Best free "on-line" AV scanner?

I see that F-Secure and BitDefender both offer free on-demand, on-line scanners...but I haven't used either (or any) before. Those were the only two I saw, but I'm sure there are (probably) more.

Has anybody used an on-line AV scanner before? And if so, what were your impressions (effectiveness, speed, ease of use, etc.) and what would you recommend?

 

Just visit my page www.security-ops.eu.tt for more!
Basically i trust Kaspersky(F-Secure is basically the same) and McAfee the most.
Right next is BitDefender. Then maybe Panda and after this one Norton/Trend Micro.
Others are there just because they exist

 

WOW! Great page, RejZoR...thanks for the great link and the heads up.

McAfee is my permanent, real-time AV....but I wanted to see about what people thought about on-line AVs because I'm thinking about trying one out. This page helps a ton.

 

I will vote the new WebScanner of Kaspersky and ScanOnline of BitDefender...

 

Hey RejZor (or anyone that knows).....looking at the link for Kaspersky, I notice they use the word and phrases "before installing this version", "Simple installation", "install the product", "download and install files" and "download the files". Sounds like a "mini" software app of sorts, rather than simply an on-line scanner.....is that correct? Does it create a "quick launch" icon or any program folders, etc.? Not that I'd have a problem with that (I'd probably actually PREFER that), but the others sound more like strictly "on-line" while KAV sounds more like a "mini-version" of the main app.

Also, since I am running McAfee in real-time, would using another AV for a quick scan be risky, or cause possible conflicts? Seems like I've heard that it's not wise or recommended to have more than one AV on a computer at any time....someone please straighten me out!

 

Well basically we use wrong terms,but we should leave this as it is

Web scanner are basically only Single file scanners (and multi-engine scanners),because you don't download anything. You just upload to their scanner and server returns results.

While those you meantioned are full featured antiviruses that have On-Demand module only. Everything else is practically the same as in stand-alone local version with Real-time scanner.

Only AV that causes conflicts with others is Panda, because it doesn't use encrypted signature files which will be detected by your local McAfee antivirus.
All others don't have such problems.

Btw,i have just updated Security-Ops page. Double-click refresh button in browser to see latest content

 

Hi JR,

You're absolutely right, Kaspersky Anti-Virus Web Scanner does install on your computer, but you access it thought your browser. Just save the link in your favorites. Also it's no longer in BETA, it went RC with a new version number, and it scans your whole computer.

Also read its' requirements & limitations, doesn't scan RAM, boot sectors and MBRs, so it cannot detect malicious code located in these areas. Funny thing is I installed it in regular user account ( not thinking ) and it works fine.

I also assume it's only a scanner and will not clean too, but I'm not sure since I had no infections when I did a scan. If it also cleans then bye-bye e-scan ver 4.4.7. Also had no problem with nod running resident in background.

Regards,

Jaws

 

Thx for the heads up. I haven't noticed thats already out of beta stage...
Updated page will be online in few seconds...

 

Hey Jaws, thanks a lot....I appreciate that info, it's very helpful

I tried using Kaspersky using that link you provided, RejZoR....but ran into some problems and couldn't get it to work. Could that link possibly be outdated now that it's out of BETA?

 

No. Just make sure you first uninstall BETA version if you have used it when it was still in BETA. You can find uninstaller in Add-Remove Programs panel.
Link is not outdated+there is warning regarding this on first page.

 

I've never had any version of KAV on my machine as of yet, so that's not the problem. At first, I was using Firefox...but got the message that I should use Internet Explorer. So I then tried with IE, but was still unsuccessful. Any ideas what possibly went wrong?

 

You might need to add www.kaspersky.com to your trusted sites in IE so that it can run the ActiveX controls and install the software...

Just a thought

 

I'll give it a shot and see what happens, thanks for the heads up

You know, I just thought of something. I use McAfee AV (which uses ActiveX), and when I manually check to see there is an available update and there is, my IE browser is brought up. When the download begins, the windows "ActiveX blocker" prevents it from initially downloading, but I just click "Allow ActiveX" and the download begins and completes.

I'm not sure what the deal was yesterday, but I haven't tried it yet today. Once I do I'll post just to announce the result. Hopefully it will take the next time I try.....

 

What makes it better that e-scan 4.4.7?

Thanks,
Jerry

 

Database size i belive (and update frequency). And always up-to-date engine.

 

Well, I downloaded and tried the Kaspersky Anti-Virus Web Scanner 5.0 from your web-site today, RejZoR. Aside from the 55+ minutes it took to complete a very (and I mean VERY) thorough scan (entire computer), it seems like a pretty useful tool to have as an "on demand" AV scanner, so I think it's a keeper (and will be a good supplementary scanner to back-up McAfee Active Shield and VirusScan). I'll probably use it every now and then, even though I'm hoping the results are just like they were today (0 infections/viruses, etc.)

I just have a question, RejZor....how come the browser will NOT maximize, and when I try to, it jumps from one location on the screen to another? After I followed your "Btw,i have just updated Security-Ops page. Double-click refresh button in browser to see latest content" advice, it seems to have played a little trick on KAV's web scanner with IE's browser......