AntiVir

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic is freeware. This application is for personal usage only. Like most antivirus software, it scans disk for viruses and also runs as a background process, checking each opened and closed file. It also performs Internet updates (daily by default) in which it opens a window, with an advertisement suggesting the user to purchase AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium.

AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium costs € 20 per year. It has several improvements over the free version, most notable:

• besides viruses, it also detects adware and spyware;
• its Internet updates are both fully automatic and faster than for the free version, due to the exclusive download server;
• it performs POP3 scan (checks for viruses in incoming email before it is received)
  

AntiVir Workstation is for business use and costs € 59 for a year. It is similar to AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium, but may also protect computers in a network and P2P networks.

AntiVir Server, AntiVir MailServer and AntiVir ProxyServer protect data, mail and proxy server correspondently. The cost for each of these applications is hundreds to thousands of euros, depending on the number of users (from 10 to 250) and time (1, 3 or 5 years).

AntiVir Mobile runs on PocketPC under Windows CE or on smartphones under Symbian. The price is about $25 for PocketPC and free for smartphones.

The AntiVir Personal Edition offers the effective protection against computer viruses for the individual and private use on a single PC-workstation. In order to make possible an easy operation, the AntiVir Personal Edition is developed to the essential points.

You'll be amazed how thoroughly AntiVir protects:

• detects and removes more than 150,000 viruses
• always among the winners of comparison test featured in computer journals
• the resident Virus Guard serves to monitor file movements automatically, e.g. downloading of data from the internet
• scanning and repair of macro viruses
• protection against previously unknown macro viruses
• safeguard against cost generating dial-up program
• protection against trojaner, worms, backdoors, jokes and other harmful programs
• easy operation
• Internet-Update Wizard for easy updating
• Protection against previously unknown boot record viruses and master boot record viruses

http://www.free-av.com/

Avast Antivirus

Avast Antivirus is an anti-virus program developed by ALWIL Software based in Prague, Czech Republic, first released in 1988. avast! is used worldwide and is available in 27 different languages. It is loosely based on stereotypical pirates (the name "avast!", and the fact that it has a virus chest instead of a vault). Since its release, avast! 4 Home has become one of the most popular full-featured freeware anti-virus applications for Microsoft Windows users, almost reaching 6,000,000 downloads on Download.com.

The program is free for home and non-commercial use so it is often compared with the free version of Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus.

The software is aimed at preventing several types of computer threats, including those that are not technically computer viruses such as spyware and even rogue anti-spyware, and can also make a virus Recovery DataBase which is used to recover files when they are infected (instead of just deleting them). The product can be downloaded with full text and voice translations to more than 25 different languages.

Avast! 4 Home Edition is a full-featured antivirus package designed exclusively for home users, non-commercial users. Home Edition is free of charge, since in our opinion, it is possible to avoid global virus spreading by efficient prevention; however, many user are not able or do not want to pay for antivirus software.

http://www.avast.com/

AVG Anti-Virus

AVG Free Edition is the well-known anti-virus protection tool. AVG Free is available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product! Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements).

Highlights include:

• Automatic update functionality
• The AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run
• The AVG E-mail Scanner, which protects your e-mail
• The AVG On-Demand Scanner, which allows the user to perform scheduled and manual tests
• Free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product
• AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files

http://www.grisoft.com/

Active Virus Shield

AOL Active Virus Shield (AVS) is a free antivirus utility made available by AOL. Its engine is based on the one used by Kaspersky Antivirus 6. Active Virus Shield offers real-time protection.

Active Virus Shield is light compared to other commercial anti-virus products. It also does not consume much memory during startup. However, it does lack some features of Kaspersky 6.0 (such as proactive protection and HTTP protection), and the license provided is only valid for one year. Additionally, Active Virus Shield does not currently work with Windows Vista.

http://www.activevirusshield.com/

BitDefender

Bitdefender is the name of a popular antivirus engine, made by Softwin.

BitDefender is among the most widely used antivirus programs, with over 50 million users from 100 countries. The BitDefender products offer a line of anti-virus and data security defence (firewall, anti-spyware, etc). BitDefender has won several awards for both the enterprise and personal computer use software.

F-Prot AntiVirus

F-Prot Antivirus is sold in both home and corporate packages, of which there are editions for Windows, Linux, and BSD. There is also a DOS version for home users, and corporate versions exist for Microsoft Exchange, Solaris, and certain IBM eServers. F-Prot has been produced since 1989.

F-PROT Antivirus, version 6 for Windows, Home is a powerful new antivirus program.

• Easy to use
• Fast
• Light on computer resources
• Install and forget
• License for up to 5 computers in the home
  

While adding significant new features, F-PROT Antivirus builds on the product’s history of reliability, ease-of-use and speed to provide a powerful yet affordable antivirus solution.

http://www.f-prot.com/

F-Secure AntiVirus

F-Secure plc (formerly Data Fellows) is an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. The company has large branch offices in the USA and Japan, where some antivirus analysis and software development work is also being undertaken. F-Secure Corp. is publicly traded on the Helsinki Stock Exchange under the symbol FSC.

The company sells security software to fight malicious code on diverse platforms:

• F-Secure's IBM PC compatible offerings traditionally had an emphasis on protecting the Microsoft Windows platform, but Linux versions of comparable functionality have been introduced during 2004 and 2005.
• F-Secure is one of the leaders in fighting mobile malware threats. Security software for the Windows CE derived handhelds and Symbian smartphones are available. The company's public weblog closely follows the mobile malware situation and has been voted as one of the web's 500 most read blog sources. The company also claims to be the first antivirus vendor to establish a World Wide Web presence back in 1994.
• F-Secure has been building relationships with mobile phone network operators and ISPs to provide its managed security solution as blanket protection for the carriers' clients. This is a strongly growing market segment.
  

F-Secure products for the PC feature CounterSign, an exclusive anti-virus technology based on multiple scanning engines for malware and adware identification as well as run-time detection of root kits. F-Secure has OEM agreements with several security vendors to integrate leading detection technology in its own offerings, including a long-standing cooperation with Kaspersky Lab, Russia.

F-Secure is historically related to FRISK Software International, a company based in Iceland, which publishes F-Prot antivirus. The original F-Prot conglomerate of Icelandic, Finnish and American computer antivirus researchers fell apart during the early 1990s and the resulting companies divided the global market. For a while, Data Fellows's product was marketed as "F-Prot Professional". As of 2006, the macro-virus detection capabilities of Frisk's F-Prot scan engine are still present in F-Secure products.

http://www.f-secure.com/