Software piracy is not really strict in Malaysia but the government does random checks on companies to see if they are using unlicensed software. If found to be using pirated software, not only the company will get into trouble, even the IT person/company that installs for them could get a very heavy fine as well. So I as an IT person must understand the terms of usage for software. One of my client’s place which is an educational facility contains a few hundreds of Windows computers and they do not have the budget to buy antivirus software. Disabling AUTORUN managed to slow down the virus infection rate but they still do get infected sooner or later and ended up reinstalling Windows.

I know there are free antivirus software offered by AVG, Avira, avast!, Comodo, DriveSentry, Moon Secure AV, Rising and PC Tools but not all of them can be used for free. According to the terms of usage, some antivirus company mentions very clearly that their FREE product can ONLY be use for home and not commercial use. That means if you can’t use them in your work place and educational facilities. It is possible to get a fine by using a free antivirus on the wrong place.

For my and your convenience, I’ve compiled a list of free antivirus for commercial and education use. Other than that, I’ve also put those antivirus to a simple test to see how good are they in detecting virus and also its memory usage.

The free antivirus below is only for home use and CANNOT be use for commercial or educational use. The quotes are taken from their official website or help file.

AVG: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is only available for single computer use for home and non commercial use.
Avira: Avira AntiVir Personal is FREE Antivirus is only available for single computer use for home and non commercial use.
avast! Home Edition: This edition is FREE OF CHARGE for non-commercial & home use only. Both of these conditions should be met!
Rising: Rising Antivirus Free Edition 2009 is a solution with no cost to personal users. Can only be used for personal purpose and you shall not use this product for non-personal or commercial purpose unless a written authorization from Rising is obtained.
DriveSentry: FREE for non commercial use.

The only free antivirus that can be use for home, commercial and educational use is Comodo Internet Security, Spyware Terminator, Moon Secure AV and PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition.

1. Moon Secure AV
Moon Secure AV uses clamav engine and database. I’ve tried both v2.2.2.163 and v2.2.2.163(beta), both failed to even detect any virus from the 33 virus that I planted on the test computer. I’ve even made sure that the virus definition database are updated. Other than not able to detect virus, it takes up 98MB memory usage!

2. Spyware Terminator
This is actually an antispyware software but it is able to integrate ClamAV engine. Manage to detect 20 out of 33 virus and it only takes up 14MB memory usage. It cannot auto scan USB drive when inserted into computer.

3. PC Tools AntiVirus
PCTools corrupts LSP
Takes 5MB memory usage but only managed to detect 12 out of 33 virus. It also detect my email client The Bat as a threat! The current version is a little buggy because it wasn’t able to install properly in my test computer. Then I tried installing on my laptop, it kills the internet connection and corrupts the Windows’s LSP. Luckily Network Diagnostics in Windows XP is able to easily fix it.

4. Comodo Internet Security
free antivirus for corporate commercial
Comodo Internet Security includes both antivirus and firewall module. It detected 20 out of 33 virus. I always thought that Comodo products are bloated but I was shocked to find out that it only took 11MB memory usage. Other than that, when I inserted a USB flash drive into the computer, Comodo immediately scans the drive and will alert you if it found any threats. The first update took very long because it needs to download (21.3MB) a lot of updated files. Then all the .cav files will be combined into one bases.cav file.

There is no “FREE” antivirus for corporate commercial and education use that is really good but from the simple test above, I can see that Comodo Internet Security is a better choice. I will definitely be installing Comodo Internet Security on all the computers in the educational facility. Moreover, it has password protection to prevent the student from uninstalling it and making any changes on the antivirus settings.

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