One of the biggest problems facing consumers is the cost of commercial software in India. Thanks to the rather expensive conversion rates of foreign currency, software that would translate to being cheap abroad becomes unaffordable to the Indian consumer. Though quite a few of these prominent companies are present in the Indian market, they price their software at premium rates which again leaves the average consumer high and dry.

However all is not lost. There are a host of free programmes that are available now. These programmes offer virtually all the functionality that their paid counterparts have.

Here is our pick of the best freeware Anti Virus programmes.

Avast!
Name: Avast! Home Edition
Publisher: ALWIL Software
File Size: 13013 kb
License: Freeware
OS: Win (All)

Avast has been around a long time now. Founded in 1988, this free AV suite is very popular for the comprehensive set of option it offers, which includes an IM scanner, Email scanner, a P2P shield and of course your standard file scan. When you add the fact that its virus database is updated daily, a feature that is often found only in expensive commercial software you get an application that is fit for this roundup.

AVG Antivirus 7 Free Edition

Name: AVG Antivirus 7 Free Edition
Publisher: Grisoft Inc
File Size: 19292 kb
License: Freeware
OS: Win (All)

This free offering from Grisoft, is another fantastic application. It offers unlimited use and unlimited updates. Though it may not offer the comprehensive set of tools that Avast! does, what it does have in its favor is its fast file scanning and low system requirements.

Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic

Publisher: Avira Gmbh
File Size: 14076 kb
License: Freeware
OS: Windows (All)

This is another well known and respected free AV. It offers a great file scanning engine and has a frequently updated Viral database.

Jayesh Mansukhani