Sunday, September 21, 2008

Free virus protection for your computer

If you're looking for an antivirus for your Windows computer, but don't want to spend money on Norton or Mcafee to only get a year of protection, here are two free alternatives that seem to work just as well.

AVG offers an antivirus program called AVG Free, which you can download and use for free on your personal machine(s). I've used it for a few years and haven't had any virus problems, and would say it's comparable to any of the others you pay for. There is no account sign-up or anything like that, just download and run.

Avast! also offers a free antivirus program for personal use. I've only actually used this once for someone else's machine, and it appeared to actually have a few bonus features compared to AVG Free, but since I already had a good history with AVG Free I didn't bother changing. It did the job though and cleaned that person's computer, which was really infected with viruses when I started. You do have to create an account, and that grants you a 1-year license for free use. At the end of the year, you can renew and get another year free, and then continue that process each year to continue your free usage.

Don't forget to use spyware/adware protection alongside your antivirus software. You can check my previous entries to find information regarding free software that will work for you.

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