I learned long ago that every type of utility software — spyware/virus protection, disk defrag, firewalls, system optimizers, etc. — has a decent free version available somewhere on the web. Back in my tech support days, people were always pleasantly surprised when I told them I could install a needed utility and it wouldn’t cost them a cent to keep. Today I’m passing along the hidden gems I personally use for antivirus protection and virus removal.

AVG Free – http://free.avg.com/download?prd=afe
This is the one I recommend most often because it’s merely a lightweight alternative to their paid subscription version. This means that it behaves very much like the AV software from the likes of McAfee and Symantec, so most people are comfortable with it. The program updates once a day (the paid version allows updates as often as they are released), and has limited full-scanning ability. However I usually disable this option because the passive protection is always in place; so as long as the software is running you shouldn’t get an infection anyway.

Because this is a free version of a paid product, their navigation for getting to the free version is fraught with peril, set up for you to constantly choose the “pro” model. Trust me, you do not need it, so pay attention to where you click. Follow the link I provided above, and then scroll to the bottom, you want to click the small text that says “You can also download AVG Anti-Virus Free from AVG directly.” The other download button sends you to download.com, and their download speeds generally stink.

You may be prompted to install or upgrade to the pro version during installation. Again, just ready carefully and choose the “no thank you” option. However well they try to hide it, it’s always there.

ClamWin Free Antivirus – http://www.clamwin.com
Clamwin is an open source antivirus protection program, so the “free” in this case comes with no strings attached whatsoever. Lots of people have concerns that open source means not updated fast enough. If anything, the community that supports Clamwin is more in tune with new viruses, because it’s filled with “good hackers” who have the same knowledge and know-how as the bad guys.

However be aware that Clamwin does not have any active scanning ability, it can only detect viruses when you run a scan on a given file/directory/drive. It does include a scan optin in the context menu; just right click any file or folder and you can choose an option to perform an immediate scan on whatever you clicked.

For that reason I do not typically recommend it for my “tech-lite” customers. However if you do not download anything much beyond pictures from friends through email, Clamwin is very nice because it doesn’t take up a lot of system resources, which means your system runs faster.

McAfee Stinger – http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger
Stinger is a free utility released by McAfee that does one thing: scan your entire system for the most common and dangerous known viruses. The entire thing is automatic, just download the executable and run it. I use this all the time whenever I run into a system that’s likely been infected with viruses, it’s pretty good at removing common stuff.

So while this doesn’t provide any active protection, it’s a good first response when you think you’ve been infected. I also use Clamwin’s scanner in the same situation. Make sure you download the latest version before using it (they update pretty often), and it’s usually best to run this in safe mode.

[sidebar]
The latest antivirus software from McAfee and Symantec are much bigger than AVG or Clamwin. They use more memory and use more processor power than is really necessary for their basic operation. These extras are touted as features on their websites and software boxes, so it’s enticing to add more of them so as to sell more copies. In the tech world, we call this effect “bloat.” Simpler software means that it’s smaller, which means that it runs faster and uses less memory, all good things for you, the customer user.

So not only does free antivirus stuff save you money, it also takes a load off your computer (literally!).
[/sidebar]