hijackers and Browser Helper Objects (BHOs).
• Removal of Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs), Computer Cookies and Trackerware.
• Removal and repair of Keyloggers, homepage hijackers, Trojans, Spybots and Revision.
• Privacy Protection.
• Immunize feature which blocks the installation of spyware before it occurs.
• File Shredder – can be used to delete files securely.
• Anti-rootkit capabilities.
• TeaTimer module allows timed live protection from spyware and adware.

Spybot Search and Destroy is one of the most effective anti-spyware applications available for free today. It can be downloaded from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html.