Kit your PC out for free: No cost anti-virus software Discussion Area

Lord_Gardener

Surprised not to see Spybot!?

comdw

This website has a very good list of the best freeware utilities available for your PC. I found it very useful as the software is reviewed and updated regularly:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

ks62uk

Tried to sign up today for the free 2GB - but it would not accept my email address. Presumably will only accept bt addresses, even though the page says that it is available for those without BT broadband.

K

Update: signed up - it will not accept email addresses with a hyphen ie me@my-mail.co.uk

superscaper

ks62uk wrote:

Tried to sign up today for the free 2GB - but it wouild not accept my email address. Presumably will only accept bt addresses, even though the page says that it is available for those without BT broadband.

K

Just tried signing up now. Had no problems, so no you don't need a bt address.

AdrianR_2

Have you thought of suggesting Linux in your free software roundup? Linux is inherently safer than Window, nearly all programs are free (including most of the Linux operating systems) and you automatically would have a full professional system in one go. If you have problems you can actually talk directly toi the people who write the software.

I cannot pull myself fully away from Windows, there are some things that currently I cannot do on a Linux machine, but I suspect that is due to lack of knowledge rather than a deficit in the software. I run two machines. I only use the Linux for anything that requires a level of security. I web browse to my bank, pay for items online and send confidential online posts when using Linux.

I use Ubuntu, with the Kubuntu desktop added in. Its free to download or they would even ship it to you free. It has all the office, Internet, and art packages I could want. With the forthcoming Windows Vista, many computers will just not cope with the hardware requirements. So people will have to buy new hardware if they wish to run it. I would recommend getting Ubuntu instead. If you feel you must get a new PC and have Vista, save the old one, put Linux on it, and have a second perspective. You can dual boot both operating systems, but for a 'noob' like me I prefer a separate system. My son also can use it then. He likes it even more than me, and he is only 7.

https://www.ubuntu.com is an eye-opener.

mike3000

Better than AdAware from Lavasoft is SUPERAntiSpyware Professional.

Again it's free and found far more than AdAware did which i have been using for the last 2 years.

Found SUPERAntiSpyware Professional on Download.com

Available here
http://www.download.com/SuperAntiSpyware-Professional/3000-8022_4-10603267.html

or direct from the software company
http://www.superantispyware.com/

Mizz_Pink

If i knew how to use the advanced search tool on this forum I would paste the link to a thread Hubby replied too ages ago. He spent ages typing out all the free software he installs on customers pc.

I cant find it though when I search

Woby_Tide

I recently switched from Avast to Avira Anti-Vir (after previously switching from AVG to Avast). No real reasons but saw some research on the relative merits of the free Av software out there and felt more impressed with Avira's offering

Comparison here
http://wiki.castlecops.com/AntiVirus_Comparison

Even more indepth comparison table here
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2006_08.php

AVG looks increasingly weak in the face of competition from Avast and Avira, but alas the majority of people are happy to go along with the majority
Avira available from here
http://www.free-av.com/

Reed_Richards

I would recommend Active Virus Shield:

http://www.activevirusshield.com/

This is a free version of Kaspersky Antivirus and it seems to be more comprehensive than AVG as it will also detect and remove at least some spyware that AVG ignores. The other major difference is that, as far as I can see, it is it is free to all users, not just non-commercial users.

People may be suspicious that you must submit an email address but I have used Active Virus Shield for several months without receiving any junk emails (you have an opt-out).

steves_3

As an IT security consultant, I'm particularly paranoid...;-)

I'd recommend getting a second PC specifically for sensitive tasks such as:

1) Online banking.
2) Online shopping.

ONLY USE THIS PC FOR THESE SENSITIVE TASKS!! IF YOU DO ANY OTHER WEB BROWSING ON THIS PC YOU SACRIFICE THE SECURITY IT PROVIDES.

Why?

Well the biggest risk I'm worried about at the moment is criminal gangs writing a keylogger program that they install on your PC to look for when you buy things with a credit card, or log in to your online banking. Once it recognises the tell tale key strokes it then quietly sends off a message to its home with the details... hey presto they own your credit card/online banking details.

Virus checkers/spyware checkers etc will not detect these keyloggers (until it's too late) because they will be specifically written not to be detectable, they won't do any other damage they'll just sit there quietly..... I've not heard of this actually happening yet, but it's only a matter of time.

So if you are mega-paranoid, get a cheap PC off ebay (it really doesn't need to be very powerfull at all), do a clean install of windows/linux etc on it, put all the antivirus, anti spam on it, install all the latest patches, use a firewall, and only ever use it for "clean", "sensitive" tasks....and switch it off when not in use. Oh and use the one-time use credit card that Martin recommends... all very good stuff.

Steve