Supplement Your Virus Scanner With A Kaspersky Freebie

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If there's one golden rule about antivirus programs, it's that you must never install more than one.  These programs generally work by intercepting all the file activity on your PC in order to trap viruses as early as possible, and Windows does not take kindly to having multiple programs each fighting over the same file.

This generally means that you're reliant on one vendor's AV and malware scanning technology to keep your PC safe.  Which is way better than nothing, but it's always possible (and sometimes desirable) to go one better.

Kaspersky Security Scanner is on-demand program which checks your PC for viruses, malware, and a host of other potential security problems.  The "on-demand" bit is important - it only scans when you run the program, rather than continually running in the background. This means that it will happily co-exist with your existing security software as a handy second layer of defence.  Just run it manually by double-clicking its icon every few days.

KSS is free, and you can get it from http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/free-anti-virus-scan

It should work with all recent versions of Windows.  The installer weighs in at a tiny 0.2 MB, which is vrius-free according to Virus Total.  However, be aware that the installer will download an additional 55 MB of files when you run it.

Unlike some antivirus products, KSS detects more than just viruses.  It'll also warn you if, say, your web browser is configured in anything but the most secure fashion, and even if your PC is set to allow CD-ROMs to auto-boot.  It won't fix these problems, but will happily provide a link to a paid-for Kaspersky program that can.  But even allowing for the blatant promotion, this freebie is actually a very handy addition to your security regime and is well worth a download.

 

 

 

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Comments

You also need to be aware that there is a clause in the contract that allows them to gather data bout your machine.
Not only the hardware, but all products you have installed.
I will install and run it once to confirm my opinion on my own machine (or not) and then remove.
It also seems to take a while and uses a fair chunk of resources, so is NOT a background task.
It also keeps a service running all the time it is installed, even if the main program is not running.

I tried it a few weeks ago, it didn't flag anything that isn't flagged by other on-demand AVs that I have and I wasn't much impressed by the interface or the need to install it and run a system service etc. I found it very very slow as well to scan a drive compared to others.

I didn't keep it, there are better alternatives I think.

Maybe I am missing something but this program is like many commercial "tempters"
It allows you to run the program for free but if you want to resove the issues it has detected than you are required to "pay up"

There a hundreds of such programs available - what makes this one so special
Forget it!

It's often advisable to read the whole article before commenting: "Unlike some antivirus products, KSS detects more than just viruses. It'll also warn you if, say, your web browser is configured in anything but the most secure fashion, and even if your PC is set to allow CD-ROMs to auto-boot". Also as stated in the article text: "But even allowing for the blatant promotion, this freebie is actually a very handy addition to your security regime and is well worth a download". It should therefore be regarded as just that. There are plenty of freeware programs you can use to remove items found by scanners such as this, although care should be taken to authenticate these first. MC - Site Manager.