Don’t be fooled by ads for free antivirus software. There are several of these programs that offer free online virus scans. The trick is this: They “scan” your computer and tell you that you have viruses that must be removed before it is too late. Then they require you to buy the software to remove them. Often, the viruses don’t exist in your computer at all. Some viruses and spyware come piggy-backed in a download for “antivirus software”. Be careful. Check online review sites for every program you consider downloading. Regardless of the scams out there, there are excellent free antivirus software programs that work with XP. Here are the best free virus protection downloads available:

The Personal Edition of AntiVir 8

This free program has a rating of 5 stars at Download.Com. It is well-reviewed all over the internet as the best antivirus software available for free because of its scanning capabilities and ease of use while running other applications on the computer.

The positives of AntiVir 8 are its manual scanning features that let you scan individual files and folders by right clicking on them or dragging and dropping them into the application window. It is configured to run in safe mode - a very convenient feature! You can choose to have full reports on every problem issue or receive just the basic information concerning viruses. It updates automatically, runs on a schedule and has various options for scanning tasks.

The drawbacks of this software are slow downloading of virus definitions and the poor ability to detect adware and spyware, thought it does detect much of it and offers a removal tool in its paid version.

Number Two: Avast! Antivirus v4.8

With a good CNET rating and great Download.Com rating, this software offers protection against viruses, spyware and adware. While its rates of spyware detection are not all that great (finds 1/3 of spyware), it does include removal of spyware in addition to virus removal.

Avast! Is not feature-restrictive and is not a “free trial” program. It is growing in popularity as a decent antivirus program. It downloads detections and definitions without faltering and installs them quickly.

The biggest drawback to Avast is that you must register the product after 60 days and continue to re-register annually in order to keep using it. But the registration is free and paid antivirus software has similar policies with charges applied so that isn?t much to complain about.

If you have a computer and an internet connection, there is no getting around it: You need antivirus software on your computer. If the price of paid programs is a bit too steep for you to cover, AntiVir and Avast offer comparable protection for free. Don’t let an inability to pay for virus protection keep you from protecting your PC. Be careful when downloading these programs and be sure to get them from their official sites. There are fake sites that try to get you to buy the products and there are also sites out there that will install viruses or spyware in their place.

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