what is the best virus scanner out there that is free or cheap

[the1337]

hello what is the best virus scanner out there that is free or cheap my computer is ok now but the guy that fixed my computer said that i need to buy a virus scanner or one of those all in one scanners so i wont have any viruses in my computer when i play games

[MutantCheese]

AVG free edition

[the1337]

is it good what is the website

[sonej4]

AVG is good. http://free.grisoft.com

[8thgenuser]

I personally use Avast Home Edition, which is free for personal home usage. www.avast.com

[whitecivicsi]

I use to use norton but just recently changed to PC-Cillin from trend micro. It cost like $39 but its well worth it.

It doesnt slow down the computer like the others do...I highly recommend it!

GL bud

[the1337]

ok is that unlimited updates

[sonej4]

AVG is free and updates are free also. Works really well. It was voted one of the must have utilities on your computer by maximumpc magazine.

[Yodums]

AVG...

But I use nothing now. Once in a while I'll do a virus scan, but what I do on the internet doesn't put me at much risk. I mostly download music and there's already a virus scanner built into the e-mail system when I need to download attachments.

[simplicated1979]

Avg ftw...been using it for a good couple years now

[cojaro]

a malware and adware scanner is a good investment also, especially if you're online a lot. Spybot Search & Destroy is probably the best free one out there.

[moxom]

I've used AVG and Avast and they both work really well.

[White4doorSI]

buy an apple computer/laptop and you won't need a virus scanner. but when i did have a windows based laptop i used avast. you can dl it from limewire and also the product key generator.

[JeShUa]

its good to have more than one...
http://reviews.cnet.com/How_to_stop_...7-6623899.html

[MutantCheese]

Spybot is good, I've used it before. i just rather AVG's clean up to date interface. Spybot's interface is kinda aged.

[the1337]

it says if i have another anti virus that i ned to turn it off so i can install the new one and that it might have some conflict if i am to install two antiviruses

[say55ow]

Originally Posted by the1337

it says if i have another anti virus that i ned to turn it off so i can install the new one and that it might have some conflict if i am to install two antiviruses

Don't run two anti-virus programs. Its unnecessary and it slows down your computer. Having two anti-virus could cause some issues especially if you have symantec installed. The best solution is use Hijackthis along with AVG.

When you are about to run the hijackthis executable make sure you rename the file to anything but the original name and keep the exe extension. The reason why you need to do that is because some spywares can recongize hijackthis and hide itself from program. If you don't know how to use it save the log file and ask someone that has knowledge of computers what processes are safe to remove.

After that is done, run your anti-virus software in safe mode.

Thats the method I use at work its pretty effective

[GameTraveler]

Originally Posted by White4doorSI

buy an apple computer/laptop and you won't need a virus scanner. but when i did have a windows based laptop i used avast. you can dl it from limewire and also the product key generator.

Older article, but still true. Buying a different hardware/software type won't save you, and only points at blind delusion if being preached.

Plus, I don't think it's the policy of this web site to advocate piracy.

That being said, whatever anti-virus scanner you do end up with, make sure to add a malware scanner that is active in the background like your AV. The one that Microsoft bought, Windows Defender, is free.

Also, make sure whichever browser you use is up-to-date and hopefully has a phishing protection included--FireFox with the add-on modules for adblocking, flashblocking, and scriptblocking seems to work decently.

Lastly, with Spybot Search and Destroy, go to the Tools section, lock the Hosts file, and update the Hosts file with the SS&D addresses. This will add another layer of protection, should any virus/trojan/malware get through your AV + malware scanners, any of the known corrupt internet addresses will be blocked.

[jonesthewine]

follow http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...&enterthread=y that link ...lots of good info.

[Cr8tive_leo]

AVG and Spybot, best you can use.
Remove Norton , Mcaffee if you have them, send them nasty emails about how memory hoggish their warez are.

Don't use limewire, biggest piece of malware out there, much better peer to peer things out there. (like using torrents)

Just remember, the more that resides in memory, the slower your system will be, the more your cpu has to spend cycle times on checking which piece of software wants a chunk of time to do it's check when you do a disc read or right, a memory access, it all slows your system down.

Case in point:
Bought a shiney new XPS 1210 from Dell, got it delivered, mmmm.. sexy laptop, went to install all my utilities that I need to do Video editing, music and photo stuff, said it would take over 5hrs to copy from dvd to hard drive, thought, that ain't right... *shrugged*
Rebooted, reformatted, blew away all the Dell , Mcaffee and other crap that was running in the background for system checks, malware,spyware, whateverware, installed trusty AVG and spybot, turned off firewall and a few other registry entries, and voila, ths system smokes now, DVD at proper speed, took 6mins to copy what I needed, installs are faster, system boots up like slick.
Run a vanilla system (or as close to vanilla as possible, you'll enjoy it more, check your startup list too from time to time to see what all is being loaded into that memory of your computer) You may decide you odn't want some things to run at bootup, and they don't have options in the program to turn that on or off. There are services you can disable on boot up too to make it boot faster , etc. etc. etc.

Good luck,

~Cr8tive