Free Virus Removal Tools & Softwares
So lately there have been a lot of things going around the blogosphere about worms getting into old Wordpress systems and that was one of the main reasons that I hesitantly upgraded to the new Wordpress. To let you know how scared I am of messing with the database, I hadn’t upgraded my Wordpress since the 2.6 release about a year or so ago.
Although I create weekly backups or so of the database, I am always worried about what would happen if the main contents got ruined. Well the only thing I can think of is to schedule a backup to your hard drive of your ftp folder. The first time you do such a backup, it will take a while to copy all the files but every time after that, only the changes will be added on or taken off. So, basically, if I create a full backup today and then add a picture to my blog tomorrow. If today was the first time I ever did the backup, then it would take a while but tomorrow, it might only take a few seconds to download that picture I had added. This can really help you save time and keep your mind at ease.
My Computer & Specs
Lately, however, I have been worried about my computer. My computer isn’t that new. It is about 5 years old now but it has been upgraded and for those of you who are curious and want to know the specs, here they are:
22″ HDMI Connected Samsung Monitor
Pentium 4, 3.0 Ghz with HT Technology
3GB RAM + ATI Radeon HD 3600 with 512MB RAM
Dual Drives – DVD Burner + CD Burner
1.2 TB Internal Hard Drive + 250GB External
Audigy 4 SE 5.1 Audio Card + Logitech THX 5.1 Z-5300e Speakers
The specs are not bad considering that I have invested quite a bit of time and have upgraded the computer over time. Lately though, I have began wondering about the Antivirus protection on my computer. Many people swear by Norton but I am not such a big fan of Norton. It has turned out to be a memory hog for me and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. Some software that comes to mind is as follows:
Trend Micro
Trend Micro is a company that comes to mind mostly because of the free tools that they have out. They have this tool called HouseCall which you can check out here. Basically, the tool allows you to scan your computer for malware, viruses and spyware online and best of all, its free. Now, this isn’t something that will protect you all the time, but its good if you need to quickly check your computer. Aside from that, they also have a few Clean-up tools to help you get rid of malware and bots such as HijackThis and RUBotted that you can check out here. They also have some prevention tools for the iPhone, your email and your computer here.
AVG AntiVirus
Other popular choices are AVG AntiVirus which is a resident antivirus software that is completely free. The thing about AVG that bothers me is that although its free, it does have upgrade options which means that sometimes updates are delayed and you may not have the best coverage at all times. I know that companies need to make money, but as far as I can remember, AVG never had upgrade options before and used to be completely free. Aside from that, and the fact that AVG also hasn’t been too good at blocking some Trojan horses, I wonder how effective it really is.
Avast AntiVirus
The software that I use is Avast which is also free with several upgrade options. Avast, is good and although I’m not a big fan of the user interface, it does seem to do a pretty decent job. The only thing that really bugs me about Avast is that its not too user friendly. The interface can be a pain and the software is a bit of a memory hog. I mean, its free so I really can’t complain but it has worked for me quite effectively.
I’m trying to think of some other free solutions but nothing really comes to mind. At the moment, I’m trying out Trend Micro’s HouseCall and seeing how well that works. Generally, I would use Panda Antivirus’s free online solution but that has deteriorated over time and from the looks of it, Trend Micro’s HouseCall is definitely looking like a great replacement. Hope you guys are having a great day so far and if you have an antivirus software thats free or has free tools, do write me back so that I can check them out!
Good post. Protecting your computer is crucial, especially if you use it to run any kind of website or business. I normally use AVG, but I too am worried that it is not providing sufficient protection. Unfortunately my laptop is a little too outdated to be able to use anything that requires much memory. So I guess I am stuck taking a risk until I can afford to upgrade.
i use nod32 antivirus. Thats better than others antivirus.
Well I can’t believe Kaspersky is not in the list. I mean it just works superbly for me that I have been using it even outdated.
Anyways, you should take a look at it.. Here in my country, Avira is the best free antivirus and honestly its better than AVG a lot..
I use AVG antivirus, but sometimes my pc very slow i don’t know about it. I’ll install HouseCall in my PC.
Hey Enkay!
Have you checked Avira? According to my sources, it’s free & works well as well.
Well i use Kaspersky and i am very satisfied of the work is doing. Not using so much resurses and also they database is very well upgraded.
I disagree with you on Avast!
I am using it no a lower spec machine and it is not a memory hog! It runs pretty fine and only time when it uses lot of memory is when it updates(but hey, a setup is running, and that is supposed to take up some RAM, doesn’t it)
Also, the interface is pretty good. It is my personal opinion but it does a good job of deviating from old “no eye-candy” interfaces! It is slick with interface like media player! And if you do not like it, free skins are available!
Hey Enkay, Haven’t been over here in awhile and I must apologize for that. I keep a list of the blogs that I like to keep visiting and yours is always one of the ones on my list. However having a few problems over the past 5-6 months I’ve been out of the loop a little bit. Then last month I went to my blog as usual and there was the dreaded red page with warning “Attack Reported Site” ouch! What the heck do I do now after calling HG and being told that I had been hacked or rather WP was attacked and I several things that I had to start doing that day. After several emails back n forth to HG and then going to GoogleWebmasterTools begging them to take a look at my blog that all malware has been taken care of, could they please put me back online? No! You still have malware keep on trucking… after three days of being down losing $$$ and just nearing a panic attack I had decided that I had to learn about Malware Virus. I asked everyone what to use for software or what to do, my questions were answered with AVG and spybot but the big thing was to “MAKE SURE YOU RUN THIS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK” I will admit I was not faithful as far as running my software…but the real problem to me was why because we update our Wordpress do these things happen? I am not a techi at all, so after a guest post and just some simple education the biggest thing I learned from all of this was PASSWORDS make them complicated and change them up now and then put symbols in them, and you may even have to write down your new passwords just to remember them. Thanks for the info. that you have provided us as usual always informative. jj
Generally internet users like us most of time faces virus problems, i used avg and avast but HouseCall i used first time found quite clever and good software sure i will tell to other to try once.
Thanks for this free software list, i will pick one for my computer.
Denis