With all the hub bub surrounding the April 1st “conficker” virus, and also the recent uptick in severe virus / trojan / spyware attacks, we thought it was a good time to review our favorite free antivirus / virus removal tools.

While they all aim to do essentially the same thing: prevent or remove malicious software, each of these can serve a slightly different purpose, and each seem to be a little better at removing certain types of infections than the others. Two things they have in common: they’re all great at what they do and they’re all free!

So here, then, are our top ten free antivirus / virus removal tools, click the name for a link to the software:

1. Malwarebytes This is the current crown holder for “best all around virus / trojan / spyware removal”. Hands down, it’s the first tool we reach for when we are asked to fix a computer that is already infected. We’ve only had a couple of cases where Malwarebytes couldn’t do the trick. Download it, update it, then run a “complete scan”. You may have to run a scan in “Safe Mode” for complete removal. If you find viruses, reboot to clean them and then run ANOTHER scan to make sure they’re 100% removed.
2. SuperAntiSpyware Another great all around removal tool, just like Malwarebytes above. We often use SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes as a great “One Two Punch” against viruses and trojans. Same rules as with Malwarebytes: Download, Install, Upate the definitions, perform the scan. You may need to run it in Safe Mode for complete removal.
3. Combofix In rare cases where the above two tools can’t do the job, this one has. In particular to solve a weird case of Google Browser Redirection, it was Combofix that found and removed the malicious software. For instructions on using Combofix click here.
4. AVG Free Antivirus A great, and free, resident antivirus program, comparable to Norton or McAfee… except we feel AVG runs on less resources (requiring less memory and CPU, keeping your computer running faster), and is better at actually stopping viruses. No antivirus is a 100% perfect security tool, but AVG is pretty darned good, and you can’t beat the price.
5. Avast Free Antivirus Another great free antivirus program like AVG above. We particularly like two things about Avast: First, of all the antivirus software we’ve tested (free or otherwise) Avast runs on the least memory and CPU, making it PERFECT for older computers with around 256mb to 512mb of RAM. Second, it has a great “boot time” scanner that sometimes catches viruses that others miss.
6. Hijack This! For many tech people this tool is considered an old stand by. There are many discussion forums out there filled with analysis of your Hijack This! results. For advanced users only, this tool is much different than any other on the list, in that it doesn’t NECESSARILY identify malicious software. It identifies CHANGES (good, bad, otherwise) to your system, particularly related to your web browser. Some changes might be valuable to you, like the Yahoo! toolbar. Other changes could be the result of a trojan or spyware. Don’t just run Hijack This! and then remove all the things it finds!! You could remove stuff you like. Use with caution
7. Spybot Search and Destroy Another techie favorite and old standby. This has a great removal tool as well as a resident listener for new problems. We’ve been using this less and less over the last few years, as we are favoring Malwarebytes more and more heavily. However this is always a good tool to have in your arsenal.
8. CCleaner “Guys! Cover your tracks!” well, that’s just one handy use for this tool that removes all traces of where you’ve been on your computer. It’s the best free “privacy” tool we know. It also has a built in Registry cleaner (again… FREE, don’t pay $29.95 for some scam site to clean your registry for you!) and system optimizer. Why then do we include this on our Virus Removal list? Well, it’s a stretch we know, but the more information a spyware program can find about you, the more vulnerable you are. This sofware removes a lot of that info from the nooks and crannies of your PC. And it covers your tracks…
9. Vundofix One of the most widespread, and nasty and hard to remove viruses for awhile there was the Vundo virus. This tool is specifically made to remove that ONE virus and all it’s variants. Best used in Safe Mode.
10. Trojan Remover Ok, this last one, while it is highly effective at removing Trojans, is not as *FREE* as the other tools on this list. It IS free for 30 days. It is fully functional for 30 days, not like some free trials where the software will scan your system and then tell you what it finds and offer to remove it all for a fee. This software WILL remove the trojans in the first 30 days. If you really like it, buy it. It’s $30 and you own it forever, still practically a steal!!

If you have a free tool that has been effective for you, leave us a comment!

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