Effectiveness of Online Scanners?

[Drew99GT]

Are the online scanners as effective as the real actual software? I use the A2 online scanner as a backup to Ewido free; should I just download the free A2 or does the online scanner perform equally? Thanks

[furballi]

Should be if derived from the same core engine.

[emsisoft]

There is no difference between the a-squared Free scanner and the a-squared Online Malware scan. Both use the same scan engine and also use the same parts of the user interface.

Please note, that not all online scanners are able to delete detected Malware. Nearly none of them have a quarantine feature included, but a-squared has a quarantine.

Here is the direct link for those who want to try:
http://malwarescan.emsisoft.com

[kdm31091]

I don't like online scanners because I like having the program officially installed. However, in my experience with my mother's [badly!] infected computers, it was a lifesaver to not have to download/install anything while the computer was very slow and annoying. I only had to launch a site, scan and fix 90% of the problems. Online scans are effective, but not my cup of tea. But in infected situations they might be useful.

As for A2, if it's jsut the free version, it's not going to run in memory or anything, so why not install it?