File Details |
|
| File Size | 0.5 MB |
|---|---|
| License | Freeware |
| Operating System | Windows 2000/XP |
| Date Added | September 22, 2011 |
| Total Downloads | 8,506 |
| Publisher | PC Tools |
| Homepage | PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition |
Publisher's Description
PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition will protect you against the most nefarious cyber-threats attempting to gain access to your PC and personal information. Going online without protection against the latest fast-spreading virus and worms, such as Netsky, Mytob and MyDoom, can result in infections within minutes.
Latest Reviews
bellgamin reviewed v8.0.0.662 on Sep 22, 2011
PCTools AV is a modified clone of Virus Buster:
http://www.virusbuster.hu/en/
Virus Buster scores okay in Virus Bulletin tests:
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/vendor?id=20
However Virus Buster seldom participates in more objective tests such as those by AV-Comparatives.
IMO, there are better choices for a free AV such as Avast or a less-known-but-good-freebie, Forticlient Lite:
http://www.forticlient.com/lite.html
CyberDoc999 reviewed v8.0.0.654 on Jun 1, 2011
Rated the lowest of all major a/v programs
notorious_rn reviewed v8.0.0.624 on Feb 6, 2011
still slow cant even double its scan rate from its previous versions
CyberDoc999 reviewed v8.0.0.606 on Sep 28, 2010
slow slow slow !!!!
DeeJone reviewed v6.0.0.19 on Apr 16, 2009
I had the same freeze up when upgrading to the new V6. Had to power off the pc, and restart the install. PC TOOLS said to exit the old version of the AV, and to temporarily disable the firewall, and Spyware Dr. too.
It also wanted to install a trial version of thier Registry Mech., which I declined on one mach and the install froze again, so I accepted.
After ward, it had to download a large 16mb update and reboot again (3rd time).
This time it ran ok, and I ran an Intlli-Scan, which found the trojan mentioned in a previous post.
So far we feel that PC Tools AV is a pretty good product for being free. We have a small business and are trying to keep a pretty tight budget, so some of the other free AVs we don't qualify for (home use only). Along with Threatfire, we feel it gives pretty good protection, as they have worked well. Our pc are used for work oriented web browsing only.
The firewall gets high rating at MATOUSEC.com too.
The most recent version of Spyware DR seems to slow the older pc's down quite a bit, so we have reverted back to Windows Defender on those.
I only give 3 stars due to the install problem, otherwise the prior version I rated at 4 stars.
sturgess reviewed v6.0.0.17 on Feb 27, 2009
Big fan of PC Tools, had their firewall, their anti-virus, and the greatest of them all, ThreatFire. I updated to the latest version of the anti-virus yesterday, bad move, machine changed from a mean, lean browsing machine to a sluggard. So the anti-virus had to go, and as I was feeling a little peeved, the firewall went as well. Now back with the old guard, ZoneAlarm and Avira and all is well again. Still hanging onto ThreatFire though, now that's never going to be dumped.
anomoly reviewed v6.0.0.17 on Feb 26, 2009
Based upon others reviews & the fact it would work in win7 whereas agnitum would not, I installed last version (including the fw & threatfire) and all was well EXCEPT the conflict with vidalia. This latest twice the size installer freezes and must be killed. I am back on xp and therefore am again using agnitum and threat fire is gone as well. Back to clamwin
ron_marz reviewed v6.0.0.17 on Feb 26, 2009
Missed the "virut" trojan on my system, which infected every .exe file on all my drives, coting three days downtime.
eclipsingdivinity reviewed v5.0.1.1 on Jan 9, 2009
I've always loved how PC Tools gave away security tools for free when it didn't have to. Of course they promote their other products in the free versions, but they provide so many types of free products you can practically build your own suite. Between PC Tools Antivirus FREE, Spyware Doctor STARTER EDITION, PC Tools Firewall FREE and Threatfire FREE edition...you have all your bases covered on one company alone.
As you should...
PC Tools Antivirus didn't catch too many trojan samples I threw at it, and it seems to do only as advertised which is catch viruses. This means you can't expect PC Tools Antivirus to catch the latest form of mutant malware like Vundo, you would have to leave that to Spyware Doctor or some other form of Malware fighting tool.
The poor detection is really the only ouch for me. Since I enjoy having my computer run as lightly as possible, I can only stand to have one program on my PC for malware cleaning and I expect the program to do both. Paid programs like Norton, McAfee do this, and free programs like AVG and Avast all incorporate rootkit, adware and spyware detection to their engines.
With free programs being so advanced, why use PC Tools Antivirus? I'll leave the answer up to you, but I can't get it any less than 3 Stars for being free and easy to use. Minus 2 stars for the lacky of extensive features to keep the user safe.
If you download this, please pair it up with Spyware Doctor Starter Edition.
http://www.download.com/...00-8022_4-10704508.html
rcglidden reviewed v4.0.0.26 on Aug 15, 2008
Switched from the now BloateD AVG to this.
Real time protection, E-mail scanning, both incoming and outgoing. Quick once a day database updates (they seem to be divided rather than one big huge appended file), very nice if you are on dialup. Nice looking interface, simple and clean.
Also low resident memory usage.
This actually caught a virus when I plugged in a USB memory stick a while back, that got infected, I guess, from another computer it was plugged into. I considered that a good sign!
bellgamin reviewed v8.0.0.662 on Sep 22, 2011
PCTools AV is a modified clone of Virus Buster:
http://www.virusbuster.hu/en/
Virus Buster scores okay in Virus Bulletin tests:
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/vendor?id=20
However Virus Buster seldom participates in more objective tests such as those by AV-Comparatives.
IMO, there are better choices for a free AV such as Avast or a less-known-but-good-freebie, Forticlient Lite:
http://www.forticlient.com/lite.html
CyberDoc999 reviewed v8.0.0.654 on Jun 1, 2011
Rated the lowest of all major a/v programs
notorious_rn reviewed v8.0.0.624 on Feb 6, 2011
still slow cant even double its scan rate from its previous versions
CyberDoc999 reviewed v8.0.0.606 on Sep 28, 2010
slow slow slow !!!!
DeeJone reviewed v6.0.0.19 on Apr 16, 2009
I had the same freeze up when upgrading to the new V6. Had to power off the pc, and restart the install. PC TOOLS said to exit the old version of the AV, and to temporarily disable the firewall, and Spyware Dr. too.
It also wanted to install a trial version of thier Registry Mech., which I declined on one mach and the install froze again, so I accepted.
After ward, it had to download a large 16mb update and reboot again (3rd time).
This time it ran ok, and I ran an Intlli-Scan, which found the trojan mentioned in a previous post.
So far we feel that PC Tools AV is a pretty good product for being free. We have a small business and are trying to keep a pretty tight budget, so some of the other free AVs we don't qualify for (home use only). Along with Threatfire, we feel it gives pretty good protection, as they have worked well. Our pc are used for work oriented web browsing only.
The firewall gets high rating at MATOUSEC.com too.
The most recent version of Spyware DR seems to slow the older pc's down quite a bit, so we have reverted back to Windows Defender on those.
I only give 3 stars due to the install problem, otherwise the prior version I rated at 4 stars.
sturgess reviewed v6.0.0.17 on Feb 27, 2009
Big fan of PC Tools, had their firewall, their anti-virus, and the greatest of them all, ThreatFire. I updated to the latest version of the anti-virus yesterday, bad move, machine changed from a mean, lean browsing machine to a sluggard. So the anti-virus had to go, and as I was feeling a little peeved, the firewall went as well. Now back with the old guard, ZoneAlarm and Avira and all is well again. Still hanging onto ThreatFire though, now that's never going to be dumped.
anomoly reviewed v6.0.0.17 on Feb 26, 2009
Based upon others reviews & the fact it would work in win7 whereas agnitum would not, I installed last version (including the fw & threatfire) and all was well EXCEPT the conflict with vidalia. This latest twice the size installer freezes and must be killed. I am back on xp and therefore am again using agnitum and threat fire is gone as well. Back to clamwin
ron_marz reviewed v6.0.0.17 on Feb 26, 2009
Missed the "virut" trojan on my system, which infected every .exe file on all my drives, coting three days downtime.
eclipsingdivinity reviewed v5.0.1.1 on Jan 9, 2009
I've always loved how PC Tools gave away security tools for free when it didn't have to. Of course they promote their other products in the free versions, but they provide so many types of free products you can practically build your own suite. Between PC Tools Antivirus FREE, Spyware Doctor STARTER EDITION, PC Tools Firewall FREE and Threatfire FREE edition...you have all your bases covered on one company alone.
As you should...
PC Tools Antivirus didn't catch too many trojan samples I threw at it, and it seems to do only as advertised which is catch viruses. This means you can't expect PC Tools Antivirus to catch the latest form of mutant malware like Vundo, you would have to leave that to Spyware Doctor or some other form of Malware fighting tool.
The poor detection is really the only ouch for me. Since I enjoy having my computer run as lightly as possible, I can only stand to have one program on my PC for malware cleaning and I expect the program to do both. Paid programs like Norton, McAfee do this, and free programs like AVG and Avast all incorporate rootkit, adware and spyware detection to their engines.
With free programs being so advanced, why use PC Tools Antivirus? I'll leave the answer up to you, but I can't get it any less than 3 Stars for being free and easy to use. Minus 2 stars for the lacky of extensive features to keep the user safe.
If you download this, please pair it up with Spyware Doctor Starter Edition.
http://www.download.com/...00-8022_4-10704508.html
rcglidden reviewed v4.0.0.26 on Aug 15, 2008
Switched from the now BloateD AVG to this.
Real time protection, E-mail scanning, both incoming and outgoing. Quick once a day database updates (they seem to be divided rather than one big huge appended file), very nice if you are on dialup. Nice looking interface, simple and clean.
Also low resident memory usage.
This actually caught a virus when I plugged in a USB memory stick a while back, that got infected, I guess, from another computer it was plugged into. I considered that a good sign!
tipstir reviewed v4.0.0.26 on Jun 27, 2008
This really works and found more hidden stuff that I had this one on of my servers. Yes you can install and run this on Windows Server 2003. I see they don't have it listed as such. But it very poor on Vista box it can hang. I use it on Windows 2000 Pro SP4, Windows XP Pro SP2 and Windows Server 2003. I wanted to test this one so I tried to installed one of those installers with a hidden back door or worm or one of those Pack rats one. This program not only stop it from running it remove it. It warns you of what it does and a nice report is shown in IE or Firefox.
Sammo reviewed v4.0.0.25 on Feb 20, 2008
Still a great free anti virus. February 2008 - PCTools Anti-Virus 3.6 for Windows failed the VB 100 test. Version 4 has yet to be tested.
why hello there reviewed v4.0.0.20 on Feb 1, 2008
Make that "former winner of VB100 award". It failed the February, 2008 VB100 test: "Failure reason: 3 wildlist misses".