NetBasics Things are not always as they appear. Aimed to educate people about cybersafety, this NetSafe NetBasics site features 3D animated shorts that chronicle one family's online adventures. Meet the characters, and watch each episode to find out how the Jones family fares against the nastiest stuff on the Internet. You can also get more information about everything from antivirus and antispyware software to backing up data, setting and managing strong passwords, and avoiding dangerous downloads and online trickery.

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Top Free Anti Virus Scans and Software

Is your computer free of viruses?

More often than not, if your computer already has a virus it can interfere with the installation of Antivirus programs.
Try these online scans to determine if a virus does exist on your computer, then you can attempt to remove them manually before installing a program.

Learn the basics about viruses and find resources for virus removal. Protect your computer with antivirus tools, read tips here on how to prevent infections.

Free Security and Virus Check

Symantec Security Check tests your computer's exposure to a wide range of online threats. It's free and an effective tool that helps determine your Internet security needs.

Symantec Online Virus Check is a Free Online utility. It will check your computer for viruses and advise you of them but does not remove them.
Just click the Security Check Icon to take you there.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011

License: Free

Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7

DATE ADDED: July 13, 2011

Limitations: No limitations

Product Ranking: #1 in free Antivirus Software

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Best Free Spyware Removal Tool

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This antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Free provides the bare necessities, including a real-time shield to prevent infections, anti-virus and anti-malware wrapped up in one engine, and a link scanner for Web surfing with care.

By default, the application is set to search for new virus definitions daily, but you always can use the scheduling tool to change this. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn't tax your system when scanning or when running in the background and always proved effective in our tests. The new interface is much easier to navigate than in previous version, with tabbed navigation on the left assisting users in drilling down to the tools they need.

Though the free version of this program will suffice for average folks, those who demand more control should certainly consider AVG Anti-Virus Professional.

The bottom line: Although AVG has flagged a little in the past few years, AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 breathes some new life into one of the most popular security programs around with a shorter install, better usability, and faster scans.

Avast Free Antivirus

Price: Free

Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7

Date added: July 05, 2011

Product Ranking: #3 in Antivirus Software

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Avast Free Version 6 is an A-list freeware antivirus app

Review:
Avast made great strides in its previous update. Version 5 set the stage for the modern, massively popular, and free security suite with a new interface that ditched a quirky, late-'90s jukebox style for a more polished look. Easier to navigate, it also became easier to add new features.

Make no mistake; Avast 6 adds features both big and small. Some that had previously only been available to paid upgrade users are now free for all versions, and newer features have been seamlessly added to the interface experience. If you're familiar with Avast 5, upgrading to Avast 6 won't be that big of a leap

Conclusion
When it comes to your security, Avast Free Antivirus 6 gets a lot right. It's got a usable, uncluttered interface, solid although not stellar benchmarks, and a set of features that keeps it at the forefront of Windows security. Using the Internet safely is no longer just about not getting phished and downloading only known-safe files, and the improvements in Avast 6 address modern security risks comprehensively.

Although we'd like to see stronger efficacy benchmarks in the future, Avast's impact on system performance is light in the most important categories of startup, shutdown, and scan speed. Avast remains one of the best free security options around and is well worth downloading.

Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus

Price: Free

Operating system: Windows 7/XP 64-bit/32-bit/Vista 32-bit/64-bit

Date added: July 05, 2011

Product Ranking: #2 in Free Antivirus Software

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Avira's AntiVir has been a player in the security world for some time; however, in 2008 its status boomed because of its remarkably strong detection rates. It still remains near the top of independent antivirus efficacy tests, but while the 2009 version more or less kept pace with the competition, the 2010 edition isn't quite as good as it could be.

Both longtime and new users alike will note the pop-up ad that appears whenever a program update is downloading; it has been the unaddressed focus of critical and user dislike for several years. While the occasional ad that interferes with a user's work flow used to be considered tolerable for effective free security, that's no longer the case. Avira's lack of a silent-running entertainment-gaming mode is also noticeable, since so many free and paid competitors now offer the mode.

Kaspersky Online Virus Scanner

Coming soon:

A new, improved version of the Kaspersky Online Scanner

We apologize for the inconvenience, but the Kaspersky Online Scanner is currently unavailable - In the meantime, take advantage of a free trial of Kaspersky Internet Security 2012, which has everything you need to keep your computer safe

Kaspersky Online Virus Scanner is a free online virus scanner to find out if you have any viruses or spyware on your machine without having to uninstall your current antivirus software or install a new one. Most importantly, you can see what viruses your current antivirus software let slip through. You just need to be online and using Internet Explorer.