| Three free guardians for your computer |
|
By: Codrut Nistor, Editor, Software
Reviews |
|
Yesterday was a Friday 13th indeed, because I was just about to
have some electrical cables inside my house melted, and I don't
want to think about what could have happened if this problem hadn’t
been detected in time… but let's move to the computer world. Fortunately, no viruses here, and apart from one over voltage
problem that gave a little work to my UPS, everything's just fine.
Having these in mind, I thought about giving you a hint on some
excellent antiviruses that are also completely free, and which are
pretty easy to find.
I have three subjects today, and each of them is a winner in its
way. The interesting fact about them is that all three start with
the first letter of the alphabet, their names being Avira
PersonalEdition Classic, AVG Free Edition and Avast! Home
Edition.
We already now the most important thing about these programs: with
each one of them, you can get free and reliable protection from
computer viruses, but the time has come to check things a little
deeper...
Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic 7
 I am not going to hide myself from the
truth, but plainly admit it: Avira AntiVir is my favorite, but that
doesn't mean it's the best one here. After all, everything is a
matter of personal taste...and despite the large number of computer
magazines and sites, there's no 100% fair test; basically, that's
the reason I won't have a winner today.
Before getting to know Avira AntiVir, I used to close my
antivirus each time I needed my computer to work as
fast as it could, but now things have changed. There's not much to
say about this program, but there are three things that should be
mentioned for each one here today - interface, features and limitations, because each
of these antiviruses has a commercial version too.
AntiVir has a nice tabbed interface that contains six tabs, each
one being dedicated to a certain task. These areas are Status,
Scanner, Guard, Quarantine, Scheduler and Reports.
The Configuration screen has two possible layouts, the basic
default one and an Expert mode that allows you to play with the
advanced program options.
This antivirus is very easy to use and it won't tie a cannonball to
your computer's foot when real time monitoring is enabled. The
PersonalEdition Classic doesn't have the MailGuard module that can
protect you from malitious emails and each day a window that
suggests purchasing the Premium edition opens. Even more, the
Premium edition gives you access to an exclusive updates server, being also able to detect adware and
spyware, besides viruses. Anyway, the free version is a good
choice, and I advise you to give it a try!
AVG Free Edition 7
 Grisoft is one of the important players
on the antivirus market, and AVG Free Edition is their gift for
home users, but without technical support, multiple languages and detailed
settings. Of course that you won't be allowed to use this for
commercial purposes, and your download priority when downloading
updates will be low, but let's see what goodies can we get for
free...
AVG Free Edition's interface looks identical to the commercial
version, and I must say that they are both a little outdated. I
know that fighting viruses is not an art in most cases, but a
question of raw power and speed, but I like to see nice interfaces
in most programs that I use.
AVG Free Edition comes with the standard set of features for an
average antivirus, such as custom scanning or scheduling, but I was impressed to
notice the Rescue Disk Wizard, an excellent tool that can help you
repair damage done by virtual intruders, if such a disaster happens
because, let's face it, no antivirus is 100% safe.
The good part about AVG Free Edition is that it comes with an Email
Scanner that can help you get excellent protection together with
the Resident Shield, while the Virus Vault enables you to enter the
world of known viruses and find out more about them.
At last, I must say that this program is also a pleasure to have on
your computer, given the small amount of resources it needs to run
on and protect your computer all day long. Are you ready for it?
Watch it at work right here, right now!
Avast! Home Edition 4.7
 My last client today is Avast! Home
Edition, this one being slightly different from its companions. The
differences can be found only using each one of them to face your
computer's hardware, software and your personal preferences, but I can
only hope that I am helpful enough to give you at least a first
glance on these programs.
Perhaps the greatest difference between Avast! and most antiviruses
around is its interface. While most antiviruses look good or very
good, in the best cases, this one is a true eye candy. Avast! Home
Edition has a skinnable interface, but you'll probably wonder as
much as I did what's the catch with the "Enhanced User
Interface"...and unfortunately there's only one way to find out the
answer: buy the commercial version. Anyway, what we have here is
good enough to get us started, so let's dig in deeper, using the
szc-kde interface.
On the features side, this program also comes with useful and
special tools that we didn't see here today, like the Network Shield that can protect you from worms
attacks, and the Web Shield, designed to keep away any evil lurking
in Web pages from your computer. At last, we have protection from
threats hidden inside email messages, to offer complete
protection.
This is only the top of the Avast! pyramid, and I can guarantee you
it's a pleasure to visit it. I don't know about you, but I won't
get to Egypt anytime soon, so Avast! Home Edition can be an
excellent way to entertain yourselves while staying safe. Enjoy
it!
Conclusion
Today everybody is a winner, and the prize is only a few mouse
clicks away. Don't be afraid, because to prevent is always easier
than to cure. Choose the smart way, choose the A-way: Avira, Avast!
or AVG, in the end, the choice is only yours. Good luck! |
|
Add ky1008 as a contact
Loading...