3 Free and Useful AntiVirus Software for Windows

Having a reliable antivirus software is something that every Windows user should have on his/her own computer. However, these antivirus tools are usually very expensive and use up way too much computer memory.

Here are three open source free antivirus software for Windows. They have functionality that will give you the ability to protect your system and information the same way as paid antivirus software.
Note: Remember that it is very important to keep it up-to-date because there are different viruses popping up every day.

1. ClamWin

ClamWin is a standalone, open source virus scanner with a scanning scheduler. It gets the job done by scanning and removing harmful malware that could affect your system. One of the great features is that it automatically downloads updates to fight and prevent new viruses that have appeared after you initially install the software. ClamWin is the most simplest of the three antivirus software.

Another useful functionality is that it integrates with Windows Explorer; in addition, there is an add-in to Microsoft Outlook to automatically remove virus-infected attachments. It doesn’t have an online scanner, which is not good because the Internet is usually accessed when the computer is on.

Another issue is that there is no automatic way to scan a file for viruses. In order to scan for viruses, you have to manually perform this process. For this antivirus scanner to be useful, you would have to also have an additional scanner that prevents malware from being placed on your system from your internet browser.

To download or find out more information about ClamWin: http://www.clamwin.com/

2. AVG Free

AVG is another antivirus and antispyware software that protects against viruses, spyware, adware, and trojans created for Windows. Like ClamWin, it does automatically scan for new virus definitions daily. It also has an added advantage that it is able to scan online items in a real-time capability. It has a Scheduler that can let you set and change time frames of when the virus scanner should run.

One of the major cons with AVG Free is that it does not protect against identity theft, hacker attacks, infected downloads, infected instant-messaging and spam. If you want to protect your system from these types of attacks, you will have to upgrade to the paid service. Furthermore, the free edition does not give you access to AVG technicians in case you run into a problem, which can be a major flaw because that is something that should be offered, even if you are not paying. AVG Free has useful functionality that can be sufficient in protecting your computer, but it does not fully protect the way it should.

To download or find out more information about AVG Free: http://free.avg.com/

3. AntiVir Personal 8

AntiVir Personal 8 scans both internal and external hard drives. The antivirus software has the increasingly popular “Advanced Heuristics Analysis and Detection” technology, which provides new levels of virus detection and cleaning by intelligently analyzing whether or not something is a virus. This is something that ClamWin and AVG Free do not have.

Additionally, AntiVir has the capability of allowing users to remove viruses by a one-button removal button. When it opens, AntiVir opens up to an overview of your last scan, last update, and what version you are running. The software has an internal event log that shows a detailed look of the your entire system. There are also reports that you can run to check your system and how well the software is protecting it.

Out of the three software, AntiVir seems to offer more functionality that is similar to paid antivirus software. It does not leave any needed feature out that could allow malware to infect your system.

To download or find out more information about AntiVir Personal 8: http://www.free-av.de/en/index.html

Others

Don’t forget too about the free Microsoft Security Essential that we have previously covered. While Microsoft has stop the free download, you can still find a copy at Softpedia.

Tags: Antivirus, free, Software, windows