February 2, 2008 - Reading time: 12 minutes

Welcome to the tenth installment in our series on free antivirus programs. Be sure to also see:

• Part I – AVG Free Edition
• Part II – PC Tools Free Edition
• Part III – Comodo Antivirus 2.0 Beta
• Part IV – Avast 4 Home Edition
• Part V – BitDefender v10 Free Edition
• Part VI – EAV Antivirus Suite Free Edition
• Part VII – Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
• Part VIII – Clamwin
• Part IX – McAfee/AOL Special Edition

Up for review today is Blink Personal Edition. Review version: 3.5.5 (Rule version 1435)

The Blink antivirus program is produced by eEye Digital Security, a company more well-known in the enterprise world than in the personal sector. In fact, I was not even aware that they produced a “personal” edition of their software until a reader pointed it out to me (thanks Andy!). Back in 2001, eEye was the first to discover the “Code Red” worm, and their customer list sports an impressive array of companies, including Visa, Harvard University, and the US Department of Justice. Read more

January 30, 2008 - Reading time: 5 minutes

UPDATE: Looks like Returnil is dead.

I test a lot of software on my Windows machine. However, I usually feel a slight twinge of remorse whenever I install or uninstall an application, mainly because I know that I’m bloating the Windows registry. Yes, I know about registry cleaners, but still, it’s a hard feeling to shake.

Enter Returnil. What is it? Quite simply, it allows you to create a virtual system of your machine. With a click or two of the mouse, you can turn on system-wide protection that will “freeze” all of your files, settings, and programs into place. Any changes you make to the system will be reversed once you reboot.

Returnil Personal Edition is free for home users.

Usage

So, how do you use this software? Read more

December 18, 2007 - Reading time: 6 minutes

Do you currently pay to use an antivirus program? Have you thought about trying a free replacement, but had no idea where to start? Do you really get what you pay for?

Fear not. As a champion of free software, I assure you that you can easily survive using a free antivirus program. In fact, I have been using a free antivirus program for about five years now. Though I had my favorites before I began this series, I decided to try every free antivirus program that I could find. This series serves as documentation of that process and provides an overview of the free antivirus program currently available.

If you have been following my series, then you know that I recently completed the ninth installment. There are still a few more possible programs that I am considering for review, but I plan to take a brief hiatus from this series. Therefore, I will use this post as the overall summary of what I have discovered so far, and will add to it when I review an additional program.

Here are the links to the individual reviews: Read more

December 18, 2007 - Reading time: 14 minutes

Welcome to the ninth installment in our series on free antivirus programs. Be sure to also see:

• Part I – AVG Free Edition
• Part II – PC Tools Free Edition
• Part III – Comodo Antivirus 2.0 Beta
• Part IV – Avast 4 Home Edition
• Part V – BitDefender v10 Free Edition
• Part VI – EAV Antivirus Suite Free Edition
• Part VII – Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
• Part VIII – Clamwin

Up for review today is McAfee Security Center (AOL Special Edition). Review version: 7.2 (build 7.2.147)

Product link: McAfee Security Center (AOL Special Edition)

Wait a minute! AOL plus McAfee? Those two names strike fear into the hearts of computer users, at least those of us old enough to remember the internet before the explosion of blogs and the social networking craze! Back in those days when the “dancing baby” ruled, installing McAfee on a computer was like pouring motor oil into a car’s gas tank, and AOL itself was practically a virus considering its “hostile takeover” of any computer for anyone dumb enough to install it. Read more

December 12, 2007 - Reading time: 8 minutes

Welcome to the eighth installment in our series on free antivirus programs. Be sure to also see:

• Part I – AVG Free Edition
• Part II – PC Tools Free Edition
• Part III – Comodo Antivirus 2.0 Beta
• Part IV – Avast 4 Home Edition
• Part V – BitDefender v10 Free Edition
• Part VI – EAV Antivirus Suite Free Edition
• Part VII – Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

On the docket today is ClamWin Free Antivirus. Review version: 0.91.2
Product link: ClamWin Free Antivirus

A quick note – ClamWin is unique among all the free products that I have reviewed thus far because it is open-source. Due to its open-source nature, there are absolutely no nag screens, advertisements, registration requirements, licenses, expirations, or paid upgrades. Sweet. Read more

December 8, 2007 - Reading time: 7 minutes

Welcome to the seventh installment in our series on free antivirus programs. Be sure to also see:

• Part I – AVG Free Edition
• Part II – PC Tools Free Edition
• Part III – Comodo Antivirus 2.0 Beta
• Part IV – Avast 4 Home Edition
• Part V – BitDefender v10 Free Edition
• Part VI – EAV Antivirus Suite Free Edition

Up for examination today is the free version of Avira AntiVir. Review version: 7.06.00.270

Product link: AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

Installation – Like AVG, AntiVir is one of those rare programs that does not require registration, nor does it require a reboot after installation. Yay!

However, during installation the program will generate a random serial number tied to a license. Read more