Best free antivirus for Windows?

December 17, 2003 8:55 PM

What's the best free antivirus for Windows?
posted by signal to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

I've used AVG free and it seems to do the job, though you don't have much scheduling flexibility.
posted by angry modem at 9:01 PM on December 17, 2003

If you're running windows ME or less, F-Prot for DOS is still regularly updated.
posted by shepd at 9:03 PM on December 17, 2003

I like Anti-Vir Personal Edition.
posted by xyzzy at 9:47 PM on December 17, 2003

I used to use avg, but I got fed up with it's need to download the entire database every time it updated (apparently). I'm now using avast! and would recommend it, although if anyone knows how to switch off the Klaxon I'd love to hear from you. ;)
posted by twine42 at 1:30 AM on December 18, 2003

AVG is very good.
posted by bshort at 6:43 AM on December 18, 2003

I use avast!, which seems to work well (though it hasn't come in contact with an actual virus yet on my system, so it's tough to tell). It's pretty feature-rich, but, like twine42, I'd love to be able to make it 'quieter'; for me, the pop-up in the corner every time it updates the virus definitions gets old fast.
posted by boaz at 7:12 AM on December 18, 2003

In addition to AVG or other anti-virus software, I would use SpyBotSD to catch spyware and other crap that is missed. It's a great product and free to boot.
posted by cowboy at 7:20 AM on December 18, 2003

Another AVG user (no virus yet). Also, from time to time use McAfee FreeScan.
posted by MzB at 7:28 AM on December 18, 2003

Ditto for AVG. I managed to contract something which spread throughout my home network. AVG cleaned everything up and has kept me safe since then.
posted by mnology at 8:46 AM on December 18, 2003

Response by poster: I've used AVG for a few months, but recently (about 2 weeks ago), the update feature stopped working: it does the whole song and dance of downloading, but it doesn't actually update the virus defintions for some reason.
Hence my question.
posted by signal at 9:40 AM on December 18, 2003

(A) The cheapest and best solution to viruses is to not get them in the first place. Don't use Outlook/Outlook Express, for gods sake, don't open any attachments that can contain executables, and don't download pirate warez.

(B) Housecall is a free, online virus checker. If you follow step A with the commitment an evangelist television preacher shows to money, you won't need a fulltime virus checker.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:47 AM on December 18, 2003

signal, I just updated the AVG signatures, so it works.
The version of my software (not of the signatures file) is 6.0.553
posted by MzB at 1:21 PM on December 18, 2003