Computers For Charity Newsletter-Issue 2, Nov. 2011

Top 10 Free Antivirus Programs (and more!)

After exhaustive research and painstaking evaluations I have come up with a list of the best antivirus programs money doesn't buy.

Researching this article was as hard as I thought it woulds be. Not only is it hard to find truly free antivirus programs for your PC, it can also wreak havoc on your system to install bad antivirus programs and then try to remove them. Some of them hook into the registry and won't let go. Others installed software drivers that were a pain to remove. One crashed my system and caused me to have to do a startup recovery. I endured all this to save you the trouble of having a horrible experience trying to find a free antivirus program that would both meet your needs and offer you the best protection without trashing your OS.

I was also surprised by some of the programs that I had previous shunned that now are actually a good option for protecting your system. It was a difficult task to actually find 10 programs that offer real-time protection and don't kill system performance. In the past I've had some bad experiences with certain programs that now have been streamlined and fixed and have made this list. My hats off to the programmers who heard our tears of frustration and worked hard on getting it right.

You need to be aware that companies that offer free antivirus software are not just benevolent souls trying to protect you. You need to pay attention so as not to install things like extra tool-bars or changes in your search engine during the install. Many of these programs have nag screens and recommend that you upgrade to enhance your protection. Many tout extra features that you are missing by not installing the full version. In the case of the software in this list you need not worry. What your looking for here is real-time protection that runs in the background. This means that it not only can scan your system either on a scheduled basis or on demand, and protects you from harmful executable files before they are executed.

I have excluded certain factors from my tests like scan times, and resource usage during full system scans. These are irrelevant measures of a products ability to protect you from malware and these types of scans can be configured by the user to occur during times that the computer is not in use anyways. Heck, I set mine to run when I'm in bed and don't care if it takes it 6 hours and uses 100% of my CPU to scan the system! Factors like virus detection rates and features are also complex and I used my own arbitrary research to check these out. All of these programs will provide you with decent protection from the most prevalent malware out there.

I will also provide a list of programs that you can use in conjunction with your free antivirus program to enhance your security. Even if you pay top dollar for the so called best antivirus program as I have in the past, you still want to have companion programs for on demand second opinion scanning and even additional real-time scanning.

So on with the list. I will start from 10 being the least desirable but still viable program to 1 being my top pick and rest assured i will be using my top picks on my own system.

10. ClamWin AV: ClamAV has been around for a long time. It's main strengths are that it is an open-source product that can be modified to meet your needs. It's weaknesses are that it has a high false positive detection rate and sometimes misses adware and spyware that other free AV's readily detect. For the basic computer user I would steer clear of this on as a stand alone solution to your antivirus needs. But for experts, this is a great program. ClamAV is integrated into many other security tools and is no slouch in this lineup, but it just does not have the muster or the features to stand on its own.

9. Moon Secure Antivirus: Moon Secure AntiVirus is a free antivirus software download which claims to the best free and open-source antivirus solution for PC. My first impression of it however was not so positive. Under windows Vista it crashed after the installation. Once I clicked on the shortcut though it launced itself into the system tray and updated flawlessly. Being open-source, the program does not have a ton of bells and wistles and the graphics are somewhat arcane, almost feeling windows NTish. But it is a lightwieght, real-time antivirus solution that updates itself frequently. With the right companion antivirus, I could almost see myself trusting this one to provide fast and fair protection. But not with other free offerings out there which offer much more functionality.

8: Digital Defender Free: Never heard of this one before? Neither had I but I was pleasantly surprised by a well rounded antivirus product that is lightweight and efficient. Digital defender took a while to install and even longer before its virus database was updated, so my security center kept telling me my computer was unprotected. I had almost uninstalled it and then out of the blue it updated itself and wanted to run its first scan. This program has a clean simple interface and is free of nagware. It falls behind others in virus detection and only garnishes a fair level of protection in my book. Still it is worth your while though as opposed to having no protection.

7. PCtools Antivirus Free: If your looking for basic protection for your PC this will suffice. It has a lot of disabled features that unnerve you when you open the interface so you won't feel very safe with this one. It feels way to much like the fake antivirus programs that are all over the net. Everything you click on offers to sell you enhanced protection! However it does have real-time and on demand scanning so you will be protected. I just am not a fan of all the nag screens to upgrade. I have also worked on computers with the full version of this program as well as Spyware Doctor, its close cousin and neither impressed me as they slowed down the computer considerably and I still had to remove viruses with Malwarebytes or SuperAntiSpyware from these computers. You'll even notice your computer lagging a bit with just the free version but as I said it does work for basic realtime protection.

6: Kingsoft PC Doctor Free: A partially cloud based antivirus that you can use as a companion program or a full fledged antivirus application. This program features a pretty, tabbed user interface with a lot of extras like system repair, optimizer and cleaner. I have other favorites for many of these tasks but it is nice to see them all in one clean package. You will enjoy not only having decent antivirus protection but the wealth of other system cleanup utilities at your fingertips. Kingsofts strengths are also it's weaknesses however. As you are well aware in life, if you try to do everything you can't be the best at everything. You end up being mediiocre at most tasks (My own curse in life!). Overall I was impressed by this program but the virus detection rate and removal are only fair and I would not trust this program alone to protect my PC.

5. Avast Antivirus: In the past I have called Avast crapware. It's installation and removal were complex and it was a hog of system resources. It also had an annoying interface that looked like a media player. The last thing I want is my antivirus program concerning itself with being hip over protecting my system! The latest version however, surprised me with it's simplicity, new streamlined interface and the level of protection it offers. Not my top choice but still a viable real-time antivirus solution. Loaded with lots of features under the hood including a sandbox mode. Note to Windows 7 and Vista users: You will want to do a custom install to avoid installing the desktop gadget and WebRep browser addon.

4. Avira Antivir Free: Avira was a top contender at one time as it had the best detection rate in the industry, at some point in 2009 its competitors caught up with it. Avira also added a nag screen popup during scans that can be a real annoyance. The program however is simple, quick and and unoffensive otherwise. It does what it advertises and does it well and it has some other slick features like rootkit scanning, cracking locked files and spyware detection, but other programs on our list do that too.

3. AVG Free: An old standard that used to be our top pick. They have added some nag screens and and the virus detection rate has fallen behind other free products. AVG also has had some issues with corrupt updates in the past that ended up leaving your system vulnerable. these issues are fixed now but took AVG down a notch in our trust level. Just the same this is a solid program that gives you a better than basic level of protection. Millions of users swear by AVG and we do to or it would not be on our list.

2. Comodo Internet Security: For a free program this one is feature rich as well as powerful, almost too powerful. Installation was simple although I could do without the additional links to Geek Buddy that it installs by default. Thankfully you can uncheck that during the install. I would recommend allowing Comodo to change your DNS to their secure DNS unless you are using your own custom DNS settings. It's a nice feature that will help you to avoid even going to those poisoned websites in the first place. This is by far one of the most complete free antivirus programs available for free that I have used. I actually switched to this at one time because of AVGs update issues but it does not make the top of the list because of its level of complexity, and its virus detection rate. Although the virus detection rates should hardly be an issue with all the other features at your disposal including HIPs and Cloud protection as well as it's sandbox feature.

1. Microsoft Security Essentials: Iv'e been using this for over a year now and after uninstalling it and installing all these other programs could not wait to get back to it. Microsoft hit the nail squarely on the head with this one and the main reason is 'simplicity'. MSSE has the best detection rate of all the free products I have reviewed here as well as being easy to install and unobtrusive to the end user. It does not require the user to give their email address and personal information to work. It does not nag you to buy the full version and it does not expire, nor does it hog system resources, even diring a scan. It simply runs in the background and lets you know when it catches a bug. It's what antivirus programs used to do in the old days. It just works. All you need is a valid copy of Windows XP and up to install this one (Sorry Windows pirates). I still use a combination of Microsoft Security Essentials as well as a companion antivirus program. More on that in the next section.

So now that you have the choice of some free antivirus programs to protect your PC what else do you need? No matter how good your antivirus porgram is you should have a companion antivirus program. This will provide a second layer of protection for your PC in case something happens to your current antivirus program or it simply fails to detect a new piece of malware. I'm going to giver you my top choices for these in the same order as the antivirus list.

3. Panda Cloud Antivirus: Panda Cloud Antivirus protects you while you browse, play or work and you won't even notice it. It is extremely light as all the work is done in the cloud. Panda Cloud Antivirus provides you with the fastest protection against the newest viruses thanks to its cloud-scanning from PandaLabs' servers. Panda Cloud Antivirus is truly install and forget. Don't worry about updates, configuration or complicated decisions ever again.

2. Threatfire Antivirus: Will your antivirus software catch the latest malware that just came out today? In most cases, no, because it simply does not know how to detect it yet. But ThreatFire's ActiveDefense technology does, and has proven to provide up to 243% more protection when combined with traditional AntiVirus products.

1. Immunet: Immunet Protect Free Antivirus is a free companion antivirus solution that combines the speed of cloud computing with the benefits of Collective Immunity to protect entire online communities against real-time virus threats. Immunet Protect adds an extra layer of fast antivirus protection that is always up-to-date using real-time cloud-based detection, so it won't slow down your PC.

There are Many other programs that could be included in this list. We still have on demand antivirus programs and update checkers to discuss. I would say if you are protected by one of the top three programs listed here that you are pretty much safe. If you add the additional level of a companion antivirus program to your protection all the more so. If you buttress that protection with on demand scanning, firewall protection and secure browsing as I discussed in my previous post then you really don't need to sweat a virus infection.

If you think you currently have a virus, please don't hesitate to contact us. Removing an embedded virus can cause irreparable system harm! We can back up your data, remove the bug and have you on your feet in a matter of no time.

Check out http://affordableconsultant.webs.com/ for a list of other great services we can provide you. Affordable Computer Solutions is a part of Computers for Charity that helps to raise funds to continue in our mission!

Viruses and Trojans and Worms, Oh MY!

VIRUS.....Is there anything more feared in the computer world than the virus? OK , nowadays we don't really fear them all that much. Most commonly we get annoying virus variants that are known as Malware. Some of these programs use virus code and can incapacitate your computer, therefore your antivirus program should pick them up and eliminate them.

A virus by definition is is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive.

Viruses are sometimes confused with Worms and Trojan Horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself automatically to other computers through networks, while a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but hides malicious functions.

Worms and Trojan horses, like viruses, may harm a computer system's data or performance. Some viruses have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious or simply do nothing to call attention to themselves. Some viruses do nothing beyond reproducing themselves.

In the old days many viruses were written by programmers to show their skills in the exploitation of the code. Many of these coders have since emerged from the underground and are top security experts for major corporations.

For many of them the challenge was not to seek and destroy but to prove themselves in a community of underground rouges by writing the most sophisticated code available that could thwart even the most high tech security measures of the time. In many cases, the viruses payload would simply be a cryptic warning and some really cool graphics affects, in other cases the viruses would have a destructive payload such as formatting the Hard Drive, or corrupting files and folders.

These days computer viruses tend to have much more nefarious purposes such as stealing private information like credit card, social security numbers and even your identity itself. These viruses can direct you to websites, spy on your browsing habits and even use your computer as a bot to send email and other spam and copies of itself to your unsuspecting friends. Many of these viruses originate overseas, mostly in China, Latin America and Russia. So as Viruses originally came from enterprising young computer hackers, they are now predominantly a profit making enterprise.

Evgeny Kaspersky (Creator of Kaspersky Antivirus), said in an interview with Der Spiegel that the internet could become a war zone; "Everything depends on computers these days: the energy supply, airplanes, trains. I'm worried that the Net will soon become a war zone, a platform for professional attacks on critical infrastructure. " He also cites the Power outages in North America in August of 2003 as an example; "Do you remember the total power outage in large parts of North America in August 2003? Today, I'm pretty sure that a virus triggered that catastrophe. And that was eight years ago."

With this in mind, how do we then end users ever feel safe? Should we go buy the most expensive firewall and antivirus programs at a heavy price? Should we ditch our Operating Systems for something that is more secure and not as vulnerable to infection? Or just pull the plug on our computers, keep off the internet altogether, shrinking back into our caves in fear?

Realistically we don't have to be that drastic. There are very secure methods of avoiding infections altogether and there are ways of keeping your existing system protected and they are not costly or too technically difficult to master.

Of course always follow safe practices when visiting websites, opening attachments, and stay away from the illegal file sharing programs! You all know this, right? I thought so. So I wont go through the lecture your mom should have given you with your first computer. Lets move on bigger and better security matters and I will give you some free ways to keep your computer as safe or safer than if you only used the paid alternatives

Primary Antivirus (Your basic defense): Use the best rated one. Use one that is not a hog of your limited system resources. Use one that is Free? Look no further than Microsoft Security Essentials for this basic and crucial antivirus protection. Yes, Microsoft has this one right. They have a great team of 'coders' who put this one together.

Use it as your primary antivirus. I highly recommend this program if you have a Windows operating system. Also make sure you have the latest version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool form Microsoft (It should come as part of your automatic updates or you can download it here if you think you have an infection). These two tools will ensure a basic level of protection for your computer.

Secondary Antivirus (additional protection for your PC): You can't have more than one antivirus program running on your computer can you? Well, technically you can, but if you have two full fledged antivirus programs running they are likely to conflict and cause system slowdowns.

There are products however, that can work alongside your antivirus program and provide additional protection. For computers that have teenagers downloading music and video I would recommend having this additional layer of protection. I personally use either Immunet or ThreatFire in cases where I know the user is likely to return to dangerous sites and practices.

On Demand Antivirus (for on demand scans): When your primary antivirus reports a clean system and you still have weird things happening on your computer like pop-ups, extra tool-bars you can't get rid of, or antivirus programs and registry cleaners you know you did not install that are showing up in your face all the time, it's time for a second opinion.

At Computers for Charity we rely on specific programs to clean an infected system: Malwarebytes Antimalware and SuperAntiSpyware.

These programs change and sometimes finding the free version and not the trail version can be difficult. My links will take you right to the free download. Use the free versions of these programs to check your system on an as needed basis. You don't need the trial versions or the paid versions to do this. And trust me, these are industry standards. All computer geeks and even most repair shops rely on these programs.

Firewall (the brick wall between you and the internet): My advice, use the Windows Firewall. Check your firewall settings to make sure that you do not have exceptions to programs you don't trust. Just go to Control Panel, Security Center and then Firewall, then to the Exceptions tab. You'll see a list of programs that have the ability to surpass your firewall. Uncheck anything suspicious and check back frequently. Many programs will create exceptions to your firewall to access the internet. This access can be for legitimate or nefarious purposes. So with the knowledge of what is breaching your firewall, you can decide.

If you install any additional firewall protection it's on you. Many if them are complicated and can block your access to the internet entirely. If you are computer astute you may want to play with Zone Alarm or Tiny Personal Firewall. Personally, I found no need to have this program other than to monitor inbound and outbound IP addresses on my PC. I can get all that info from my router log. So it is up to you the user.

Safe Browsing (your web browser that actually displays the text and graphics on the web-pages you visit): The browser has become the tool of the hacker. They not only can exploit the browser itself but any programs that you use to view that information. Examples of these programs are multiplicative. Adobe, Flash, Java, and a lot of other programs are plugged into your browser to enable you to view content on the WWW. So if your browser or any program on your computer that helps you to view data or do the things you do can be exploited, then be assured, hackers and virus writers are working on exploiting it.

This is why we have poisoned web pages. Web pages that can send infected code to your browser or to a plugin on your browser that is vulnerable. Then the code can use that exploit to further compromise your system. Often spyware can redirect you to poison site that can infect your system. For example, I often get emails from friends who are telling me to visit a website. I know the email is uncharacteristic of my friend, mainly because they have never offered me cheap Viagra, or Penis Enlargement, or meeting hot singles to me before.

What has likely happened is there email address as been compromised and taken hostage by the Hack Net. This is not uncommon today so be aware. In any case if you click on the link it may take you to a poisoned website where your computer could also become infected. Either through a plugin or through your browser itself.

Avoid this in a couple of ways. Don't use Internet Explorer. It is the main target of the Hack Net. I prefer Chrome, but others may prefer something different there are plenty of free ones that you can download. These alternative web browsers are not as vulnerable simply because the hackers are targeting the most popular browser. a list of options can be found 'here'. I would steer clear of Firefox as well because its popularity has made it a target too.

Super Secure Browsing (for when you are doing sensitive transactions): For those times you feel really insecure about either your computer or the location you are connecting to the internet at you need incognito options for browsing the web. In these cases I recommend simply using a Linux based Live CD to boot your computer. This will provide you with a secure Operating System that is not going to be vulnerable to viruses. It will also leave no trace of your activities on the local computer for a hacker to backtrack.

You can also run Linux or a version of Windows in a Virtual Machine using Virtual Box. This gives you a virtual sandbox that is segregated for your Computers OS to play in. You can even install a version of Linux alongside Windows in a dual boot configuration. Check out Joli Cloud OS for a very simple Linux distribution that can also synchronize your programs, applications and files on multiple computers or even in the Chrome web browser.

There is also the option of using a virtual browser such as Dells Kace browser. When using the Secure Browser any changes or malicious files inadvertently downloaded from the Internet are contained within the Secure Browser, keeping the underlying operating system safe from infection. If the Secure Browser gets infected you can simply reset it and save yourself a system restore.

Updates (keep your programs up to date with all the latest security patches): Windows updates itself a lot. These updates and service packs patch known bugs and holes in the OS and you should always allow Windows Update to automatically download and install updates. But what about your other programs?

To start with you can allow Windows programs to be updated through Microsoft Update. This will take care of most of your Microsoft Programs.

Programs like Adobe Flash, Java, and QuickTime can also be an open door to Viruses and Trojans and should be updated on a regular basis. How will you keep track of all this additional software? You could allow it to auto-update but that can hog your system resources.

For a comprehensive approach to updating the rest of your programs I rely on Secunia Personal Software Inspector. Secunia will scan your programs and give you a security rating based on its findings. In most cases it will also provide easy to use links for updating insecure programs. Secunia will also give you recommendations for programs that are obsolete or end of life. This is an awesome program that sometimes finds insecure programs I did not even know were on my PC. In those cases I can remove the program and avoid any insecurities.

My rating right now is 98 percent because I choose to keep a few legacy apps that are no longer supported by the company.

Other Useful Tools (for recovering your computer after an infection): If your computer got a bug and you have removed the thing but your system is still behaving badly you can use these utilities to do some cleanup.

You can restore your browser and start-up to default settings by using HijackThis. A small but powerful utility that will remove pesky add ons to IE.

Combofix is designed to remove the nastiest of the known Malware infections.

Revo Uninstaller to remove programs from your computer. Even the stubborn ones who's uninstaller is broken.

CCleaner for cleaning up crap files on your computer and fixing your system registry, especially after removing Viruses and Malware.

So there you have it. This is by no means a full tutorial on how to use these programs but I can promise you that if you master these programs, your computer will be cleaner and more secure than ever before.

Use these programs at your own risk of course. Virus removal can sometimes break your computer depending on the nature of the infection. And of course if you have any doubts, come see our highly trained crew at Computers for Charity. We will always give you a free evaluation and recommendations and if need be can provide you with Affordable Computer Solutions for a small donation to the charity!