avast! Home 4.8.1201 - Free Antivirus for Home Use

avast! Home 4.8.1201 (Windows, Freeware, 17.6MB) [download via FileForum] is an antivirus set that is able to detect the presence of viruses in computers. It has a powerful antivirus kernel that has a boot-time scan, improved resident protection, heuristic analysis for email, and a script blocker.

Requires free registration, but other than that, completely free for personal use.

Changes:

• Solved incompatibility with System Safety Monitor
• Improved compatibility of the self defense module with XP SP3 (and its installation)
• Minor enhancements in the Web Shield (detection of streaming content)
• Minor fixes in the updater

This is the antivirus I actually use for my Windows PC. I usually install AVG Antivirus for my clients who aren't thrilled with registering with avast! once every year.

Technorati: avast, antivirus, antispyware, windows, freeware

Avast! 4 Home Edition 4.8.1195 - Free Full-Featured Antivirus Package

Avast! 4 Home Edition 4.8.1195 (Windows, Freeware, 21.9MB) [download via FileHippo] is a full-featured antivirus package designed exclusively for home users, non-commercial users.

Changes:

• solved incompatibility of the avast self protection module and the System Restore feature (Windows XP/Vista)
• solved keyboard/mouse lags in some games (e.g. World of Warcraft)
• "Quick" scan now quick again (in the previous version, it was usually slower than "Normal" scan)
• fixed slow resuming from hibernation (on certain systems)
• improved stability of aswSP.sys kernel driver
• fixed deleting of infected files in some nested archives
• shell extension: under Windows Vista, shortcut targets are now correctly scanned
• boot-time scanner now correctly displays warning messages about corrupted archives
• improved scanning speed in the Simple user interface
• improved handling of scan exceptions
• self protection: improved detection of changes in the INI file
• start of the "avast! Mail Scanner" service should now be fast again
• fixed a problem with avast being installed in a directory with name containing non-Latin characters
• fixed entering of the license key (didn't work in certain configurations)
• improved detection/healing of MBR rootkits
• avast can now correctly handle the case when the INI file is missing/corrupted
• the "Disable startup rootkit scan" option on the Troubleshooting page now effective
• P2P Shield: added support for Azureus Vuze and Qtrax
• taskbar messages from Internet Mail should now correctly handle most common character encodings
• fixed problems with the boot-time scanner on FAT[32] partitions
• small improvements in some unpackers (WinExec, RAR, CHM)
• fixed the message announcing the license key going to expire soon
• on 64-bit Windows, avast now detects both 32-bit and 64-bit version of the WHS connector
• the avast Home / Pro Edition comparison window is now correctly displayed even under Windows 9x

Technorati: avast, antivirus, antispyware, windows, freeware

a-squared Free 3.5.0.11 - Remove Malware from Your PC

a-squared Free 3.5.0.11 (Windows, Freeware, 24.8MB) [download via FileForum] scans the computer for malicious software (Malware). The term Malware describes Trojan Horses, Dialer, Worms, Spyware and others. a-squared Free is specialized in finding and removing them securely.

Technorati: asquared, malware, remove, windows, freeware

Online Armor Free Edition 2.1.0.127 - Actively Detect Threats to Your PC

Online Armor Free Edition 2.1.0.127 (Windows, Freeware, 9.9MB) [download via FileForum] uses powerful new technology to actively detect threats to your PC. Rather than merely comparing the signature of an intruder to known threats in a database, and missing new and unknown threats, it intelligently recognizes and identifies malicious behavior and immediately targets the malicious program or intrusion attempt for exclusion from your PC before it ever has an opportunity to become a threat.

The Free Edition does not contain all of the Online Armor features.

Technorati: online, armor, detect, threat, windows, freeware

Online Armor Free Edition 2.1.0.119 - Actively Detect Threats to Your PC

Online Armor Free Edition 2.1.0.119 (Windows, Freeware, 9.8MB) [download via FileForum] uses powerful new technology to actively detect threats to your PC. Rather than merely comparing the signature of an intruder to known threats in a database, and missing new and unknown threats, it intelligently recognizes and identifies malicious behavior and immediately targets the malicious program or intrusion attempt for exclusion from your PC before it ever has an opportunity to become a threat.

Technorati: online, armor, free, edition, malware, windows, freeware

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.08 - Remove Malicious Process and Files

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.08 (Windows, Freeware, 1.4MB) [download via FileForum] monitors every process and stops malicious processes before they even start. The Realtime Protection Module uses our advanced heuristic scanning technology which monitors your system to keep it safe and secure. In addition, we have implemented a threats center which will allow you to keep up to date with the latest malware threats.

The software actually is Shareware, but you only need to buy it if you need real-time protection, scheduled scans and updates.

I used Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware to fix my in-law's PC which was infected by Zlob and VirusHeat. Nice and fast, I might add.

Technorati : anti, freeware, malware, malwarebyte, windows

Startup Delayer 2.3.131 - Prevent Windows Startup Clashes

Startup Delayer 2.3.131 (Windows, Freeware, 964KB) [download via FileForum] allows you to setup how many seconds after Windows has started to load each program.

Changes:

• Add Tooltips to the Time Chart
• Fix the GUI Launcher Width to the Longest string instead of changing it with the size of the label all the time
• Fix recognition of some command line arguments
• Fix About Menu Link so that it underlines when over
• Fix spelling error on Application Information page

I'm currently using Startup Delayer, and I'm happy with it. I gave some delay time to the non-essential (software updater checkers) startup entries, so the more important ones can boot up faster.

Technorati : delay, delayer, freeware, startup, utility, windows

SUPERAntiSpyware 4.0.1146 Beta - Multi-Dimensional Scanning for Spyware

SUPERAntiSpyware 4.0.1146 Beta (Windows, Freeware, 6MB) [download via Filehippo] claims it is the most thorough scanner on the market. Their Multi-Dimensional Scanning and Process Interrogation Technology will detect spyware that other products miss.

Features:

• Quick, Complete and Custom Scanning of Hard Drives, Removable Drives, Memory, Registry, and More!
• Detect and Remove Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, HiJackers and many other types of threats.
• Trust Items and Exclude Folders for complete customization of scanning.

Technorati : antispyware, dimensional, freeware, multi, scan, spyware, super, windows

Spyware Terminator 2.1.0.313 - Defeat Spyware, Malware, and Viruses

Spyware Terminator 2.1.0.313 (Windows, Freeware, 9.4MB) [download via Filehippo] provides a unique combination of real-time antispyware protection together with alerts preventing you to enter potentially dangerous websites.

Features:

• Effective Spyware Protection - Spyware Terminator prevents spyware from infecting your computer.
• Free 100% Real-Time Protection - Guards your system and ensures spyware is intercepted before it installs.
• Antivirus Protection Included - Extended detection of malware during scans and within the Real-Time Shield.

Technorati: spyware, terminator, antispyware, malware, antivirus, windows, freeware

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.5.2.20 - Remove Spybots and Adbots

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.5.2.20 (Windows, Freeware, 9.5MB) [download via FileForum] searches your hard drive for so-called spy- or adbots; that is, little modules that are responsible for the ads many programs display. Many of these modules also transmit information, including your surfing behavior on the Internet.

Changes:

• Improved compatibility
• More effective detections
• New functions
• Fixed: the immunization sometimes needed to be applied twice before sticking
• File shredder is back
• Fixed: impossible to remove entries from the user blacklist in the Internet Explorer plugin
• Long starting time of Spybot-S&D 1.5.1 fixed

Technorati Tags: spybot, search, destroy, adbot, windows, freeware

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.5.1.15 - Remove Spyware and Adware

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.5.1.15 (Windows, Freeware, 7.29MB) [download via FileForum] searches your hard drive for so-called spy- or adbots; that is, little modules that are responsible for the ads many programs display. Many of these modules also transmit information, including your surfing behavior on the Internet. If it finds such modules, it can remove them. In most cases the host still runs fine after removing the spyware/adware.

Another feature is the removal of usage tracks, which makes it more complicated for unknown spybots to transmit useful data. The list of last visited websites, opened files, started programs, cookies, all that and more can be cleaned. Supported are the three major browsers Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, and Opera.

Changes:

• Restored Win95 compatibility
• Improved Wine compatibility
• Fixed HyperThreading issues
• Improved 64 bit immunization
• Create Portable.ini in main folder to use app folder as data folder as well
• New warnings about missing admin rights on Windows Vista
• Support for multi-line bookmarks (IE 7 / Vista)
• New Immunization for Firefox & Mozilla
• Improved Immunization for Opera
• "Single excludes" now include filenames to be more unique
• Improved settings retrieval from registry (mixed installations)
• Fixed .reg import bugs
• Added support for automated removal of F/Ps from host lists
• Changed update UserAgent and Referrer
• Improved (Vista-compatible) support for fast user switching

Technorati : adware, destroy, detect, freeware, remove, search, spybot, spyware, windows