Whenever you connect to the Internet now, it is required 100% that you have a good anti-virus program running but what should you look for when planning to get a freeware anti-virus program.
Well we are here to help you choose a good freeware anti-virus program.

When choosing a freeware anti-virus program you should look for the following features:

• Real Time Protection - this is always on protection and scans you computer for suspicious activity all the time in the background.
• On-Demand Scanner - gives you access to scan your computer whenever you want, unlike real time protection this is started by you the user.
• Auto Update - many new viruses appear every hour so having an automatic update feature is always best and will save you having to remember to do updates.
• Heuristics - heuristic analysis provides extra security by detecting and neutralizing previously unknown viruses.

Extra Features You Should Consider When Choosing A Freeware Anti-Virus Program.

• E-mail Protection - some free anti-virus programs are not able to scan e-mails, with many threats (viruses, worms, phishing etc) using this as a route of infection it is important that you have at the minimum a basic e-mail scanner.
• Instant Messenger Protection - if you use an instant messenger program (yahoo, msn, aol... etc) to chat with friends and family this is another feature you may wish to have.
• P2P Protection - many virus infection occur through P2P (Peer To Peer applications eDonkey, Limewire... etc) this is also something you may wish to consider if you use P2P applications.
• Scan Scheduler - these allow you to set up a time to scan regularly your computer system.
• Reporting Tools - some anti-virus programs not only log all events but can alert you of their actions by email or other means.

Some freeware anti-virus programs come with the above included as standard now but most freeware anti-virus programs will not contain them so it's a good idea to check.
If the anti-virus program you decide to get doesn't come with them included you need to go to get them to remain fully protected while connected to the Internet.

Can you computer support the Anti-Virus Program?

You will need to check the system requirements before choosing an anti-virus program, you need to make sure that your computer is more than able to run it.
Some anti-virus programs will run on Windows XP but not Windows Vista or 7, some will run on Windows Vista but not XP or 7 and some will run on Windows 7 but not Vista or XP so check carefully.

Detection Rates.

Clearly detection rates are one main factor when choosing a good anti-virus program, you always want to choose an anti-virus program that detects as many viruses as possible and achieves high scores in following tests:

• AV Comparatives - http://www.av-comparatives.org/
• VB100 Virus Bulletin - http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/
• ICSA Labs Certified - https://www.icsalabs.com/

Support & Easy To Use.

With most freeware anti-virus programs you will not be offered much in the way of free support, you may only get access to a forum/message board.

Also you since you will be using the anti-virus program everyday, you will want to get one that you feel comfortable with, sometimes it can take trying a few different anti-virus programs out to find one you feel at ease with.

Some Anti-Virus Programs Are Just No Good.

You should watch out for rogue and malicious anti-virus programs, over the last couple of years there has been a major increase in these programs, some will try to fool you into thinking that you have a malware infection and ask you to pay a fee for removal when actually your computer has no malware infections.
Some other rogue and malicious anti-virus programs may download real malware in an attempt to steal your personal information.
If you are unsure whether an anti-virus program is rogue or malicious you can either:
Ask Us On Our Forum
OR
Visit Spyware Warrior (Contains a list of known rogue & malicious anti-malware products) - http://spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

One Final Thing.

Never run more than one anti-virus program at a time, running two or more anti-virus programs can cause major problems, you may think that having two or more running will increase your system protection but it will only cause conflicts and system instability.