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Virus protection free for your Windows PC

April 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Hello and welcome to our site where we provide all the information, links and reviews about everything concerning virus protection free for your Windows computer.

 

This site is dedicated to provide you with quality information about virus protection based on our own experience. Our team has years of experience dealing with virus protection in business help desk departments, helping home users solve their problems with viruses and protecting various types of Windows computer from virus threats. We wish for you to find what you need about protecting your computer from viruses here.

Why virus protection free in the first place?

Virus protection freeThere are very many virus protection free programs available on the internet, as well as payable. Why choose the free virus protection for your home computer?

The first reason is quality. Free virus protection programs can be equally good as their payable counterparts. Companies making antivirus software release their free version for home use that are basically the same as the non-free ones but with less features. Which means you may not get some additional protection elements for your computer, but the core of the program, virus protection software, is just as good in the free package. Our experience have proven us every time that for home users virus protection free is what they need. For general computer use (surfing the web, using e-mail, social networks etc.) you are well protected with a free version.

If you are a business user, situation is a bit different, of course. Most of the free virus protection programs are not available for business users – you should buy a license. There has been an interesting issue raised by one of our readers about the use of Microsoft Security Essentials package in the business environment. If you are a business user it might be interesting read four you.

Virus protection free – for which Microsoft Windows?

Through the years the versions of Windows change and providers of free virus protection keep the pace with Microsoft. At the moment, this is the status of the protection for various versions of Windows.

Windows 7 - all major virus protection free programs are available with their latest versions, there is a separate article on topic of Free virus protection for Windows 7 you can read.

Windows Vista – the same as for Windows 7

Windows XP – despite the tries from Microsoft to stop providing support for Windows XP, they are still widely used and the selection of up-to-date free virus protection for XP is the same as for the newer versions of Windows.

Windows 2000 – the same as for Windows XP

Windows 98 – hopefully you do not use this system any more. It is out of date and it has serious security flaws. Also the selection of virus protection for this version of Windows is very scarce.

Windows ME - the same as for Windows 98

Which free virus protection program is the best?

Luckily, there is a wide variety of virus protection programs that are available for free and many of them are excellent. On this site you can find reviews of many of them and check for yourself which one appeals most to your needs. We will be adding more reviews as providers roll out the new versions to keep you up to date.

Here are also links to some of the reviews:

AVG Free – one of the most popular virus protection free programs.

Avast Free Antivirus – excellent free virus protection.

Avira Free – by many considered the best free antivirus software.

Comodo Internet Security – virus protection and free firewall.

Microsoft Security Essentials – Microsoft’s own virus protection for Windows.

Virus protection is easy when you know, what you are doing

Every day we are hearing news of some new virus or some other type of malware that is roaming the internet and trying to obtain personal information, delete data or destroy our computers. This is all true, but virus protection has become so good and easy to use that you do not have to be a computer scientist to use it. All of the free virus protection programs reviewed on this site can be used by an average computer user – basically you have to install your virus protection program and from that point on it will take care of everything. It will update regularly and let you know if there are some issues that you have to be aware of. Otherwise you won’t even know it is installed, providing you with virus protection free.

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How dangerous it really is to have your PC without free virus protection?

May 10, 2011 By 2 Comments

Two months ago I was writing about how my mother’s old computer is too old to have virus protection installed. I’m happy to say that now she has a new laptop with AVG free installed and everything is safe and running smoothly. Fortunately there were no problems in the meantime and there we no viruses trying to attack her computer.

But. At the end of April I witnessed first-hand how dangerous this behaviour can actually be.

There was a Royal Wedding in England, I’m sure you were watching it, and my wife got pretty excited. We watched the ceremony and afterwards she went online to check for photos and other important details she missed during the TV coverage.

I went out and when I returned home she was rather scared that there is a virus on her computer. I checked it and her laptop really was infected. Her free virus protection identified it and offered to delete the infected files. Fortunately there were no problems, AVG free took care of everything and she didn’t lose any data or have any other troubles. But if this happened on my mother’s old computer, with no free virus protection installed – well, that would have been another story.

Free virus protectionThe way she got infected was really simple – she was surfing for wedding photos and arrived to some malicious website, where a pop-up advertisement opened. It was styled as the Windows Explorer in Windows 7 with red text saying her hard drive is infected and she should click here to clean her computer. She got scared, actually clicked the link and that was it. (I didn’t remember at the time to create the actual screenshot, but it was similar to this one here).

I hope this little real-life story can demonstrate the importance of having free virus protection installed on your computer – and also to keep it regularly updated. If you neglect basic security, you have a good chance to get in trouble.

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Is it important to have your free virus protection program updated?

April 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We have received a very good question from one of our visitors. Sheila was wonderings how important it really is to have your virus protection program updated.

A growing number of computers today is connected to the Internet all the time – you pay a fixed monthly fee and you can be connected 24/7. Why am I writing this? To show you that there is really no excuse not to update your free virus protection daily.

All (and I really mean all) free virus protection programs can automatically update themselves through the Internet. When you install them they usually ask you to update them and most of them have updating schedule turned on by default. The vast majority of them automatically checks for updates once a day, if there is something to update they download it and run the update. In more than 90% of cases you are not even aware of the fact that this happened because the antivirus does not need any of your input. Maybe two to three times a year you have to reboot your computer to finish the update and that’s it.

Now, if this is not a big deal, is it even necessary to do the updates?

Yes. It is extremely important to do regular updates. During testing various free virus protection programs it was determined that some of them find almost 50% less viruses when they are not regularly updated. This is a huge number and I can’t stress enough how important this is.

When you install new free virus protection program make sure it is set for regular updates. If you are not sure, if you have done that on your computer, check it right now. It’s very little work but your free virus protection program will serve you much better this way.

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Protect yourself against e-mail viruses

April 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Beside browsing webpages e-mail is the most widely used service on the Internet. If you are using e-mail (and 99% chance is that you are) you need to know how to be protected against viruses.

Email virus protectionYour free virus protection program probably checks the e-mail that you receive and it will alert you if it finds suspicious code or script. But there is a difference if you are receiving e-mail through one of the e-mail clients (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird etc.) or if you are reading it through webmail. Most of the virus protection free programs include a plugin or some other sort of tool to check e-mail as it arrives or as you open it.

The biggest threat to e-mail users are attachments that may contain a virus or some other malicious threat when opened. Theoretically, virus protection programs should intercept such threats and eliminate them but sometimes they may fail. And this is why it is so important to think before you open a suspicious attachment.

If you get an e-mail from somebody you do not know and do not expect an email from him or her and on the top of it the mail seems weird (for example, a reply from someone you never sent e-mail to, or someone wants to offer you a cheap loan (not to mention viagra), show you their photos or naked photos of some celebrity) be extra careful. There are good chances that the attachment contains a virus, a Trojan or some other malware. The best idea is to delete the e-mail right there and then, without clicking on the attachment.

If you still want to open the attachment, make sure your virus protection free program is updated and active.

A special case are executable attachments (.exe) – most likely you won’t ever see them attached to the e-mail anymore, because virus protection and spam protection programs just delete them when they arrive to the mail server. And rightfully so, my advice is to never ever open an executable you received by e-mail, unless you are 100% sure what it is.

E-mail viruses are a real threat and you need to use caution with your e-mail, especially in situations described above. The bottom line is, be smart and have a quality free virus protection installed – these two principles will save you a lot of trouble in near every case.

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What to do if your computer is too old handle free virus protection?

March 14, 2011 By 1 Comment

This may seem as a funny question – every computer can handle virus protection … can’t it?

Well, of course it can, but in case of an older computer this may not be entirely true. What I’m talking about is my personal experience when I was setting up a computer for my mother. She had a desktop computer that was ok except for one little problem: it didn’t start up in 50% of the cases. When she got fed up with its attitude I gave her an old box that was not being used for some time, but is was still perfectly capable of running Windows XP, Office and browsing the internet. This is all she needs and she is satisfied.

But when I wanted to install free virus protection I ran into some trouble. I installed the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 and took forever to install. Then I wanted to update the program, but somehow it never finished updating. Not to mention that it was impossible to do anything while the antivirus program was trying to update itself.

Then I decided to disable updates – it is still better to have a running computer with virus protection installed, even if it is not completely up-to-date. But even with updates and regular scans disabled, the computer was so slow it could not be used.

I literary had to wait minutes at a time when I double clicked Firefox or MS Word to launch. And it was no better after an hour or two – the virus protection consumed so much system resources the computer was not usable.

So, what did I do? I did something I never ever advised anyone to do – I uninstalled the antivirus and since then there is no virus protection installed on that computer …

Now, how is this ok? It isn’t.

It is very bad practice but I had to make a choice and I took the risk being aware of the possible consequences. I decided to do it anyway because I know that my mother doesn’t use the internet a lot. She only goes to a few sites that she visits regularly. But of course, she may wander of to some shady website and catch a trojan or something.

She has her birthday in May and she will get a new laptop. I hope there will be no problems until then.

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Advantages of using free virus protection

February 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Computers can be easily affected by some incoming information. A virus is one of these infections that can affect the performance of your computer. You need to protect your computer from these infections if you want to enjoy the services of your computer without any interference. With the current developments in technology, you will be in a position to get both paid for software, and free virus protection ones if you are not in a position to afford. With knowledge that there are a number of free virus protections in the market today, it is good that you consider the benefits you are going to enjoy with the use of the software. Below are some of the benefits that you need to look out for from any anti-virus software. If you are operating on a limited budget, then free virus protection is your best option bearing in mind that bought software are supposed to be paid for each and every month if not on yearly basis.

If your computer is protected from a virus by the use of any free anti-virus, it does not mean you will stick to this software forever. You can easily change the anti-virus at any time you fell like. The installation of free anti virus is also a very easy process that entails getting them directly from the internet to your computer. All you are expected to carry out is a bit of instruction reading and follow the commands.

Is free virus protection only for the poor?

Despite the fact that free virus protection are considered to be for those people who are economically challenged in the society, they still provide you with the same services like the paid for anti-virus. Their performance is the same. The software will filter all the messages that are flowing to your computer. This process will make sure that whatever that comes to your computer is safe and can not cause any harm to some of your important computer documents and files.

Another advantage of using free virus protection software is that you will enjoy the services of scanning to your computer. The anti-virus works by cross examining all the files you have in your computer and in case it comes across any harmful data, it takes the responsibility and removes the data from your computer.

Free virus protection software are also compatible with most of the widows providing services. They can work together easily without causing any damage to your computer working systems. This means you do not need to change your windows provider to use these anti-virus software.

This does not however mean that there are no disadvantages associated with these software. The issue here is that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. There are various sites on the internet that you can use to learn more on the advantages and disadvantages of this free ant-virus software.

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Best Free Virus Protection – Main Features to Consider

January 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are numerous free virus protection software varieties available in the market making it hard for clients to choose the best kind for their home computer use. In case you are still not decided on the best kind of software for you, there are some key elements you should consider. Here are some features attributed to best free virus protection:

  1. The software should not slow down your system. There are some virus protection apps that make your computer to hang often. In addition, they consume a lot of space in your hard disk. The best varieties should neither make your computer hang nor take up too much space on your computer.
  2. The antivirus should have competent detection capability. Best free virus protection programs do have good competence with the premium antivirus. They are capable of holding back most of the malicious antivirus varieties.
  3. Powerful scanning and elimination capability: This looks like a basic point but it holds great weight. The antivirus should have capability of scanning through the files in your computer and removing all the infected ones. It should have capability of accessing and removing worms and Trojans affecting your computer too.
  4. Regular update: The internet is a fast growing industry with new kinds of software coming up on daily basis. This implies that your antivirus should be updated regularly if it is to provide adequate protection to your computer. Ensure that your free virus protection does offer automatic updates. This will ensure that your database is upgraded frequently for maximum protection.
  5. Easy to install: The control panels of the free virus protection are easy to use even without the help of a customer support. Many of the free antivirus sites do not provide reliable customer support and hence you should look for software that has well detailed instructions that do not necessarily require a computer savvy person to set it.
  6. Free technical support: It is a common occasion to have your software being faced with issues you cannot solve. When you are not able to install some settings of your software in the computer, you may require calling your service provider for some assistance. Some service providers do charge for the technical support service while there are others who will not. Best free virus protection should have 24/7 customer support for its clients. Vendors who charge for customer support services do require a lot of cash to solve just a single case. This can increase your general maintenance cost of the software in the long run.
  7. Cost of the software: Best free virus protection provide other varieties of internet security tools such as spam filters and firewall protection. The cost of these individual packages is normally better than getting a stand alone antivirus. The software should be capable of scanning both the incoming and outgoing traffic in your computer.
  8. Computer cleaning tools: Best virus protection should include tools that will allow you to clean up your computer. Many people complain of lagging computers which can be as a result of many reasons including virus infection. Your software should have features of cleaning p these viruses to make a faster running computer.
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How to get free virus protection and removal

January 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Many people are after getting the best anti virus protection for their computer. Despite the fact that many avoid using free virus protection and removal programs because of the fact that they are free, you will be surprised to learn that there are some of these programs which can perform all the specified roles just as good as paid programs.

Free virus protection and removal in action

If you want to use free virus protection and removal programs on your computer, you need to get the software by downloading it from a supplier’s site. Consider getting the software that will take the shortest time possible to install and at the same time protecting all your useful information from your computer. This is because there are a number of free virus removal software’s in the market today which are usually advertised in very catchy and tempting words. Be cautious of these sites because you may end up installing a virus onto your computer thinking you are removing it.

You can easily get a free virus protection and removal for any discovered problem on your computer by using any one of the best known antivirus software solutions. Check if the version you want to use is a complete package. This is because it would not be a nice idea to get software which does not have a full package forcing you to spend some more time in future looking for a full version of software something you could have avoided if you were careful enough during the download.

You can download free virus protection and removal software by visiting various companies’ websites. There are some companies that are willing to give you their software for a period of time to test and see if they are effective enough. With a period of up to a month of testing, you will be in a position to protect your computer from any virus infection throughout this period. Some of these free software not only remove the infected files from your computer but also develop a security barrier that makes sure that any information you are getting to your computer are free from any infection.

Choose the best free virus protection and removal program for you

Trying a number of versions from different companies on free virus protection and removal is a good idea because you get a chance to enjoy an increased speed for your computer for a period of time and at the end of it all be in a position to go for the best software you think has all the features you are looking out for in an antivirus software. If your personal winner happens to be a payable program, you should consider buying it even if you were after the free one. To be honest, antivirus software charges are very low compared to the kind of security they provide to your computer.

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Free virus protection from Google

December 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We have reviewed free virus protection software from Microsoft, Microsoft Security Essentials, but we have not said anything yet about free virus protection from Google. The search giant has not (yet) released its own virus protection package but free virus protection is included in software package called Google Pack.

Google Pack is a collection of free software that most users nowadays need installed on their computer for everyday use. If you are interested into other programs you might want to check out the whole package, but we’ll focus only on the virus protection software, which is called Spyware Doctor with Anti-Virus.

The installation of this free virus protection program is very very simple – maybe the simplest we have ever experienced. Once you have clicked the “Download Now” button on the Google Pack homepage, everything goes on automatically. The installation file downloads, you start it and the installer does everything on its own. And when I say everything, I mean everything. The next click required from you is to close the installer after the antivirus is up and running. Really impressive. For people who want to have a hassle-free installation or are not very good with computers, this is a huge plus.

And what is actually installed? With Google pack you get Spyware Doctor with Anti-Virus Starter Edition. This means you get basic real-time virus protection, full systems scans and basic spyware protection in this bundle. All that is included works well and it should cover the needs of a basic computer user. However, more advanced users will miss some of the features that come with virus protection free packages from some other providers.

The bottom line is, Spyware Doctor with Anti-Virus Starter Edition included in the Google Pack is a good basic virus protection package that will keep you protected from the most common threats on the internet and will be especially welcomed by the users, who do not wish to make many choices during the installation of the product.

If you are an advanced user, you will most likely want to upgrade to a paid version, which offers more features, or choose one of the other free virus protection programs, that offer some additional free features.

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AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 – a review

November 28, 2010 By 6 Comments

AVG free anti-virus has been my choice for home computer virus protection for years now. Recently there has been an update to a new version of AVG free antivirus, free edition 2011. If you already have AVG free installed, you have been (or will be soon) prompted to update to a new version. If you are looking for a new free virus protection program, you might consider the new AVG free. So let’s take a look at how good is it.

AVG anti-virus free 2011 installation

The first thing you will notice when installing or upgrading the all new AVG free 2011 is a simpler and faster installation than it was in the previous version. The installation process was actually one of the main grudges users had for AVG free in the previous versions, as it was asking you a number of questions you had to answer in order to complete the install. Now there are fewer installation screens and the whole installation process seems much faster and more straightforward as it was before, so this is definitely a plus.

There is a new feature in AVG free 2011 and that is AVG desktop widget. The widget is available for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users and it enables you to easily start a scan of your computer or check for updates of your free virus protection program.

User interface of AVG free 2011

There have been some changes to the user interface of the AVG free, but nothing dramatic – if you are already familiar with the AVG user interface, you will feel right at home. The design is changed a bit, but the icons, menus and structure are basically the same. If this is the first time you will be using AVG free virus protection, you should be ok too. The user interface is clean and friendly.

New features of the AVG free 2011

The first interesting feature is called “smart scanning”. It means that the virus protection program scans a file and if it is clean, it won’t scan it again, unless it detects changes in that file, which means faster computer scans. There have been some upgrades to the LinkScanner feature, which now scans also links posted on Myspace and Facebook. And the most important new feature – the 2011 version of AVG free virus protection is that it uses the same core of the program (that detects threats) as the paid versions.

AVG free offers great free virus protection for your computer and the new version continues the legacy of its predecessors. It is a fantastic virus protection program that is free for home use and if you were satisfied with older version or have been using some other virus protection free program, I can encourage you to try out the new AVG.

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