Virus Protection

Virus Protection

• On this page:
• Basics: What is a virus?
• Background: What do they do?
• Where can we compare the actual performance of different anti virus software?
• What are some of the best anti-virus software brands?
• Where can we get free anti-virus software that's good?

What is a virus?

As you probably already know, the computer virus got its name because of the way it could spread and reproduce, i.e. by 'infecting' a host and then replicating with the aim of spreading to other hosts.

The differences between related types of malware, e.g. a virus, a worm or a trojan horse, are mainly about how they spread and replicate. See our glossary for more about this. (Glossary page links open in a new window.)

• Remember the basic requirements to staying secure online:
• Making your browser more secure (or maybe using a different browser).
• Using anti-spyware tools. (A few.)
• Using an antivirus tool. (One good one that runs all the time.)
• Using a firewall. (Just one.)
• Using email safely.

Compare Antivirus Tools

(If you can!)

I often review what people search for when they are thinking about virus and spyware protection.

People want to know:

• What is the best antivirus software
• What are the top rated antivirus programs
• Where they can read reviews of antivirus software

Of course they also want to know what is the best free antivirus software, or at least which are free to download and free to try.

We have said it elsewhere on this site about other tools, and we have to say it again: it is extremely difficult to compare and evaluate tools like firewalls, anti-spyware and anti-virus software.

We can read reviews on popular websites and in magazines. But if you really want to compare security tools only one thing matters: rigorous testing by independent experts.

You can see reports on that kind of testing at AV Comparatives.

The people at AV Comparatives regularly test some of the top anti-virus brands and compare their performance at detecting known viruses.

That kind of testing is useful to know about. But even then, you have to keep in mind the scope of the tests. Testing at AV Comparitives concentrates on the issue of virus detection. But there is more to an anti-virus tool than that.

In August 2007 Virus Bulletin published an article about the difficulties of testing antivirus software. Moreover questions also emerged about bias in testing reporting on antivirus software. The article is here, at Virus Bulletin. The article links to other information about the same topic too.

For example there is one well respected anti-virus tool that is very good at detecting virus threats but it is famously not user-friendly for inexperienced computer users. So it doesn't matter how good it is at finding viruses if the user cannot actually deploy it properly.

By the way, aside from the question of performance testing – and in answer to the question about what is the best free antivirus software – somebody has recently tried out five of the free anti-virus options and reported on his experience with them. Read the article here to find out what to expect from the free tools, which ones might come with annoyances, which are easy to use and so on.

Good performance? Or good marketing?

One of the first things I discovered about anti-virus software was that the most well known brands were not the most well respected by people who know the business. The most well known brands were not necessarily the ones that performed best in independent testing.

It seems that the brands that are most well known by average computer users are, as can be expected, the ones that are well marketed.

Some of these brands are found pre-installed on new computers. Sometimes they are also 'nag-ware' – that is, they are installed, but they are not free: they start asking users to register and pay to get continued support.

This may be good marketing, a good way for a brand to become well known, but it is no indicator of quality.

Quality Antivirus Software.

Here are some antivirus tools. Just a few: only good ones.

Panda Antivirus

Panda Antivirus is a respected antivirus tool and also protects against many forms of spyware.

Vendor's description:

The new Panda Antivirus 2007 makes protecting your computer as easy as possible.

It automatically blocks and removes all types of viruses and spyware so you can surf the Internet, send and receive email, play games, download files, chat online – and relax.

Panda Antivirus is small and super-efficient, so your computer runs faster!

Special Feature:

For each Panda Antivirus 2007 product purchase you get protection for up to two PCs.
(Remember, a lot of software is sold on the basis of an annual subscription for just one computer.)

Panda also offer:

• A combination tool, Antivirus + Firewall. Read about that on our Panda page.
  
• A complete internet security suite. Read about that too on our Panda page.

Kaspersky Antivirus

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is another of the most highly respected antivirus tools. It also extends to protect against many other types of pests and intruders.
Kaspersky have made this tool easier for beginners to use, ensuring that it is simple to install and set up.
More advanced users will also find a highly adaptable product easily tailored to suit their own needs.

Kaspersky offer two main options for PC security, i.e.:
The specialised antivirus tool, 'Kaspersky Anti-Virus':

Read more on our Kaspersky page - Anti-Virus.

A complete internet security program.
Read about that too on our Kaspersky page - Internet Security.
This includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall protection and more.

• Operating Systems:
• Most Windows systems, NT, 2000, XP, 98, ME, XP, x64
  Exact details are on our Kaspersky page.

Kaspersky Lab are virus specialists and security specialists: consequently their tools have not always been the cheapest you can get.
However, if you have more than one computer to look after, they offer a 'two for the price of one' option for us home and small office users. You can get that from here: Kaspersky Antivirus 2 for 1.

Also, on their new North American site, Kaspersky offer what most internet customers expect these days: a free trial.

BitDefender Antivirus

BitDefender can provide complete security solutions for corporate clients and large networks – but they still provide a quality anti-virus tool for us home and small office users.

Find out more on our BitDefender page.
BitDefender under-sell their antivirus tool when they call it simply 'Antivirus' – because it comes, as standard, with many other functions that we want for online security (such as spyware protection and email checking).

BitDefender also help you to save money with a selection of licensing options – very helpful for those of us with more than one computer connected to the internet. E.g.:

• Antivirus, 1 user license, 1 year
• 1 user license, 3 years
• 2 user licenses, 2 years

BitDefender also offer their antivirus tool enhanced with more features, BitDefender Antivirus Plus – which provides many of the capabilities you would want from a 'security suite'.
A complete, well featured, internet security suite is also available. See details on our BitDefender page.

Or just go to the BitDefender website.

avast! Antivirus

ALWIL Software, providers of 'avast! Antivirus' tools, is another respected anti-virus specialist.

Moreover ALWIL are extremely generous. In the spirit of helping everyone defend against internet and virus threats ALWIL provide some free tools and discounts as follows:

• A virus remover tool that is free to download and use. (See below.)
• A free version of avast! antivirus for personal, home, non-commercial use. (See below.)
• Big discounts for non-profit, charity, educational and government institutions. If this describes you, go to ALWIL's prices page to get antivirus protection at discounted prices.
• You can have a free trial before you buy. (Scroll down the page that opens from the link to see the 'free trial' buttons.)
• A free version of avast! antivirus for Linux.

Also, avast! antivirus is available in many different languages.

avast! Antivirus Professional

The full-featured, fully supported avast! antivirus tool is avast! Antivirus Professional.

• Operating Systems:
• Most Windows systems, including the old – Windows® 95/98/Me, and the new – Windows® Vista: NT, 2000, XP, 98, ME, XP, x64
  

Note: for Windows server systems you need the specialised avast! products: for Windows NT/2000/2003 or Windows SBS servers.

Vendor's Description: avast! Antivirus Professional.

• On Demand Scanner - with two user interfaces:
• Windows like or Skinnable Simple Interface - just select what do you want to scan in which way and press the Play button
• Enhanced User Interface - Outlook like UI allows user to set any feature of avast!, prepare and run tasks, store and check task's results
• On Access Scanner - resident scanning of all files being opened, read and written and behavior blocker monitoring dangerous actions of viruses or even users themself
• E-mail scanner easily integrates with most mail clients and it checks both incoming and outgoing mails, it provides heuristic analysis of mail content to protect against new Worms, it supports multiple SMTP servers
• Instant messaging protection - checks communication over MSN Messenger, ICQ, mIRC, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, Trillian etc.
• P2P protection - scans all files exchanged over Kazaa, Kazaa Lite, Direct Connect, DC++, WinMX etc.
• Network Shield - analyses all network traffic and scans it for malicious contents (Intenet Worms as Sasser, Blaster, SQL Slammer etc). It can be also taken as a lightweight firewall - or more precisely, an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) (on NT/2000/XP only)
• Script Blocker - checks all scripts running under Windows Scripting Host and Web browsers
• Boot Time Scanner - scans disks in the same way and in the same time as Windows CHKDSK does (on NT/2000/XP only)
• Explorer Scanner - right click on the object allows you to scan it
• Screen Saver scanner - integrates with your Screen Saver to scan PC during your coffee breaks
• Integrated Virus Cleaner - removes the most of the dangerous virus/worm including Sobig, Klez, Yaha etc.
• Virus Chest - safety isolated folder to store infected, suspicious and even some system files - to restore them

Our true incremental updates are based on iAVS technology and they are available for virus definition file update and for program upgrade.

• You can download and install updates by simple clicking on the iAVS icon, it can be checked and done automatically when you are On-line, and by our exclusive PUSH technology.
• The update files of size under 100 KB are available at least twice a week and within couple of hours in the case of emergency of new virus. They are automatically downloaded, installed and loaded to avast! without restart or logoff.
• Program upgrades are available to incorporate new features time to time, they are incremental too (about 300 KB)
• Updates and program upgrades are included for the selected length of contract (1, 2 or 3 years). Following years will be available for about 60% of the one year price.

Free Virus Cleaning from avast!

If you know that your computer has been infected by a known virus/worm (for example MyDoom, Netsky, Beagle etc.) try using the FREE avast! Virus Cleaner.

avast! Virus Cleaner is available free for every user. This tool will help you remove a number of the common infections from your computer.

Free Anti-Virus Tools

Please remember that the free anti-virus tools offered by vendors usually fall short of offering the full level of protection that you might need, especially if:

• you use the internet a lot
• you have an always-on internet connection
• you frequently download software, games, movies, music
• you use IM (Instant Messaging) or chat rooms
• you visit websites where there is a lot of aggressive advertising such as pop-up windows.

avast! Home Edition

Having just said above that free anti-virus tools probably lack important features, I must note that the avast! free edition is a very functional antivirus tool.

In particlar, the avast! free version does have "resident protection" – i.e. real-time protection of your operating system – the function that is always watching activity in the computer and ready to detect a virus as soon as it appears.

This always-monitoring protection is one of the most important functions of any antivirus program. avast! features a monitoring module that can detect a virus before it has any chance to infect your computer.

The resident protection with avast! Home Edition covers the computer file system, e-mails and news.

The Professional (not-free) version of avast! antivirus does have more capability than this free version. But this free version is very well featured, as follows:

avast! Home Main Features
Antivirus kernel	Automatic updates
Simple User Interface	Virus Chest
Resident protection	System integration
P2P and IM Shields	Integrated Virus Cleaner
Network Shield	Support for 64-bit Windows
Web Shield	Internationalization

BitDefender 8 Free Edition

BitDefender Antivirus 8 Free Edition

Vendor's Description

FREE Antivirus for All
BitDefender 8 Free Edition is your chance to use one of the world's most effective antivirus engines for free!
BitDefender 8 uses the same ICSA Labs certified scanning engines found in other BitDefender products, allowing you to enjoy basic virus protection for no cost at all.
BitDefender 8 Free Edition is an on-demand virus scanner, which is best used in a system recovery or forensics role.
If you are on an "always-on" Internet connection, BitDefender strongly advises you to consider using a more complex antivirus solution.

• More Features
• Virus scanning and removal
• On demand scanning - Powerful scan engines ensure detection and removal of all viruses in the wild every time you need it.
• Scheduled scanning
  The Scheduler lets you plan ahead, and schedule full system/drive scans in the off hours, when you won?t be using your computer.
• Immediate scanning
  With just a right click you can check your files and folders.
• Skinable interface
  You can express yourself, designing new interfaces, or you can use those drawn by others.
• Quarantine
  By isolating the infected files in quarantine, the risk of getting infected diminishes. You also have the possibility to send these files for further analysis to BitDefender Labs.
• Reports
  When launching a scan you may choose to create a report file where you can see statistics about the scan process.

• System requirements:
• Pentium MMX 200 Mhz or higher processor
• Minimum 64MB of RAM Memory (128MB recommended)
• Minimum 40MB available hard disk space

• Operating platform:
• Windows XP, 98, ME, 2000, NT-SP6: IE 4.0(+)

ClamWin Free Antivirus

ClamWin Free Antivirus is a non-profit free software project. You may download and use it absolutely free of charge.

Please note that ClamWin Free Antivirus does not include an on-access real-time scanner. That is, it does not run all the time and monitor what happens on your computer. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware.

However it is free, much better than having no antivirus protection and has many of the other features you can expect from a virus protection tool.
Also, you can add real-time monitoring on your computer by adding another free program, WinPooch.

ClamWin screenshot, showing main features:

Download ClamWin Free Antivirus here.

• Features:
• High detection rates for viruses and spyware
• Scanning Scheduler
• Automatic downloads of regularly updated Virus Database
• Standalone virus scanner and right-click menu integration to Microsoft Windows Explorer
• Add in to Microsoft Outlook to remove virus-infected attachments automatically

What are other people doing about anti-spyware and antivirus needs?
It can help to know what other computer users are doing to keep their systems free from pests. You can visit the 'Best anti-spyware' forum at Spyware Warrior where the discussion is about what tools people are using. It is mainly about spyware tools but people also talk about the antivirus tools they use.

Watch this space as we add more information about antivirus tools.