Do we need a sticky for free AV's ??

I think maybe it would be helpful for a sticky for free antivirus products since a lot of people seem interested in freeware, especially security products. There are the "big three" in Antivir, Avast and AVG. Recently a post was made about Rising Antivirus free version. I suppose PC Tools AV and Comodo could be added. I know there are some others as well- Iolo has a free av offer and CA has one from time to time. F-Secure may still have their 6 month free license for their 2006 product. BitDefender has their free on demand download. Dr. Web and Kaspersky have free versions of their products. Then there is Clam AV. Of course some products are more advanced than others. But maybe a few features could be mentioned (those that also detect spyware, have a realtime scanner and maybe a screenshot or two).


This would be a good way to keep up on new releases of free AV's as well as products that may be offering a free product from time to time (for general public use).

What does everyone else think?

Antivir- http://www.free-av.com/

Avast- http://www.avast.com/eng/free_virus_protectio.html

AVG- http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition

BitDefender- http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-Free-Edition.html

ClamWin- http://www.clamwin.com/

AOL VirusScan Plus SE- http://daol.aol.com/security/virusscan-plus/

Blink eEye (anyone know if the firewall can be disabled?)- http://www.eeye.com/html/consumer/products/blink/download/index.html

Rising AV- http://www.freerav.com/

Iolo AV- http://www.iolo.com/ads/vnu/avpromo.aspx

Computer Associates- http://home3.ca.com/SubscriptCenter/MSTrialRegistration.aspx?cid=573

F-Secure 2006 (should be six months)- http://esd.element5.com/demoreg.html?productid=544842&languageid=1

PC Tools Antivirus- http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/

Comodo Antivirus- http://antivirus.comodo.com/

Dr. Web CureIt - http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/

AVZ scanner - http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http://z-oleg.com/secur/avz/index.php

Ashampoo (not sure how long)- http://www.ashampoo.com/frontend/registration/php/trial_step1.php?session_langid=20&edition_id=2674

MicroWorld scanner - http://www.mwti.net/products/mwav/mwav.asp

Kaspersky AVP Tool- http://ftp.kaspersky.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/

I will try to add some more later and clean this up a bit. If anyone else has any other free antivirus products please post them.

 

It would be useful but we will need a proper review and comparison between the big 3 products and a few sentences regarding the remaining.

 

Good idea. Just keep it simple by just stating what each offers in protection without any product comparisons.

 

I think it's a good idea. Many people already know of AVG, AVAST, and Antivir, and it would be useful to find other free Av's that are also good.

 

Congrats, You have now volunteered to compile all the info, suggestions and what not. Once finished, perhaps consideration will then be given on adding it to our General Policy & Recommended Threads

 

LOL

 

Keep em coming acr1965

I've also combined your 1st and latest post. Later I'll remove my posts to keep it all somewhat clean as you guys\gals add em.

 

acr1965 must be experiencing how it must have felt to have been drafted back in the early 70s. Well...he asked for it. Lay it on him bubba. .

Later...

 

LOL... Thanks for "volunteering"
Anyways, it's a great idea.
I have one little suggestion. The list that now is shown on the first post, could be divided into "full AV" and "on demand only".

 

Could you split the list between 'full free' & 'free trial'?
Just to make things a bit easier on the eyes

 

@L815
I think this is a bit difficult. For example, the "big 3", are considered full, but they are limited if you compare them with the paid version, so are they really full or a trial?
I also feel that trials (as in 30-days fully functional trial) are not really free AV's. Just my $0.02

 

I think they should just be separated into: realtime or ondemand

 

I agree. Also, if you do this, please briefly explain in easy to understand terms the difference between realtime/active and on demand scanners.

acr1965 Great work and an excellent idea!

 

I see what you mean. I was only talking about CA & F-Secure which are 1 year and 6 month trials.

 

We could just make a note that F-Secure and CA offer an extra long trial of their (paid) AV software.

 

Good idea. Average users can use these free scanners, if they are infected, before visiting a malware forum with a HijackThis Log.

 

http://wiki.castlecops.com/Lists_of_freeware_antivirus

 

I like the idea of this being a sticky. I support. It would save people a heck of a time.

 

Also, what engine does AShampoo use by the way?

 

It uses Avira.

 

Maybe this thread should have legends. See example below,

List of AntiVirus:
Antivir - f/i/os=2000+/rt/c
Avast - f/r/i/os=98+/rt/as/c
AVG - f/i/os=2000+/rt/as/c
BitDefender - f/i/os=2000+/od/as/c
ClamWin - f/ip/os=2000+/od/as/c
AOL - f/r/i/os=2000+/s/rt/as/c
etc...

Legends: (should be different colors)
f=free
r=register
t=trial (eg: t=6 mos)
i=install
p=portable
ip=install/portable
os=operating system (eg: os=98+)
s=suite (w/ firewall, etc)
rt=real-time
od=on-demand
as=ad/spy
c=cleans
so=scan only

What do you guys think? Also, we should indicate that these AVs are for the Windows system only (in thread title).

thanatos

 

Request for a FREE full version key without time limit for the program:
What does this mean for Ashampoo

 

hello thanatos_theos,
good idea
you forgot rootkit detection, both avast and drweb cureit detect rootkits.
how about C for clean but with an = for how good the cleaning is 1 to 5
1 being low and 5 being high
for example drweb cure it=5 for cleaning and maybe avira 1

would it be to much to ask for links to most common isp? and a link to what secuirty they offer for free?
for example skybroadband mcafee,bt norton etc
i wouldnt mind help get some of the information.
dont forget about the rescue cd's they are free also.

 

IIRC, you do not need to register to get Avira Free. It downloads/renews the *.key file during update (a week before expiration).

Regarding the cleaning ability, the numbers (ratings) should not be biased (path to A vs B). Maybe IBK can help by testing the cleaning ability of each AV.

Maybe we could add "ar=antirootkit".

thanatos

 

I think it means lifetime?