# Free virus scanners?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 12, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542 "2003-08-12T00:56:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/1 "2003-08-12T00:56:13Z")

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So is there any such thing as a free or very cheap virus protection program along the lines of Norton Anti-Virus type stuff?

-FrL-

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/2 "2003-08-12T01:22:43Z")

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There is a good online scanner at [http://housecall.trendmicro.com/](http://housecall.trendmicro.com/)

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**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/3 "2003-08-12T01:25:11Z")

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I like [Grisoft’s](http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php). The basic version is free for home users.

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**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/4 "2003-08-12T01:58:44Z")

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**Frylock** beat me too it. I came in here to post the housecall one too. It’s the one I use when I want to double check what I already have on the computer.

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/5 "2003-08-12T07:57:08Z")

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My favorite: [http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/](http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/)

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/6 "2003-08-12T14:25:21Z")

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Avast Home Edition is a full-featured free virus protection program. It can be found at [download.com](http://download.com). I use it and it is great.

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**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/7 "2003-08-12T14:31:00Z")

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[A list from Wilder’s.](http://www.wilders.org/free_tools.htm)

Big AVG fan here.

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**Author:** ![NutWrench](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nutwrench/32/20193_2.png) [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/8 "2003-08-12T17:12:19Z")

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Another vote here for Avast.

> **[Avast | Download Free Antivirus & VPN | 100% Free & Easy](https://www.avast.com/en-us/index)**
>
> Join 435 million others and get our award-winning free antivirus, plus privacy & performance tools. Download Avast One to protect & optimize all your devices.

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**Author:** ![vivian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3e96dc/32.png) [@vivian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivian)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-virus-scanners/194542/9 "2003-08-12T18:52:29Z")

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avast is great  
its got alarms and everything…“YOU HAVE A VIRUS ON YOUR COMPUTER!!!”