Anti-Virus Tools

ThreatFire provides behavior-based security monitoring to protect you from malicious programs such as Trojans, viruses, malware and other threats without relying on any signature updates. It can (should) be used along with your regular anti-virus program or firewall, adding an additional level of security to your system. The program works by continuously analyzing the behavior of processes and programs on your system and immediately alerts you if it detects any suspicious actions - you can then decide whether to allow or block the activity. ThreatFire comes ready-to-use and does not require any difficult configuration, however it also offers flexible rule settings that allow advanced users to customize the protection.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is an anti-virus scanner that offers Resident Protection, e-mail Scanner, On-Demand Scanner, and Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files and automatic updates. The free version is limited in features, but includes all basic scanning functionality as well as real-time protection. It uses the same scanning engine as the commercial version, however updates are provided on a low priority basis.

Avira AntiVir Personal offers the effective protection against computer viruses for the individual and private use on a single PC-workstation. It detects and removes more than 50,000 viruses and an Internet-Update Wizard for easy updating. The built in resident Virus Guard serves to monitor file movements automatically, for example when downloading files from the internet. Heuristic scanning protects Protection against previously unknown macro viruses. Note: This free version brings up a daily nag screen that advertises the Professional versions which are available from the company.

Panda Cloud Antivirus is a cloud-based antivirus client that uses collective intelligence to analyze executable files, protecting you from malware, viruses, Trojans and other threats. The program is designed to have 50 percent less impact on system performance compared to the industry average.

PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition is an anti-virus scanner, that provides real-time protection against viruses, worms and Trojans. It also offers on-demand scans, as well as automatic updates and real-time scanning of incoming and outgoing mail. Other features include heuristic scanning and scheduled scans. The Free Edition offers limited support and non-priority updates.

ClamAV/SOSDG (formerly ClamAV For Windows) is a Windows command line version of the GPL licensed anti-virus solution. It includes a set of command line tools, including a high speed scanning daemon, that can be used to scan computers for viruses, or used by mail servers or proxy servers (via command line) to clean incoming messages. The program offers free definition updates and comes with detailed (PDF) documentation. Suited for advanced users only.

RISING Antivirus Free Edition is a full-featured antivirus program that protects your computers against all types of viruses, Trojans, Worms, Rootkits and other malicious programs. It offers real-time protection, email scanning (POP3/SMTP), automatic updates, scheduled scans and all others standard features, as well as a set of advanced system protection tools that monitor for system changes, suspicious application behavior and other potential issues. The free version offers the same level of protection as the commercial version but does not include a firewall.

avast! Home Edition is a complete anti-virus package, that is is free for registered home non-commercial users. It contains an on-demand scanner with two interfaces (simple for novices and advanced for experienced users), an on-access scanner with Standard Shield (which protects against execution and opening malware programs) and an embedded e-mail scanner which scans incoming and outgoing email messages. avast! Home integrates with the Windows Explorer right click menu and also includes a special screen saver which is able to scan your system while your computer is not in use. Updates are incremental and frequently made available for manual or scheduled download. You will download a 60 days demo, if you would like to continue free usage beyond that time, you`ll need to register from the home page to obtain a free activation key by email.

Dr.Web CureIt is a standalone anti-virus and anti-spyware scanner that scans your PC for viruses, trojans, adware, spyware, hack tools, rootkits, and other malware. The program does not require an installation and can be run from a USB drive. This is an on-demand scanner only, it can detect and remove virus infections but does not provide any real-time protection. Dr.Web CureIt is based on the ICSA certified Dr. Web scanning engine and should provide reliable detection.

ClamWin is a free anti-virus scanner that is based on the Clam AntiVirus engine. It can detect and remove a wide range of viruses and spyware and offers email scanning (Outlook integration), automatic Internet updates, scheduled scans and email alerts on virus detection. ClamWin does NOT include an on-access real-time scanner, you need to manually scan a file (or run scheduled scans) in order to detect a virus.

ScripTrap traps scripts when they attempt to run on your computer and provides the option of blocking them or letting them continue to run. You can also check the intercepted script with your anti-virus program before you decide to run it or not. This provides you with a chance of catching possibly malicious code before it causes damage. ScripTrap is particularly useful for trapping scripts that arrive in email attachments, such as the ILOVEYOU virus.