How to Get the Best Free Antivirus

It's sad but true, we all need antivirus. So why pay for it when there are plenty of good ones for free? Protect your computer and get windows to stop putting up annoying messages now.

Things You'll Need

• Windows
• Internet connection

Instructions

1. Choose your anti-virus. There is a lot of controversy about which one is best, but most heavy users I talk to go with either 1) Avast, or 2 AVG.

2. 

   Avast Home Edition. I personally prefer this one. It's free and handles all the updates for you. The only annoying factor is that you need to turn off the sound of it. If you don't, each day you will have this *ding* "virus definitions updated" message. Kind of annoying, but easy to turn off.

   You can download it from: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

   According to the site, their free features are:
   - Anti-spyware built-in
   - Anti-rootkit built-in
   - Strong self-protection
   - Antivirus kernel
   - Simple User Interface
   - Resident protection
   - P2P and IM Shields
   - Network Shield
   - Web Shield
   - Automatic updates
   - Virus Chest
   - System integration
   - Integrated Virus Cleaner
   - Support for 64-bit Windows
   - Internationalization

3. 

   AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. This is what my friends usually prefer, and also happens to be the first result in Google for "free antivirus". I used to use AVG, but I had an issue with their updates -- got frustrated, and haven't used them since. When I was using them a lot, they were good at the time. And of course who can complain about free?

   You can download it from: http://free.avg.com/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition

   According to the site, their free features are:

   Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware
   Protection against viruses, spyware, adware and trojans

   LinkScanner Active Surf-Shield
   Protects in real time against poisoned web pages while you're surfing

   LinkScanner Search-Shield
   Real-time safety ratings for all search results in Google, Yahoo and MSN/Live search

   AVG Security Toolbar
   Easy access to LinkScanner tools, built-in search capability

4. I assume the sign of a good virus scanner, is to not realize that you have one, plus never get a virus. This has been my experience with both Avast and AVG. I cannot thank all the companies out there willing to give away products like this.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't like your anti-virus. Change it.

• Always play around -- it's the best way to learn.

• Beware of downloading anything you are unsure about, even from a trusted site.

Resources

• avast! Home Edition
• AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition