what (free) anti-virus (PC) are you using now?

[Tiago]

Are you using any free antivirus for your PC?
I just installed the last version of AVG and looks good.
It is detecting some trojan and some small virus, looks functional, but i don't know if it is a good free solution.

What do you use? Is it free?

[Buleste]

I'd been running free Avira AntiVir (To be found here and Norton 2008 for a while together and they worked fine (Double bagging is always best) up until Monday when the latest update made them incompatable. TBH i've rarely had any infection but then i always make sure that i run my AV and AS software every Saturday (i use several AS, some paid for most free, as they always miss something.).

[Harrison]

Out of the free ones AVG is definitely the best and is perfectly OK for most home users. In recent tests it managed to stop more infections than some of the big commercial names such as Nortons and McAfee.

Regarding Avira AntiVir, it hasn't been doing so well in the same tests, only catching around 80% of infections.

However I do use the commercial virus checker Kaspersky Anti-Virus as it is currently still the most robust and best in all tests I've read the results for.

[Bloodwych]

I was using AVG free 7.5 until version 8 came out. It was a very simple and a nice light application, doing only what you asked of it.

Version 8 is too busy and bloated for me, with browser bars and automatic popup windows that push you to get the full product. It's still a nice free virus checker, but it overstepped the mark on the latest version for my tastes. It still looks nice and easy to use and I would recommend it to someone else who just wants something that works.

Now I use Avast free. It requires you to register an email for a free 1 year licence key, but it doesn't do anything else in terms of nag you once installed or stick upgrade adverts in your face. It runs 7 services for catching viruses and spyware and is very easy on resources and CPU usage. It also has a nice feature of creating a recovery database when your computer is idle, so critical system files can be restored should a virus get in. Appearance wise it's skinable, so you can make it look how you want.

I like how it has a customizable system scanner that runs as your screen saver, although the free version doesn't have any scheduling abilities for night time tests. This can be done via a command line in windows scheduler however, should you require it. Updates are automatic and run without user intervention in default mode. I found I had to change very little options as many are set out well from the start.

Finally, I really like its clear menus and layout and its user popups when something is detected. One thing I didn't like were the speech sounds it uses - cheesy and one of the first things I disabled. I crapped myself when my PC started talking to me! I think that should be a user selectable option during install.

Avast! definitely gets my vote!

[Puni/Void]

Have used AVG for years and it has always served me well.

[burns flipper]

I have been using Comodo for about 6 weeks. I'm very impressed - it has realtime scanning, in/out-going e-mail, exclude certain files, daily updates, and all free! I've tried Avast and AVG and I prefer Comodo.

[Demon Cleaner]

Using the free version of Avira for 2-3 years now and never had any problems.

[v85rawdeal]

I am a huge fan of the AVG software and never had any real problems with it.

Although I am not a huge fan of the fact the new one doesnt want to seem to update properly on my laptop. Maybe it is because it is not constantly hooked up to the net, but I have to go in and do it manually.

[TiredOfLife]

Generally install AVG and Avast when sorting computers out for people.
Both very good.
I have no issues with AVG 8.