Security is one of the main concerns among computer users. This is why it's important to count on reliable applications that can protect our system and data from potential dangers. Sometimes free security apps are regarded as being less safe but you might change your mind after testing AVG Antivirus.

AVG is one of the handiest antivirus systems I've seen so far (and believe me, I've tested a few). Being a smaller application, AVG may not feature such a wide range of tools or utilities as the other antivirus programs do. However, it makes up for it by offering a neat, effective protection which stays silently minimized in your system tray and only activates when needed.

This is precisely one of the best things about AVG. It works completely in the background, without the need of half the system resources and of course, without constantly bothering you with warning windows or update messages. You can just go on with your work and you won't even notice you have an antivirus application up and running. Being the free version of a complete program, AVG shows the odd nagging notification encouraging you to buy AVG Professional which may annoy the more sensitive users.

AVG features real time system protection, an email scanner (which doesn't prevent spam from coming into your mailbox though – spam filter is a Pro-only feature) and as new features in AVG 8, an anti-spyware tool and the so called LinkScanner technology to protect your web browsing. The whole package should be enough to ensure you're not infected with any virus. Also, it integrates seamlessly with Windows Explorer, thus allowing you to scan files from their context menus. AVG's virus database is automatically updated on a daily basis, so you're always protected even from the most recently discovered threats. The program supports scheduled scans as well.

AVG Antivirus remains a perfect security solution for the average computer user, providing quite a powerful weapon against viruses.

Download AVG Anti-Virus System Free Edition 8.0.100 in Softonic

Some anti-virus programs cause more problems than they solve. Avast! Home Edition anti-virus is thankfully not one of those as it exceeds expectations while remaining free. Lightweight, vigilant and most importantly, effective, this could be the answer to your prayers if you’ve had no luck finding a virus checker you like.

The developers make a point of stressing that this program is strictly not for institutional use – it is designed specifically for the threats most home users face daily. Their philosophy is that efficient home virus protection is essential in preventing users one day being struck by a serious global virus. What impresses you immediately with Avast! is its vigilance. It’s likely that within minutes of installation, you’ll receive a pop up alert due to a Trojan or virus that had been incubating on your PC. If not, rest assured that it won’t be long before Avast! sets off its trademark siren and alerts you that something has been detected. The latest version of

Avast’s antivirus kernel promises 100% detection of ‘In-the-Wild’ viruses (viruses already spreading between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses. Avast! provides 24 hour protection via its ‘On-Access’ scanner but you can initiate manual scans via the fairly simple user interface. You can start additional modules from here, such as the Virus Chest, Updater or Log Viewer. Another great feature of Avast! is the option to change the skin of this interface. The developer website features practically hundreds of distinctive designs made by aficionados and even offers a guide to designing your own.

Something often overlooked by major virus checking packages is P2P applications installed on your PC but Avast! covers this with a P2P and Instant Messenger shield. Whilst chat applications themselves do not impose any serious security risks in terms of viruses, their less sophisticated file sharing methods can easily lead to virus infections if not properly monitored. With so many infected files on P2P networks such as Kazaa and eMule too, it’s also good to know that Avast! won’t let you open them without quietly checking them first.

The program also features both a Web and Network shield that constantly monitors traffic. The Web Shield acts as a transparent HTTP proxy and is compatible with all major web browsers. One of the truly outstanding features of Avast! is that unlike heavyweights such as Kaspersky or Norton, you hardly notice it working in the background. This is because of a unique feature the developers call ‘Intelligent Stream Scan’ that scans objects on-the-fly, without needing to cache them locally. Even the virus updates are unobtrusive. Avast! downloads the updates gradually and only those that are absolutely essential instead of the whole database. You receive a ‘Virus database has been updated’ voice message every time this has been completed along with a small popup which you can turn off if it annoys you.

There really is little to fault Avast! on in a market that is saturated with too many ineffective virus checkers. Although it doesn’t guzzle resources, if you’re running it on an older machine, you might find it slows you down. Some new users also complain that conducting a simple manual scan is more complicated than it should be but if you’ve spent anytime with virus checkers, you’ll realise that its more than worth your while getting to know this excellent program.

Download Avast! Home 4.8.1229 in Softonic

Security is one of the key elements in a healthy computer life. And with tools like Rising Antivirus staying safe is now much easier.

Rising Antivirus is a free antivirus tools that offers comprehensive protection for your system against viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits and other nasty creatures that may threaten your computer.

Behind a sleek dark interface, Rising Antivirus keeps a powerful array of security tools with which you can analyze your system according to a customizable schedule, keep an eye on currently active applications and automatically scan email messages and Office documents.

Rising Antivirus features several types of scan and includes a highly detailed configuration menu. I especially liked the fact that it's quite unobtrusive and doesn't bother you with warning messages all the time, like other antivirus tools do. On the downside, the general system scan is quite slow.

Keep your system safe from all online threats with Rising Antivirus, a free antivirus solution.

Download Rising Antivirus 2008 Free Edition in Softonic

Unlike many antivirus solutions, Kaspersky Free Cleaner is not a complete antivirus protector, but has a very specific remit of viruses that it can disinfect. The virus list that it eliminates is very limited, and numbers just ten at the moment. These bugs are pretty nasty though, and the fact that it is free means you don't have to pay to steer clear of them.

The application looks in the memory, the registry, the hard disk (also in network units), the services and IRC spcripts for these viruses. The analysis does not take a long time, appearing within an MSDOS window and, if you have the misfortune of having any of the viruses in the list on your system, it will end them completely and without hassle.

Download Kaspersky Free Cleaner 12.0.0.13 in Softonic

When protecting your PC from online threats, any weapon you come across is welcome, especially if they can take care of what other security applications don’t. McAfee AVERT Stinger is a small virus extractor specialised in hunting the viruses listed by McAfee.

Because it is lightweight, the program saves you the hassle of big and cumbersome antivirus applications and you can easily run it in the background while you carry out another task. Just launch McAfee AVERT Stinger, select your directory, press the scan now button, and wait for the results to come. The application runs relatively quickly depending on the size of the directory you have chosen to scan and if McAfee AVERT Stinger finds any malware it will pop up on the screen. The application is very basic but it can scan self-extracting executables and compressed files and will automatically remove viruses it comes across. To find out which viruses McAfee AVERT Stinger recognizes just click on the list button and scroll the names of all malware recognized by the antivirus manufacturer.

If there is one drawback to this application, it’s that you can not update the virus list, so you will need to reinstall the latest version of McAfee AVERT Stinger every time McAfee publishes a new list. A great advantage of most security suites is that they automatically update and incorporate new virus definitions without you having to worry about it. In this sense, and considering that new viruses pop up every day, McAfee AVERT Stinger has a very short life span. So if you don’t monitor the Mcafee website for a new version every now and then, your copy of the program might quickly be obsolete.

Despite McAfee AVERT Stinger’s obvious shortcoming, we believe that it is a good addition to your arsenal of security applications. It’s always good to have specialised software to hunt specific malware and the fact that this program works with McAfee’s very own list of viruses makes it a source to trust. If you remember to reinstall it every now and then you’ll have yourself a discreet yet effective addition to your PC protection.

Download McAfee AVERT Stinger 2.6.0 in Softonic

Free anti-virus software can be a mixed bag - sometimes they can do more harm than good while at others, they can save you hundreds of dollars with solid real-time protection.

Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic is the free version of Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium. This doesn't mean that it's any less powerful bit it does mean that many advanced features are unavailable. The program can scan up to 30 different file types and seems to have been designed with a particular focus on Trojans according to the developer blurb. Protection is served in real time and as with all virus scanners, you are immediately given the choice whether to ignore, quarantine or delete the infected file. What's nice about this scanner is that for those viruses that it can't identify or clean, it compiles a report which can then be automatically submitted to Avira's lively user forum where someone, somewhere, should be able to help. The scanner sits in your system tray bit can be expanded to show the current settings and the status of any scans in progress. Scanning is quick and it doesn't slow your machine down significantly. Unfortunately however, it provides no option for scanning incoming and outgoing mail or adware/spyware but if you're just looking for a trojan blocker/remover, it's a very solid product.

A powerful and well organised anti virus scanner that helps you get to the bottom of virus issues rather than hinders your progress.

Download Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Free Anti-Virus 8.1.0.295 in Softonic

ClamWin is a simple, powerful and most importantly, free antivirus checker for Microsoft Windows.

The program features an easy to use GUI and the developers claim high detection rates for viruses and spyware although it doesn't seem to find anything extra or beyond what other anti-virus scanners find. The full program is facilitated by regular virus database updates so that's its generally always updated with the latest threats to your system. Unfortunately ClamWin Portable has scheduled scans and updates disabled so that the program is not locked in huge updates every time you activate it on the move. The downside of this of course is that it's never up to date with the latest threats. The big advantage of this version of course is that you can take it pretty much anywhere on a USB stick. However, the program does not feature a real-time scanner which means that scanning for protection is down to you. You have to manually scan your system with the program every so often to see if you have been infected with anything.

Free, portable and easy to use, this is a decent anti virus solution let down by the fact that it doesn't scan in real time nor update itself automatically unless prompted.

Download ClamWin Portable 0.93.1 in Softonic

Moon Secure Antivirus aims to be the best Windows antivirus program based on open source (GPL) code.

Like all good antivirus programs, Moon Secure Antivirus offers protection in real time using the ClamAV database.

You can specifiy exactly which parts of your network Moon Secure checks even devices connected by USB.

However, Moon Secure has very few options although it doesn't consume much of your PC's resources making it a handy lightweight option.

Download Moon Secure Antivirus 2.2.2.163 in Softonic

AVG Anti-Rootkit is a new program from the creators of AVG Antivirus that aims to get rid of pesky and stubborn rootkits. If you don't know what rootkits are, they're basically tools that come somewhere between viruses and Trojan horses. In effect, they leave your computer highly vulnerable to external attack

As you might expect from an AVG product, it's pretty simple and straightforward to use. In fact, it only has two main buttons - a general review (which runs much faster) or an in-depth examination of the drives you want (which is more through but takes longer). If there are any rootkits on your system, then this program will almost certainly get rid of them as it can find even the most hard to get NTFS-ADS objects. One nice touch is that the developers have included a special interface for visually impaired people that simplifies the process even further.

If you fear that your computer is vulnerable to external attack, and your anti virus has failed to help, then give AVG Anti-Rootkit a go and it will almost certainly reveal the culprit.

Download AVG Anti-Rootkit Free 1.1.0.42 in Softonic

PC Tools Antivirus enables you to protect your system from the most common threats such as viruses, trojans, worms and other undesirable creatures.

Despite the "Free edition" tag, I was glad to see that the program really works and it's not crippled in any way. That is, it scans your system and whenever it detects any danger, it prompts you to disinfect, put into quarantine or actually delete all affected files. However, bear in mind that if you select a full scan, your system is going to be very busy for a while. Luckily, you can schedule these scans to be performed when you don't need to work on your PC.

The program features some other typical antivirus functions, such as real time protection and seamless integration with Windows Explorer, which allows you to scan a file with just a mouse click.

PC Tools Antivirus displays a nicely designed interface with big, bright buttons for the most common tasks and a wide range of configuration settings that enable you to tweak the program's behaviour. I also liked the fact that it doesn't hog system resources, so that your PC can comfortably run even if real time protection is on.

Download PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition 4.0.0.20 in Softonic

RemoveIT is a free trojan, adware and spyware scanner that searches and destroys dangerous viruses, trojans and spyware.

However, the effectiveness of it is open to debate. The developers claim that it's so good, it "locates and removes many new dangerous files including spyware, malware, virus, worms, trojans and adware that other popular AV programs do not find." This program therefore is NOT a real-time scanner - it's based on cleaning-up after something has installed itself on your PC rather than real-time protection which I always think is a dangerous approach.

There's nothing flashy about this program - the interface is based on Windows Explorer shell which also includes a slightly more advanced and expanded version of Windows Task Manager (to stop and block illegal processes) and the same with a Service Manager which gives you an overview of the services and program currently running on your PC. With these tools, you have more control over what runs on your PC both during startup and day-to-day operation. The Services Manager is recommended for beginners as you can see clearly the actual names of the programs running while the Process Manager only shows those files that are running as parts of programs and as a result, you may shut something down that you didn't mean to.

For a free and light malware scanner, this is a solid program although it does not seem to detect anything that other scanners (such as Ad-Aware) can't so it's maybe not as effective as the developers claim.

Download RemoveIT Pro 4 SE 25.7.2008 in Softonic

A good antivirus tool is one that regularly updates its virus definitions and that can really clean deep into your PC. With Multi Virus Cleaner you're limited to scanning your PC, whether particular files (custom), quick scan or full and deep scans. The application can be regularly updated and claims to protect you from over 5,900 viruses. There's a list of virus signatures in the updates section, but it doesn't appear to be exhaustive or to take into account the latest ones.

We found most scans to be fairly lenghty and not particularly effective. The program only gives you two options when a virus is detected, delete or ask you what to do, to which you usually respond by deleting the virus anyways. Multi Virus Cleaner does not show you the time spent scanning your PC but you can follow the progress, see how many files have been scanned and what files the program is working on.

PC security is not something you can fool around with, and that's why you should always try to have one of the best security suites installed. Multi Virus Cleaner unfortunately is not a security suite. It provides basic scanning possibilities, which, alone, are not sufficient to keep your PC secure.

Download Multi Virus Cleaner 2008 8.0.6 in Softonic

Little Intelligent Antivirus is super lightweight, compact and is designed to detect and remove all types of malware.

The peculiarity of this program is its simplicity as it comes with virtually no options. It has been designed for those on slow machines that don't want a hulking antivirus slowing down their system. The only thing which you have to pay attention to is the updater, which is readily available in the program interface. You have to manually tell the program to update which is a pain in one way, but good in another as I hate it when anti virus program kick in and slow you down as they decide to update on their own. As for the configuration, the program takes care of it all in it's own depending on your setup. You can of course trigger hard disk scans whenever you need them though.

If you've got a slow machine, or just can't be bothered monitoring your anti virus app, this is a nice little solution although I'm not convinced it picks up everything it should.

Download Little Intelligent Antivirus 1.00 in Softonic

BitDefender 8 Free Edition is your chance to use one of the world's most effective antivirus engines for free!

BitDefender 8 uses the same ICSA Labs certified scanning engines found in other BitDefender products, allowing you to enjoy basic virus protection for no cost at all. BitDefender 8 Free Edition is an on-demand virus scanner, which is best used in a system recovery or forensics role.

Download BitDefender 8.0 Free Edition in Softonic

Download the remover vcleaner.exe. Restart your computer in Safe mode and run the remover on the infected computer.

Vcleaner removal utility will detect and remove following viruses:

• Win32/Gaelicum
• Win32/Hidrag
• BackDoor.Agent.A-Z, AA-BG
• Downloader.Agent.AS
• I-Worm/Atak.A-I
• I-Worm/Bagle.A-Z, AA-BA
• I-Worm/Bugbear.D
• I-Worm/Netsky.A-Z, AA-AD
• I-Worm/Sasser.A-F
• I-Worm/Zafi.A-D
• PSW.Bispy.A-E

Download VCleaner 0.993 in Softonic

Real time protection against viruses and trojans has never been more important and F-Prot Antivirus for Windows claims to have detected just about everything under the sun.

This includes worms, trojans and other threats against the security of your system. F-Prot works via the OnDemand Scanner which is your starting point for carrying out everything that the program is capable of. This includes scanning, changing the settings and updating the status monitor or at least, seeing what the status currently is. The date of the last virus update is always visible so you can see when the last virus database was updated. The program then checks for new virus signatures at various intervals whenever you go online. One good feature of this particular scanner is that it can also detect and scan external drives and even network drives. It also provides reliable realtime protection to deny any malicious attacks on your system by quarantining them before they can do any damage. your system access. It is however a rather clunky and cumbersome piece of software which seems to kick into action at the most inconvenient moments and takes a long time to scan. It does however seem to detect a huge amount of malicious data and is worth running just in case you think your virus checker is missing something.

A very thorough checker but could do with a few tweaks and improvements to make it more lightweight and discreet.

Download F-Prot Antivirus for Windows 6.0.9.1 in Softonic

Have you ever wanted an open-source portable anti-virus solution that you can use anywhere at anytime?

Protect Simple Machine is just that - a portable and free anti-virus app that fits on your USB pen and makes sure that the computer you are using is not infected by viruses, worms, Trojan horses or spyware. Created with Visual Basic, the program is incredibly simple to use and can analyze any folder or disk you choose. It also advises you on ways to "tweak" Windows so you can optimise Protect Simple Machine for more effective, faster use. It also has direct links to other Windows tools such as the command line.

Nowadays, one of the most important areas to scan is the memory and Simple Machine Protect also caters for this with a memory scanner which works alongside the disk scanner. The program warns you if it finds a virus with a very primitive "beeping" sound and it can sometimes repair them on the spot, depending on whether the database is equipped with a sufficient solution. At all times, the program lets you know at what stage the scan is at with a progress bar.

A very convenient solution for those on the move although it's a bit lightweight and tends to miss minor viruses and Trojans that more solid scanners pick up.

Download Simple Machine Protect 1.5.5.580 in Softonic

ClamWin is a Free Antivirus program for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003. It provides a graphical user interface to the Clam AntiVirus engine. ClamWin Free Antivirus uses the GNU General Public License by the Free Software Foundation and is free (as in freedom) software. ClamWin Free Antivirus comes with an easy installer and open source code at no cost.

The program features:

• Scanning Scheduler
• Automatic Virus Database Updates
• Standalone Virus Scanner
• Context Menu Integration to Microsoft Windows Explorer
• Addin to Microsoft Outlook

Download ClamWin Antivirus 0.93.1 in Softonic

AIM Fix was created to remove all known AIM viruses in one consolidated removal tool. It is designed to end the virus processes, delete the files, and remove registry keys created by the virus.

AIM Fix was created to remove all known AIM viruses in one consolidated removal tool. It is designed to end the virus processes, delete the files, and remove registry keys created by the virus. The tool is updated very frequently, in an attempt to make sure it removes all AIM viruses. As long as the developers become aware of the virus, it is removed by AIM Fix.

Download AIM Fix 1.6.28.1459 in Softonic

avast! Virus Cleaner is a tool to help you remove selected worm infections from your computer. If, despite all the security measures you take, your computer gets infected by a virus or worm, it is necessary to disinfect your system somehow. While for some viruses the only 100% realiable method of disinfection is restoring your system from backups, for many common infections this is not really necessary and the virus/worm can be removed quite easily. avast! Virus Cleaner does just that.

Download avast! Virus Cleaner 1.0.209 in Softonic