5 Free PC Security Programs Worth Downloading

[Guest]

These programs, combined with a little common sense, can protect you from the worst of what the Internet has to offer.

5 Free PC Security Programs Worth Downloading : Read more

 

[digiex]

Avast free, it has also a built in update checker, not resource hug.

 

[LordConrad]

Eraser is great for hard drives, but not so much for SSDs. With wear leveling active, there is no guarantee that the bits you are overwriting are actually from the file you are trying to erase. Also, it uses more Program/Erase cycles, but it shouldn't noticeably degrade the life of your SSD unless it is used heavily.

 

[Patrick Tobin]

In my experience Comodo has never done a stellar job of anything but hogging system resources. Same with AVG. Avast has built in Browser cleaner, updater, you name it. It also meets or beats the same level of protection AVG offers without taking over everything in your system.

 

[bloodroses]

On my older machine running Windows 7, I had been using Avira due to the fact it had almost no impact on performance and I could easily disable it for gaming w/o it affecting anything else (looking at you NOD32). I had also tried Avast and AVG on that machine, but they both seemed to make the machine run very sluggish in comparison. And with Microsoft Security Essentials, imagine booting up a laptop and not being able to use it for about a half hour due to MSE eating up all resources w/o regard of what the user is trying to do.

On my new machine, I am running Windows 8. I was told this already has antivirus built into it through defender. I am wondering if this is sufficient or should I disable it and run a 3rd party antivirus?

As for firewalls, I just use the built-in windows one as I've never really ran into a need to have a stronger one.

Update Checker and KeePass I definitely give 2 thumbs up to as they are always part of my initial software install on a new machine.

 

[bloodroses]

On my older machine running Windows 7, I had been using Avira due to the fact it had almost no impact on performance and I could easily disable it for gaming w/o it affecting anything else (looking at you NOD32). I had also tried Avast and AVG on that machine, but they both seemed to make the machine run very sluggish in comparison. And with Microsoft Security Essentials, imagine booting up a laptop and not being able to use it for about a half hour due to MSE eating up all resources w/o regard of what the user is trying to do.

On my new machine, I am running Windows 8. I was told this already has antivirus built into it through defender. I am wondering if this is sufficient or should I disable it and run a 3rd party antivirus?

As for firewalls, I just use the built-in windows one as I've never really ran into a need to have a stronger one.

Update Checker and KeePass I definitely give 2 thumbs up to as they are always part of my initial software install on a new machine.

 

[dimar]

Is Avast free better than Adaware free?

 

[sykozis]

AVG? Has Tom's looked at the most recent antivirus reviews? Avast is the best free antivirus you can download. There are better software firewalls than Comodo. If you know what you're doing, TinyWall is a better option.

 

[Cy-Kill]

PrivaZer (http/privazer.com/) is *a lot* better than Eraser!

 

[pogsnet]

Bit Defender 10 free is better than AVG. Yahoo reports lately that top three anti virus include bit defender, kaspersky and symantec.

 

[Patrick Tobin]

BitDefender free is not an active scanner. It requires your intervention and scanning. It also uses more resources than Avast.

 

[TracerR]

Malwarebytes anti-malware is also a good free tool. You can run it once a month to find anything your anti-virus may have missed.

Stay away from Norton Internet Security - it is now bloatware again, and did not help the NYTimes from getting hacked internally. Useless, but pretty.

 

[spectrewind]

"FileHippo.com Update Checker"

Does anyone on here remember Cybermedia Oil Change for Windows 95?

 

[FarvingStartist]

I really can't believe Tom's posted this article without even mentioning Malwarebytes or Spybot Search & Destroy. Piriform makes some great free software also such as CCleaner and Recuva. CCleaner's tools will also so a 35 pass drive wipe...

 

[FarvingStartist]

I really can't believe Tom's posted this article without even mentioning Malwarebytes or Spybot Search & Destroy. Piriform makes some great free software also such as CCleaner and Recuva. CCleaner's tools will also so a 35 pass drive wipe...