Free AntiVirus Software!

Free antivirus software is a reality. Many companies would like to introduce you to their entire product line by supplying the free stuff first. The old adage that you pay for what you get doesn't hold up with free antivirus software. There are several free antivirus software programs that are of excellent quality.

It is absolutely critical that you install antivirus protection on your computer before going online. Statistics abound that prove unprotected computers are infected almost immediately once online.

Just what are viruses, worms, and trojans? Computer viruses are harmful programs written by rogue programmers to either harm your computer or you (usually financially) using a variety of methods. They may be benign and just reproduce (which is a problem too) or they may completely disable your computer by destroying the data on it. This is not the worst that can happen! Malicious code can steal your personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, passwords,etc., that can have devastating consequences.

Worms and trojans are technically different from viruses, but are basically the same thing. They seek to do harm.

Listed below are free antivirus software programs that I have personally used and recommend to you. However, be aware that in most cases you will have to manually update the virus definitions. This should be done once a week. The programs that update automatically usually cost money. New viruses are constantly being created by hackers and their ilk. Since this is a fact, the free antivirus software programs need to be updated on a ongoing basis to counter this. One caveat regarding the free antivirus programs. You can only use one program on your computer at a time. If you install more than one it could lead to software conflicts on your PC.

If you are using a older version of Windows other than XP you need to have some type of firewall protection. Firewall programs block access to your computer from hackers. This prevents them from gaining control of your computer for their nefarious purposes. Windows XP has a built in firewall, but it is not up to the quality of third party firewall products. You may turn the XP firewall on by going to the Security Center in the Control Panel. I have included a link to one of the best free or otherwise firewall programs I know about. Zonealarm. Good stuff. Okay, here they are.







AVG Anti Virus Free Free protection against viruses, worms and trojans, AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is ideal for private, non-commercial use. (Use of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition within any organization or for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.) Join the millions of satisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and now enjoy the benefits of AVG products.



Avast! Free Anti Virus Avast Home Edition is a complete ICSA certified and Secure Computing Magazine awarded antivirus software for home noncommercial use. Avast includes the following components: On Demand Scanner--with skinnable simple interface--just select what do you want to scan in which way and press the Play button; On Access Scanner--special providers to protect the most of available e-mail clients; Instant Messaging--ICQ, Miranda; Network traffic--intrusion detection--lightweight firewall; P2P protection for Kazaa, BitTorrent; Web shield--monitors and filter all HTTP traffic; NNTP Scanner--scans all Usenet Newsgroup traffic and all operations with files on PC; Boot Time Scanner--scans disks in the same way and in the same time as Windows CHKDSK does. You need to register to get the the free anti virus software and thereafter every year. Small price to pay for such a great anti virus program.



Avira Free AntiVirus Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic reliably protects your private computer against dangerous viruses, worms, Trojans and costly dialers. More than 15 million users worldwide trust in the reliable protection of Avira AntiVir. And this is no coincidence at all: Avira has gained several awards. The product combines first-class detection rates and ease of use with a top performance that protects your computer safely and hardly burdens older PCs.




Zonealarm Firewall Protection Basic PC Protection from Hackers Most popular free PC firewall product on the market. Easy-to-use firewall blocks hackers and other unknown threats.

Return to the top of Free Anti Virus Software