The tool was developed at the request of the German government

Mar 11, 2014 01:51 GMT  ·  By

This week, I recommend you an interesting tool from Avira. Avira PC Cleaner is a free application that enables users to scan their computers for malware. 

Avira PC Cleaner comes with two scan modes, a simple scan that covers only the sectors most likely to be infected, and a full scan. In addition to known threats, the cleaner is capable of identifying new malware based on its behavior.

After the scan is completed, users are presented with a report and offered the chance to clean up any malicious files.

Before the scanning process starts, PC Cleaner connects to the Internet to retrieve the needed files. However, in case you want to scan a computer that doesn’t have an Internet connection, the tool can be easily copied to a USB device.

Avira has developed PC Cleaner at the request of the German government after security researchers learned that cybercriminals had compromised around 16 million online accounts belonging to German users.

Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has launched a new service to help users determine if their accounts have been hacked. On the sicherheitstest.bsi.de website, users are advised to utilize Avira PC Cleaner to check if their computers are infected.

It’s worth noting that Avira PC Cleaner doesn’t provide any real-time protection, so it should only be used as a complementary solution.

You can download Avira PC Cleaner from Softpedia. The tool is available in both English and German.