Most Complete Best list of Free Antivirus and Spyware Removal tools known in the web
Nasty viruses? Bad trojans in the backdoor giving you security issues? Well it's time I gave you the best and the most complete list of Anti-virus and Spyware removal and prevention softwares that are absolutely free.
Found this list on another site, thought it might be useful
Online virus scanners:
www.virscan.org - Virus Scan
www.virustotal.com - Virus Total
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ - Trend Micro
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/ - RAV
http://www.gietl.com/test-clamav/ - ClamAV (single file scan)
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/ - Panda
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp - McAfee
http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus.html - Kaspersky (single file scan)
http://online.drweb.com/ - Dr. Web
http://www.commandondemand.com/eval/index.cfm - Command
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php - BitDefender
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/d...d=ie&venid=sym - Symantec
http://virusscan.jotti.org/ - Jotti's malware scan 2.42 (single file scan using 10 Linux vesions of anti-virus programs)
Virus scanners:
http://www.free-av.com/index.htm - Anti-Vir
http://www.avast.com/index.html - Avast
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php - AVG
http://www.bitdefender.com/index.php - Bit-Defender
http://www.clamwin.com/ - ClamWin
http://www.my-etrust.com/ - E-Trust
http://www.f-prot.com/index.html - F-Protect
http://www.f-secure.com/ - F-Secure
http://www.kav.ch/ - KAV
http://us.mcafee.com/default.asp - McAfee
http://www.symantec.com/index.htm - NAV
http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm - NOD
http://www.norman.com/en - Norman
http://www.pandasoftware.com/home/default.asp - Panda
http://www.ravantivirus.com/ - RAV
http://www.sophos.com/ - Sophos
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/enterprise.htm - PC-Cillin/Trend Micro
Anti- spyware/adware scanners/removal tools:
http://www.safer-networking.org/ - Spybot S&D
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ - Adaware
http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/index.php - Spysweeper
http://www.giantcompany.com/ - Giant Anti-spyware
http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestPatrolHE/ - Pest Patrol
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html - CWshredder(Last Merijn Version)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155 - HJThis
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3019.html-CWShredder - Intermutes latest version
http://www.safer-networking.org/files/delcwssk.zip - CoolWWWSearch.Smartsearch killer (use if cwshredder won't start)
Spyware/Adware prevention programs/files:
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html - Spyware Blaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html - Spyware Guard
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm - IE-Spyad
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm - MVPS Hosts
http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm - BHODemon
Trojan detection/removal programs:
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/ - A2
http://www.nsclean.com/boclean.html - BO clean
http://www.ewido.net/en/ - Ewido
http://www.misec.net/trojanhunter/ - Trojan Hunter
http://www.moosoft.com/ - The Cleaner
http://www.agnitum.com/products/tauscan/ - Tauscan
http://www.tds.diamondcs.com.au/ - TDS
http://www.3WDesign.es/security - Rootkit detector
Port/Process explorers:
http://www.diamondcs.com.au/portexplorer/ - Diamondcs port explorer
http://www.protect-me.com/freeware.html - Active ports
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr.../procexp.shtml - Process explorer
Software firewalls:
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com - Comodo
http://www.zonelabs.com - Zone Alarm
http://www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec...N=10&sid=26412 - Black Ice
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html - Kerio
http://www.sygate.com/ - Sygate
http://www.agnitum.com/ - Outpost
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/ - Norton
http://us.mcafee.com/root/package.as...v_firewall.asp - McAfee
http://www.tinysoftware.com/home/tiny2?la=EN - Tiny
Alternatives to IE:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ - Mozilla Firefox
http://www.opera.com/ - Opera
http://www.maxthon.com - Maxthon (was MyIE2)
http://www.avantbrowser.com/ - Avant
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/ - Kmeleon
Port and general security scanners:
http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 - GRC's Shield UP
http://www.sygatetech.com/ - Sygate SOS
http://www.auditmypc.com/ - AuditMyPC
http://www.pcflank.com/about.htm - PC Flank
http://www.foundstone.com/index.htm?.../freetools.htm - Foundstone's free tools
http://www.gfi.com/languard/ - Languard
http://bcheck.scanit.be/bcheck/ - Browser check
http://www.gfi.com/emailsecuritytest/ - GFI e-mail security test
http://whacker2.hackerwhacker.com/newindex.dyn - Hacker Whacker security scan
http://www.eicar.org/ - EICAR anti-virus test
http://www.blackcode.com/scan/index.php - Black Code security scan
http://packetstormsecurity.nl/defense/ - Packetstorm- lots of unix/linux tools
https://secure1.securityspace.com/sm...efid=975297074 - SS security audits
Pop up/Ad blocking programs
http://www.panicware.com/popupstopper.html - Pop-up stopper
http://ranfo.com/popki.html - Popki
http://www.ad-shield.com/ - Adshield
http://www.admuncher.com/ - Admuncher
http://www.stopzilla.com - Stopzilla
http://www.proxomitron.info/ - Proxomitron
http://www.intermute.com/adsubtract/ - Adsubtract
http://www.webwasher.com/ - Webwasher
http://adblock.mozdev.org/ -Adblock for Mozilla and Firefox
Firewall Comparison Site - http://www.matousec.com/projects/fir...ge/results.php
Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent.
While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habit, sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, accessing websites blindly that will cause more harmful viruses, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of Internet or other programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software.
In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer.
A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. The term "virus" is also commonly used, albeit erroneously, to refer to many different types of malware and adware programs. The original virus may modify the copies, or the copies may modify themselves, as occurs in a metamorphic virus. A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or the Internet, or by carrying it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, or USB drive. Meanwhile viruses can spread to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses. A worm can spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan horse is a file that appears harmless. Worms and Trojans may cause harm to either a computer system's hosted data, functional performance, or networking throughput, when executed. In general, a worm does not actually harm either the system's hardware or software, while at least in theory, a Trojan's payload may be capable of almost any type of harm if executed. Some can't be seen when the program is not running, but as soon as the infected code is run, the Trojan horse kicks in. That is why it is so hard for people to find viruses and other malware themselves and why they have to use spyware programs and registry processors.
Most personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local area networks, facilitating the spread of malicious code. Today's viruses may also take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, Instant Messaging and file sharing systems to spread, blurring the line between viruses and worms. Furthermore, some sources use an alternative terminology in which a virus is any form of self-replicating malware.
Some malware is programmed to damage the computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Other malware programs are not designed to do any damage, but simply replicate themselves and perhaps make their presence known by presenting text, video, or audio messages. Even these less sinister malware programs can create problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by legitimate programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can result in system crashes. In addition, much malware is bug-ridden, and these bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss. Many CiD programs are programs that have been downloaded by the user and pop up every so often. This results in slowing down of the computer, but it is also very difficult to find and stop the problem.
