free anti-spam/anti-virus

I am thinking of replacing my existing anti-virus programme which is due for
renewal shortly. There seem to be a lot of different ones on the market and
many are now available free of charge so it is difficult to know which one
to choose. What I would like to know is, are the free ones less secure and
less effective than the ones you pay for?
Any advice would be most welcome.

 

Avast. Free and everything you need in an AV.

 

Kaspersky is generally regarded as pretty damn good.

http://www.kaspersky.com/

*However*

You can get a free version here

http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp?

*Notes*
1. Ignore the fact that it comes via AOL, it's the most useful thing the
prats have done. Ever.
2. Resist the offer of a toolbar during installation, it will simply nag you
to spend money for something or another, I can't remember what.

 

Don't forget AVG Free!!! ;-0

 

There is a third type of program you need to run
http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=regprot
It blocks entries into your registry without your ok.

No real resources taken up and you never know it's running until it's
needed, then it scares the heck out of you

I always run it and just yesterday I accessed a web page that wanted
to put something in my startup - ya it startled me.

 

No, and the free ones take up fewer resources and cause less problems.

 

I dont know of any free AV that has antispam incorporated .If you go the
free route for an av ,then you maybe want to try spamihilator or k9 spam
filters which are both freeware.Before you install these make a note of
your pop server settings and username as these proxy antispam programes
will change the settings.Personally i use spamihilator,as it has many
plugins and a good english as well as german forum.
me

 

I, for one, believe so. I've been using AV for nine years. I've
used Kaspersky, Nod32, AVG free, Avast, Norton, Panda, Trend
Micro, F-Secure, McAfee,
and Computer Associates one time free AV. AV they said would
"always be free," because, "everyone deserved to be safe from
viruses, for free." Don't know what happened to it, but it
wasn't worth a damn anyway, so maybe thats why they are gone.

Ever hear the saying, "you get what you pay for?" In this case,
I think it applies. No intention of causing an arguement, just
my opinion.

I have always went back to Norton. Always. Believe me, I didn't
want to admit it was the best either, though I have never
"caught" a virus with it. And, I always went back to Norton,
even "before," my subscription for any other was up. I've never
found a virus it left behind with any other AV.

My only other comments on this subject would be my second third
and fourth choices.

2. Nod32, [it could easily replace Norton with a little more work].
3. Kaspersky, [too many bells and whistles...which is also true
with Norton in 2007, but they can be adjusted].
4. Panda, [once pretty good, but incompatible with a lot of
software and hardware I use apparently, terrible hog last time I
tried it].

The worst for me from top down?
CA
AVG free [I found more viruses after un-installing both of these
than all others combined, but each AV seems to always find
viruses the other didn't catch or left behind too].
McAfee
Trend Micro
Avast [Worked well on Win98, no luck with XP]
F-Secure

I would say much results from successful use of any of these are
much dependent on an individual system and it's configuration. At
least that seems to have been my problems. I have had the fewest
problems with Norton. But I don't use any other Symantec
products either, and I believe that's key as well.