14 DAY TRIAL // As far as free security solutions for Windows Vista are concerned, there are two products that stand out from the crowd: Norton Security Scan and AVG Free. But which one is the best? This will not be a benchmarking of the Norton and AVG security solutions, but instead, I will focus on the features they each deliver.
The special edition of Norton Security Scan is included in Google Pack. According to the Norton Security Scan's description, the Cupertino solution "detects and removes viruses, worms and Trojans, warns you of spyware and unwanted adware that's on your PC, [delivers] an easy-to-use interface helps you run and schedule scans, Full System Scan performs a deep scan of the system and hard disc to detect existing viruses, spyware and other threats, scan results summary and informs you of what has been detected, repaired or needs your attention and includes detection updates."
Not too shabby! The only issue that I can find on a first glance is that Norton Security Scan will not remove adware and spyware from your machine. As a big plus, Google has finally managed to update the Norton AntiVirus 2005 SE offering. A minus? Neither Windows XP nor Windows Vista detect Norton Security Scan as an anti-virus, therefore, you will not escape the constant nagging of the Windows Security Center. And the biggest minus of them all... Norton Security Scan does only perform on-demand scanning and removal, it does nothing to protect you in real-time as you work as background scans are not a feature of the product.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 7.5 is a more comprehensive and mature security solution. That since build 7.5 GRISOFT is also delivering compatibility with Windows Vista. But on top of that, it offers real-time protection, heuristics and NTFS data streams scanning, automated updates, scheduled tasks. These would be the pluses: the lack of anti-spyware, anti-spam capabilities, firewall, 64-bit and server support, 24/7 technical support, and the high-speed updates. These are features available only with the commercial version of AVG.
AVG certainly delivers a more complex solution than Norton Security Scan, but since they are both free, I advise you to go ahead and test them both before you make up your mind.