Looking for FREE AV Scanner

[ler329]

Hello

I'm looking for a FREE AV Scanner. Currently I use Avast, but want to have a second one installed for extra security! Or is Avast good enough? Are there better ones?

[puff-m-d]

Hi ler329,

Some free AV's are reviewed HERE (http://www.wilders.org/free_tools.htm).

Just remember, do not run 2 AV's resident at the same time....

HTH...

Regards,
Kent

[subratam]

Hi ler,
Avast is ofcourse a good anti virus :). and yes its no harm to keep a back up scanner.
I have always been a great lover of AVG, and I will recommend AVG for you.
One word of advice,
Do NOT run the "resident shields" of antiviruses at the same time together.
some more choices , which are more than useful
F-secure, F-prot.
There will be some more inputs soon. Its your decision at the end of day.
good day

[Peaches4U]

AVG let me down & has been a tad problematic re updates lately ... am now using AVAST. Avast also has a support forum should problems be encountered. So far Avast has served me well except for one false positive ... better that than an infection. I believe Panda is also offering a free version AV which includes a firewall.

It is not recommended to run two AV's at the same time because it may cause a conflict. If you choose to have two, then one should be used "on demand" only. I do not find that running two AVs necessary .... I will do a frequent online Panda or Trend-Micro scan as a second opinion from time to time.

[Blackcat]

Check out these posts;

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=22057

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=18929

To supplement Avast, the ones which stand out from the pack are

1. Escan AntiVirus Toolkit Utility- which uses the Kaspersky engine-

http://www.mwti.net/antivirus/free_utilities.asp

2. Etrust AntiVirus- Server edition- http://etrustantivirus-east.ca.com/v7/ - which uses 2 scan engines.

3. EZ's Combined AV and Firewall- http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/index.cfm?

4. Panda's Combined AV and Firewall- http://www.pandasecurity.com/surveymonkey/

5. BitDefender- http://www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/products.php?p_id=24#

6. F-Prot for DOS- which is very popular as a back-up scanner; http://www.f-prot.com/download/home_user/download_fpdos.html


If you are happy with Avast, stick with this as your main scanner and see which of the above will sit with it as a back-up scanner. Take into account that Panda's and Etrust's scanners are only free for 12 months.