Ad-Aware Free Antivirus +

Editor's Review: Ad-Aware 11 is effective and very easy to use. This new version has an attractive new user interface with a simple and clean design, almost Web App like. Its powerful scanner is able to successfully detect and remove viruses, spyware, adware, and other malware. It can also quarantine malicious processes as it finds them, unlike some of its competitors.

In our tests, Ad-Aware blocked quite a few new malicious URLs, and found several Trojans that other software did not. Ad-Aware’s scanning engine is fast, and it provides three scanning options, Quick, Full, and Custom. A full scan only took about 21 minutes on our machine.

Overall, if you are looking for an effective and free antivirus, Ad-Aware is definitely a good option. A paid upgrade is also available, which provides some useful features, such as real-time email protection, a file shredder, and many others. No matter the version selected, paid or free, Ad-Aware seems to provide a high level of security and protection.

Publisher’s Description: The best free antivirus, antispyware and browsing protection for your PC. Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ is a superfast antivirus that complements Ad-Aware's legendary anti-spyware. It features Download Protection, which scans your downloads regardless of the file format before they have a chance to damage your PC; Automatic Threat Updates, which hellps you stay protected against the latest threats; and Safe Browsing, which protects you from the newest malware being distributed through bad URLs and websites.

In addition, Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ outperforms its peers. It scored extremely well in both real-time tests (against freshest malware) and in on-demand scans (40,000+ samples).