The Best Free Anti-Virus Programme

[kindaichi]

Like the title portrays,i need recommendations on the best free anti-virus programme i can get.I need this for my school.Here is the case:

My teacher asked me to find out the best anti-virus programme because according to her,the computers in the school are affected by virus.And all the computers are linked together.So she asked me to find out so that she can scan the computers.Or is there any other way?Thanks in advance

 

[Andre]

I'm very happy with Avast the free home version, with real time automatic updates up to several times a day

http://www.avast.com/

 

[BoredNL]

Another decent one is http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/". I've used both AVG and Avast, and I have to say that I prefer Avast. There are pros and cons to both though, so you might want to try both (not at the same time. I have AVG on my desktop, and Avast on my laptop).

You can google more free anti-virus programs, but I think Avast and AVG are the best. Feel free to look around though.

 

[RJ Emery]

Like the title portrays,i need recommendations on the best free anti-virus programme i can get.I need this for my school.Here is the case:

My teacher asked me to find out the best anti-virus programme because according to her,the computers in the school are affected by virus.And all the computers are linked together.So she asked me to find out so that she can scan the computers.Or is there any other way?Thanks in advance

Kindaichi,

You will need to isolate each computer and the network operating system, then independently run an on-line AV program on each machine to identify and remove the virus. However, some machines may be so badly corrupted that their hard drives will need to be erased and the operating system reinstalled. That will entail a complete loss of user and system files. In any event, if infected, expect some loss of files regardless.

Do not attempt to install a free-standing AV program if you feel the computer is infected. A virus on an infected machine will automatically infect and corrupt the AV program. First, run a scan using an on-line detector. Any one of the following will do:

Command AntiVirus: http://www.commandondemand.com/eval/index.cfm
Trend AntiVirus: http://housecall.antivirus.com
Symantec: http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp
Panda Software: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm
BitDefender: http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php

After you have confirmed that the machine is clean, you can then install any AV program. Among the freeware AV programs, I happen to like Avast, but AVG is also good:
Avast: http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html
AVG: http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/

Be forewarned that any previous AV program needs to be completely uninstalled before a new AV program can be installed. The uninstall programs for Norton AV and McAfee are notorious for leaving components installed that will prevent any new AV program from functioning properly. Good luck.

 

[Thrice]

The uninstall programs for Norton AV and McAfee are notorious for leaving components installed that will prevent any new AV program from functioning properly.

lol they really do that?

 

[RJ Emery]

lol they really do that?

Yes. Let's just say their uninstall programs are poorly designed. There are special programs that one needs to use to entirely purge one's system of NAV or McAfee, and even then, they may not work.

After trying to remove NAV via the uninstall and the special downloaded RNAV program, I finally had to trip through the system registry and manually yank every Norton, NAV or Symantec reference I could find. Same situation when I worked with McAfee.

AVG and Avast, OTOH, will uninstall cleanly. And they both are more effective.

 

[cosmicstring1]

I recommend NOD32. It is light and does its business well.