AVG Free and AntiVir: An End to the Elusive Search for Free Virus Protection AntiVir Forrest Stroud
AntiVir
Despite a rather simple, almost boring interface and plodding speed, AntiVir meets all three critical cost criteria for a completely free virus scanner — the scanner itself is free and includes real-time virus monitoring (in the form of Virus Guard), its virus definition files are updated regularly and are available for download without subscription, and technical support is free as well.
In terms of capabilities, AntiVir detects and removes more than 80,000 viruses, Trojan horses, worms, backdoors, and other harmful programs; scans and repairs macro viruses; protects against previously unknown macro viruses; and also protects against previously unknown boot record viruses and master boot record viruses.
Additional features include the resident Virus Guard for continuous monitoring of file downloads, uploads, and modifications; a Scheduler tool for scheduling virus scans on a regular basis; and an Internet Update Wizard for efficiently updating both the scanner itself and also virus definition updates.
Speaking of definition updates, updates are released quite frequently (typically several per week). Even better, the updates are the same for both the freeware and commercial AntiVir products, ensuring that even the free-riders receive maximum protection without the typical hefty price tag associated with commercial products.
In terms of support, AntiVir offers a Bulletin Board that provides support free of charge in both Deutsch and English languages. The program also includes a limited help file and an even more limited recognition list that displays recognized viruses but doesn't offer any details or Web links to additional information on the identified viruses.
As is the case with AVG Anti-Virus, the freeware edition of AntiVir is limited to single home computer use only. Use in a commercial or professional environment requires purchasing one of several professional editions, with pricing starting at around $75 per license. Additional information on the AntiVir Professional editions is available at http://www.hbedv.com/.
As mentioned earlier, AntiVir isn't the fastest virus scanner on the market, and its interface certainly won't win it any beauty contests. Another limitation with the scanner is that it doesn't feature an e-mail scanning agent that integrates with your e-mail client for automatically scanning incoming and outgoing e-mail. However, it will scan the attachments in your e-mail messages for viruses as soon as they're accessed or executed.
Overall, if you can get past its limited interface and lack of speed relative to competing virus scanners like Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan, AntiVir will ably protect your computer and its critical data without putting a dent in your pocketbook.
