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    Free Anti-Virus Options

    Anti-virus software (and internet security suites) are a critical part of your information security arsenal. On today's internet, all computers are vulnerable to various forms of malicious code, sometimes called malware, and including viruses, worms, bot-nets, root-kits, and other bad things. You really need to run such software on all of your systems and mobile devices (e.g. smart phones).

    There are many products that are available, some offer free trials, others provide free basic products with premium advanced versions. Other products may be available from your internet service provider, your bank, or your employer. Unfortunately, there are other products that you may run across that will do more harm to your system than they will do to protect them.

    Free or inexpensive options

    Among the popular free antivirus products are AVG Free and MalwareBytes. There products offer free versions with limited functionality, as well as premium versions which offer more features and additional protections. AVG free is a good basic anti-virus product that will help to keep your system secure. MalwareBytes provides similar features, and if often recommended to check for infections that might have already occurred.

    Many of the other security products, including McAfee and Symantec products offer free trials. My recomendation is not to use the free trials unless you are already inclined to purchase the product at the end of the free trial. If you let the trial expire, you will end up with remnants remaining on your system which can sometimes interfere with other anti-virus products that you may install.

    What to avoid

    If you are surfing the web and a window pops up telling that your system is infected with malware, and that you should click on a link and download software to protect your system, Don't do it. The same rules apply if the pop-up tells you to call an 800 number for support. You don't know who is at the other end of the phone. In most cases, the message is not indicating an infection, but instead the pop-up was placed there by a web-site you are visiting, and installing the software at the link or that you purchase by phone could actually cause an infection. The same guidance applies to links in email you might receive telling you that an infection was detected on your system.

    What you should do

    You should make sure that you are running a reputable anti-virus or internet security system on your computer. There are several commercial products from which you can choose, including the McAfee security suites, Symantec products, Sophos, AVG, Kapersky Labs, and Malware Bytes. Many of these products can be purchase on physical media at office supply stores, and other places, though they may also be puchased online and downloaded to you system. If purchasing online, you are better off going directly to the manfacturers site - don't just follow links that come back when you search for antivirus, or other search terms, as there is a lot of manipulation of search rankings in attempts to direct you to less reputable sites.

    When installing any software, especially free downloads (even those from reputable sources) always read the terms and conditions carefully. In particular, make sure that you are not opting in to the installation of extra, potentially unwanted programs such as searchbars, toolbars, or even unwanted security tools. There may be checkboxes already filled in that you need to unselect to avoid these unwanted downloads. Unfortunately, many important system updates including Flash and Java updates, have at times been distributed with opt-ins to such unwanted software.

    Check with your ISP or your employer

    Before you purchase these products, check with your internet service provider. Many servive providers offer free subscriptions to various anti-virus and security tools. Certain employers provide similar access to anti-virus suits to their employees, even for use on their personal computers and devices. For example:
    • Time Warner Cable offers customers access to McAfee producs
    • Comcast XFinity customers get accesss to Norton Antivirus.
    • USC offers students and staff access to the Sophos suite of products.

    Running multiple anti-virus products

    In order to povide effective protection to your system as you visit web sites or download files, many anti-virus packages change your underlying systm so that their code is called by you system during such activities. Because of this, there are conflicts that are created between anti-virus products and security suites from different vendors. Your system may run much slower if you have multiple anti-virus sytems instealled simultaneously. Usually, a new product will disable conflicting features of other products, but that may leave you without some of the protection you think that you have. One exception to this guidance is that the MalwareBytes tools can often be run simultaneously with other anti-virus products, and this is an option that you can consider in order to protect against additional threats that might not be covered by your other security suites.

    Anti-virus for your mobile devices

    Your smartphones are really general purpose computers (just in a small package), and therefore you should run anti-virus software on such devices. There are several free (and premium) products for mobile devices. Among those you can consider are: