Ernie B. said:
IMO Avast! is the best freebie.
--
Ernie B.
Communication: The art of moving an idea from one mind to another,
hopefully without distortion.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2005_02.php shows only
90% coverage for Avast. Yeah, it's free, but not great protection
overall. AVG is even worse. Right now I let my Norton AV go when its
subscription ran out. In the meantime and until I make a choice that's
is more permanent, I am using CA's EzAntivirus which is a partner with
Microsoft to provide a 1-year free fully functional version of their AV
program (
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft) so, in a year, I'll have to
make a choice. Unfortunately, AV Comparatives doesn't show coverage by
EzAntiVirus (which used to be InoculateIT). VB
(
http://www.virusbulletin.com/vb100/archives/products.xml), which is a
historical list to show pass/fail but does NOT specify actual coverage,
shows 37% failed tests for InoculateIT/eTrust, but then it shows 61%
failed for Avast and 71% failed for AVG. Norton failed 18%, NOD32
failed 9%, and Kasperky failed 33% of the time. How often an AV product
fails to catch a virus really depends on which viruses head your way.
A really crappy AV program (based on coverage against all known viruses)
that happens to detect those viruses that hit you will result in 100%
coverage. The tests are not weighted according to the most prevalent
viruses. Besides looking at the free ones that you can download, you
might check with your ISP. Some ISPs are now offering anti-virus
software for free to their customers. JollyJoe is using Earthlink which
says AV protection is included in their TotalAccess software (but I
don't know whose AV product they incorporate so I don't know its
coverage).