Are free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs as good as the ones you have to pay for?

You can find reviews on free programs at this link.

http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Software/Anti_virus_freeware/

Results from using any program are really the only way to tell if it is any good.
Most reputable companies will offer a free trial of their programs.

Try this excellent software: AVG Antivirus Free Edition at http://www.grisoft.com/

We use AVG Antivirus on both of our computers, and are very satisfied.  One thing to be aware of is that a number of people (including us) have noticed that after installation, it causes programs to open V E R Y   S  L  O  W  L  Y, even on a fast computer.  I had wondered for some time why Firefox, Word and Excel, particularly, had become extremely slow to open.  Yet if closed and then re-opened, they were almost instantaneous.  I never did find a reason, but decided just to live with it until I happened to notice a question on a Firefox newsgroup about why it (and Word) was suddenly taking quite a while to open.  The user said he'd recently changed his antivirus program, but didn't say what he began using.

I had a sudden thought: I disabled AVG and then tried opening Word - almost instant opening!  I'd previously checked to see if a recent update of Zone Alarm had started the problem at the time, but for some reason didn't think about AVG.  I posted on the newsgroup and asked if by chance the other use had switched to AVG - he had, and a couple of others also posted that they'd noticed the same thing but hadn't associated it with AVG until closing it and then opening Firefox or Word.

Again - we've chosen to stick with AVG as we've found that it is very reliable, have had many viruses and trojans stopped dead in their tracks, and it's FREE.  We'll take a few extra seconds to open programs as "payment" for the program.

As for spyware, check out Ad-Aware at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/  -  the personal version is free and is effective.

C.R.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

You can check out the above link for information about freeware security apps. I have found through second opinions on forums that the informations is reliable. It is techsupportalert.  You will find other freeware programs for all your wants and needs. There are two email publications, one free and one paid. Also I would like for Ray to list the freeware that he uses, not just security, if any, but for all niches.  I have often wondered which programs that he uses on his own computers, both paidware and freeware. From using three of his programs and my interactions with him, and from what I know about him from other sources, I believe that to know the programs that he uses may be valuable. Of course, the decision of what to use is personal, and I also believe that one should carefully research the prospective programs.
No freeware antivirus is as good as the best commercial ones like NOD32, which I use, Kaspersky, AntiVir PE Premium, BitDefender Pro, or F-Secure. You can check this site in your quest:  http://www.av-comparatives.org/.  You should also consider that if you have a mult-layered defense that all freeware will be as secure as humanly possible. The question should not necessarily be if the freeware security is as good as the commercial, but if it passes the minimum standards for its category, and what is the protection if used within a multi-layered security array. Use a router, if broadband, with freeware antivirus, anti-Trojan, intrusion detector, browser protection, two or three on-demand anti-spyware scanners, and anti-rootkit, though the last requires some larning. I have one computer with all freeware. Check techsupportalert site.

   I do not use antivirus or spyware programs.  There is no need to use them if you know how to behave.

• Do not open email attachments that you do not know for sure what they are (this is where most viruses come from).  
  
• Do not go to warez websites (these are websites that have passwords and hacked software).  These sites often have virus files in amongst the hacked software.
  
• Do not click on links in unsolicited emails.
  
• Do not enter your credit card number in the forms that unsolicited emails link to even if these emails seem to be from your bank or credit card company.  Your bank knows what your credit card number is and will never ask for it.
  

   Having said all of that, my wife does use an antivirus program on her computer because we have a foreign exchange student that also uses her computer and despite the instructions that I give him, he is always getting viruses.  I think that they come from warez sites that he visits.
   I do not recommend any specific antivirus programs.  Just about any of them will work.  I don't like Norton (which is what my wife uses) because I just don't like Norton :) and I don't like Kaspersky because it locks up folders which then causes problems with my programs.
   I have tried several anti-spyware programs but have found them generally to be a scam.  In most cases spyware is a made up problem that does not exist but these anti-spyware programs try to give the impression that it does exist and is a big problem.

i have found some free antivirus and antispyware that work much better than paid versions. the best of the breed i think are AVG, A-squared, spyware blaster, spybot s&d, and ad-aware se. these are all very good programs. if they wont remove the crap from your pc, nothing you could pay for will either.

   AVG is no longer free on the AVG website (http://www.grisoft.com/).

   (Gary Sauers pointed out to me in an email after I posted this message that if you go to the Grisoft.com website, click on the Products button, and then scroll down to the bottom of the Products page, that under Free Security, it has the free version.  I don't know if that was there before when I made this post or not.  I didn't see it at that time.)

if you go here:www.filehippo.com (the actual page is http://www.filehippo.com/download_avg_antivirus/) look at the antivirus software and you will see AVG free, i have installed it on about 7-8 systems recently and they are still updating just fine.