Which anti-virus program should I use? Are there any free ones that wo

Which anti-virus program should I use? Are there any free ones that work well and if so, what’s the catch?
- Alex

This question was answered on December 2, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Anti-virus software is no longer an optional program for anyone that has an e-mail account since the probability of being sent a worm or virus via e-mail is constant.

Anyone that is receiving more than 50 messages a day is likely being sent some sort of malicious code every day.

The top two commercial products are Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan Of the two, I prefer Norton AntiVirus, but both companies are confusing consumers and bloating computers by trying to bundle several other products with their anti-virus software.

So, are the free alternatives capable of protecting you? The answer depends on the user more than the products employed to protect.

For instance, if you open file attachments that are infected with certain mass-mailing worms, the first thing they do is disable your anti-virus program.

If you haven’t patched all the security holes that have been discovered in various browsers, e-mail programs and operating systems, than your anti-virus protection is being compromised as well (Windows users can update at WindowsUpdate.com and Mac users can get the latest at apple.com/support.)

Of the free alternatives that I have tried, I have found two products that seem to perform as well as can be expected.

One is a simple online ‘spot check’ from Trend Micro (housecall.antivirus.com) that will scan your computer over the Internet to see if you are currently infected with anything.

This is a handy site when you have a computer that has outdated anti-virus software and you need to check the system Rather than having to run to your local software vendor or going through a lengthy download, you can start the scanning process right from their site.

This scan does not provide you with any sort of on-going protection; it simply checks your system at that moment, which can be handy when you are trying to diagnose a problem and need to make sure that a virus is not the cause.

The other tool that does install in your system and provides constant protection just like the big commercial packages is called AVG from GriSoft.com AVG has an automatic update feature and the company seems to keep up with new viruses and worms about as fast as the big boys.

So what’s the catch? No technical support and your marketing information, of course!

Your personal information has become the currency of the Internet and that is what they ask in return for free use of their software.

In fact, your activation serial number is e-mailed to the address you provide as a way of ensuring that you give a valid address I would suggest signing up for a free e-mail account at Hotmail.com or mail.Yahoo.com and using it instead of your primary address for this registration to reduce the chances of being bombarded with offers.

By the way, if you think that by purchasing one of the commercial packages from Norton or McAfee you can avoid the ‘Internet marketing machine’, you are kidding yourself, so use a free-mail account with those companies as well

As a side note, handheld computers that are used for e-mail are now at some risk as well, so consider one of the free downloads from BitDefender.com to protect your mobile devices.