Virus Alert: Software Recommendations

There is a plethora of antivirus software available in the market. Some versions are offered as freeware, some as shareware and some others for purchase only. A little market research may be required to pick the right one depending on one's needs. Many of them are available for trial before committing for purchase and can be downloaded from the software provider's website. However, some of the trial versions can not be uninstalled easily and it is safer to invoke system restore facility before downloading them. Some of the antivirus programs discussed below have generally been rated high on various parameters like cost, ease of use, customer service and effectiveness.

Shield Pro 2006 earlier called ViRobot Expert is manufactured by PCSecurity Shield. They give online support and updates. For new viruses, they promise a patch in less than 3 hours and a fix within 5 hours of its appearance. The viruses can be updated weekly and a virus scan runs automatically.

BitDefender 10 Standard is manufactured by Softwin and provides protection from viruses, spam, spyware and also peer to peer applications protection, complete email protection and heuristics that tests programs in a virtual computer for identifying unknown viruses through checking of malicious piece of code. One year of free updates with new virus signatures are available as also live technical support through internet and telephone. The software has been tested by ICSA, Virus Bulletin and West Coast Labs Checkmark and certified as capable of detecting and eliminating viruses without generating false positives. It has been rated #1 among antivirus software by toptenreviews.com in their latest review of antivirus software.

Kaspersky antivirus personal 6.0 is easy to install and use. There are 3 levels of protection to choose from. Updates are done as often as every hour with minimal load on the CPU. 24/7 technical support and a 2 tier email protection feature are other plus points. Kaspersky has passed VB 100% test, ICSA 2005 and West Coast Labs Checkmark levels 1 and 2. It has been awarded Silver rating by toptenreviews.com

Trend Micro has released PC-cillin Internet Security that provides antivirus security as well as personal firewall for protecting against viruses, Trojans, worms and hackers. Further it has features for removing spyware, blocking spam, phishing and pharming attacks, and can prevent identity theft.

AVG antivirus from Grisoft has a free edition for home users. It can be freely downloaded from the manufacturer's website. Free software is generally viewed with skepticism for its quality and reliability. But AVG antivirus is one of the most of popular free antivirus software. Even though no technical support and server version is available, it is still a preferred choice for home computer owners as it is absolutely free without any obligation.