Unfortunately all computers that are on a network or the internet will need some form of virus protection software but whether you are in an office or at home will be the deciding factor on what you should really use.

What is the best free anti-virus software?

As a home user we are lucky that companies do offer a free version of their anti-virus service so we can download and test applications at will.

One anti-virus program available for free is AVG Anti-Virus, it easy to use, reliable and stable although it only gives us basic security coverage at home. I’ve been using AVG at home for a while but I’ve started to like another anti-virus program.

I read in a PC magazine about ThreatFire protection software that I’ve never heard of before. I decided to run a 3 month test on my home PC and was extremely surprised at how much I liked this new software. I noticed it was downloading new definition updates on a daily basis which is a great sign but the real test came when I loaded my PC with multiple viruses. ThreatFire worked as it should have by recognizing the viruses and dealing with their threat, sweet.

What is really great about ThreatFire is the minimum differences between their free version and their business/commercial version. The features not included with the free version are:

• Automatic updates provided if opted out of ThreatFire Community
• Free priority telephone support
• Commercial and business use allowed

So what are the features in the free version of ThreatFire?

• Comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, rootkits, keyloggers & buffer overflows
• Real-time behavior-based malware detection
• Immediately shut down destructive processes and quarantine malware
• AntiVirus engine with signature updates to perform on-demand or scheduled scans of your entire PC for known threats
• Automatic updates (when opted in to ThreatFire Community)
• ThreatFire reporting and protection statistics
• Malware quarantine & removal
• Rootkit scanner – ability to schedule and customize
• Advanced custom rules settings, fully configurable
• System Activity Monitor – view instructive data about all running processes
• Informative alerts provide guidance on how to proceed; most threats automatically quarantined
• Free online support

Compared to what you get free with AVG this is really better. For business/commercial use their price isn’t bad at all – $29.95 USD

What is the best business anti-virus software available?

It would be very wrong for me to make a single recommendation for an anti-virus program for a business, the reason being is I simply don’t know the type of environment in that business. For example, is there a tech person on site? Will the software be used on a server? exactly what is already installed on the system and how is it used? These are just some of the questions need researched before deploying anything onto business systems.

One of the big players in the enterprise market for anti-virus is Symantec but yet its not a product I’ll happily recommend, most of all their Endpoint solution. If you ever had to clean up an installation mess involving Norton Endpoint then you’ll know exactly what I mean. Though don’t let my negative comments put you off entirely, thousands of businesses use Symantec with success. There is also the free Microsoft Security Essentials to test which could end up meeting the minimum requirements for a small business but is it really a suitable anti-virus for business users?

So before you agree to apply any anti-virus solutions for your business make sure you have the basic details about your environment.

• How many computers does the business have?
• Is there a server?
• Are there backups being performed? If so, how?
• Is there an IT Admin available in your business?
• Do you require free support?
• What applications or databases are being used?

These are just some of the questions that need to be asked before recommending or deploying an anti-virus solution.