I have used many antiviruses till now. All of them were ok. Some of the antiviruses which I used were: ESET Nod32 Antivirus 4, AVG Internet Security 2011, Bit Defender 2011, Avira, Avast etc.

My favorite was ESET Nod32 Antivirus 4 and it was very good. But, recently my PC got attacked by different kind of viruses who had capacity of crashing the whole computer which would lead me to buy a new Hard Disk, Motherboard and RAM. When it was attacked, the antivirus, ESET Nod32 Antivirus 4, was also attacked and it was not functioning properly. I used some online scanners, though nothing happened. I tried many ways and somehow 20% viruses were removed.

Then I removed ESET Nod32 Antivirus 4, and installed AVG Internet Security 2011, which found more 9 viruses and killed them. I thought, AVG Internet Security 2011, was the best, but when I opened my drives, there were still many viruses. At last, I found a webpage of the website, www.Microsoft.com, where there was a new free antivirus named Microsoft Security Essentials. I removed AVG Internet Security 2011, and installed Microsoft Security Essentials, I updated it and installed an update for my OS required to run Microsoft Security Essentials. Then when I scanned my PC, it found all the main viruses which could not be deleted by great antivirus like AVG Internet Security 2011, ESET Nod32 Antivirus 4, and Online Scanners etc. Then, it removed all of them. At last, all the viruses were removed and my PC was clean and free from viruses.

(And do you know one thing: When these dangerous viruses attacked my PC, I consulted with some of the people whose jobs are to make computers maintained and free from viruses, told that I should format my whole Hard Disk, and I could be free from those viruses. They also told that they are very dangerous. I told them that I want to save my files in my Hard Disk. Then they told that, there was no way for this. I was shocked, but I did not lose my hope)

What is Microsoft Security Essentials?

Microsoft Security Essentials is an antivirus provided by Microsoft to all, for free. You do not have to pay anything. The only thing that you need to do is to download it and update it which takes about 6 minutes. Just scan your PC with it once and all the hidden viruses will run away.

Is it trustful?

Microsoft Security is originally prepared and launched by a trusted company Microsoft. So, you cannot expect any fraudness with the company. It is free to download and it is not a demo or trial version. It’s a full version which you can download for free of cost. I think, in the future, Microsoft Security Essentials will leave all the other antivirus back as many antiviruses are costly and have limited time of usage.

Why did Microsoft make it free to use?

Many Windows users have problem in selecting the right antivirus. As Microsoft is responsible to maintain Windows users’ PC, they decided to help their users by launching this antivirus. However, it is available for only Windows.

What are its specialties?

Its specialties are:

1. Whenever, it detects some kind of threat while it is no scanning the computer, it automatically warns and tells us to scan our computer.

2. It is free of cost, so you do not need to put any of your information or your Home address.

3. It has real-time protection.

4. It’s easy to use.

5. Updating is very easy and update files are not so huge.

6. Its installation file is small which makes you easy to install it.

7. It can detect and delete all kind of viruses.

8. It shows all the detailed information about the viruses it has removed.

9. Your Internet speed does not become slower even if it is scanning the computer

Its disadvantage: It is available for only Windows Users and your Windows version must be Genuine.

From where can I download it?

Here’s a trusted free download, from Microsoft. It’s:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx

Microsoft Security Essentials is so easy to use that a 6 year old child can use it. It scans your computer in a remarkable speed.

Microsoft Windows Security Essentials
Amazon Price: $7.92
List Price: $39.99
Microsoft Windows Security Essentials
Amazon Price: $39.99
Microsoft Windows Networking Essentials
Amazon Price: $13.92
List Price: $39.99
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-201 Study Guide
Amazon Price: $12.99
List Price: $35.99

Antivirus Removal Tool? Why would I need one?

We all have heard for several years now that it is an absolute necessity to have antivirus if you have a Windows based PC connected to the internet.  The days of Windows prior to WIndows XP Service Pack 2 were days filled with widespread virus outbreaks and trouble for Windows users that connected to the internet without a firewall.  Even with a firewall there are possibilities for a Windows system to be infected by a virus today, whether it’s by browsing a site that embeds a bit of malicious code within the page, or an email posing to be from someone you know.  There are many ways Windows machines might receive a virus, so WHY, why on earth would you ever need an ANTIVIRUS removal tool?

Well, the plain and simple truth is that antivirus software like all other software is susceptible to the same bugs and flaws that any other program might have.  Many times, the antivirus vendors will instruc their users to fix problems they have with the antivirus products by uninstalling and reinstalling the software.  Sometimes, that is not as easy as it seems.  I have run into many occasions where either Norton or McAfee or another antivirus product is not working properly and attempting to uninstall it fails.  Of course, this means you can’t reinstall it until it’s properly uninstalled and you reach to pull out another clump of hair in frustration.

Well, that is exactly the type situation that calls for a specialized tool to completely remove the antivirus software and leave the system in a state as though it had never been installed so that you can then go and reinstall the program and get it working properly.  This so-called antivirus removal tool is usually made by the same company that makes your antivirus software, so if you are having problems uninstalling their software, definitely check with them to see if they provide such a tool to help fix issues with their software.

After you have successfully run your antivirus removal utility, make sure to keep working at it to get your antivirus working properly again so that you will have adequate virus protection.

Antivirus Removal Tools

Collected here is a list of some of the antivirus removal tools available:

To clean out Symantec’s Norton antivirus products you’re looking for the Norton Removal Tool.

If you’re needing to clean out one of McAfee’s antivirus products you will need the McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool.   (The link points to the support document on using it and there is a link to the download halfway down the page.)

Avast has a removal tool as well and it’s address is here.

The links above connect to the support pages at each respective site and do not link directly to the named tools.

For other products, if there is not a removal tool available it may be possible to reinstall the software (to repair the uninstall information), then to uninstall it.

Virus Removal Tools

The above Antivirus removal tools should not be confused with virus removal tools that are designed specifically to remove a certain type of virus.

Many of the antivirus vendors do provide free virus removal tools and a partial listing of those can be found here as well:

Here is a collection of McAfee’s removal tools.

AVG has a collection of free virus removal tools here

Kaspersky lists theirs here.

Bitdefender has some free tools here.

Norton/Symantec has their list here of removal tools.

And Microsoft of course, has their Malicious software removal tool

.

Norton Antivirus 2013 – 1 User / 1 PC [Download]
Amazon Price: $14.99
List Price: $49.99
Norton 360 2013 – 1 User / 3 PC [Download]
Amazon Price: $24.08
List Price: $89.99
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 – 3 Users
Amazon Price: $18.59
List Price: $59.95
Norton Internet Security 2013 – 1 User / 3 PC [Download]
Amazon Price: $19.27
List Price: $79.99

Rogue Security Software

Now, sometimes people searching for an antivirus removal tool are actually in need of specific instructions to remove rogue security software.  Rogue security software is software claiming to be antivirus or antispyware and is installed by shady methods, is typically “noisy”.  That is to say, it complains about finding a lot of problems.  Of course, to solve the problems the user is told that they will need to purchase the software.

Unfortunately such rogue antivirus or rogue security software can be as bad (if not worse) than some of the viruses out there.  They can be quite challenging to get rid of and I do have a few tutorials related to those:

Remove Windows Police Pro

Remove Green Antivirus 2009

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