Windows 7 has just been released and the big question breaks down to whether previous antivirus software designed for Windows Vista and Windows XP will work.  Unfortunately, most of the legacy antivirus software, especially those with Windows services, will have some problems with Windows 7.  I know this because I ran Windows 7 beta for a few months.  While the antivirus software might not have been completely non functional, I ran into a lot of graphical interface problems and auto protect problems.  Therefore, for those of you who have just upgraded to Windows 7,  I offer a list of free antivirus that are compatible so you do have to go out to the store and buy a new copy.

1) Windows Security Essentials - I reviewed this software a few weeks ago.  Security Essentials was released especially for Windows 7 users.  It's free and provides great protection.  A very important feature of this antivirus is the fact that it natively supports 64bit operating systems.  Very few antivirus have this functionality*

2) AVG free Edition 9.0 -  This antivirus software was also just released just prior to the Windows 7 launch. It offers full compatibility with Windows 7. You can get the software here.

3) Avast Free Edition 4.8 - The features page of the software here, states that the software is compatible with Windows 7.  However, 4.8 is relatively old so you might want to check out the full version.  The full version comes with the "Windows 7 Certified" logo stating that software has been tested by Microsoft. 

4) McAfee Beta Total Protection for Windows 7 -  this is a new antivirus program offered by McAfee.  The software is free but it is in beta so it still may have some bugs.  Get it here.

5) McAfee Internet Security - I saw this the other day when I was logging in.  McAfee is offering 12 free months of security for Bank of America online users.  Get it here

Finally, most antivirus vendors have made sure their products are compatible with the latest version of Windows. The thing that consumers need to look for are the "Certified for Windows 7" logos.  This will ensure that the software is completely compatible with Windows 7. Good Luck with making your version of Windows 7 more secure from viruses!

Review Summary  

     I just installed IObit Security 360. The software is not aimed at replacing a main antivirus software but augmenting a PC’s security.  On the main menu, there is a check your pc’s security option.  Basically, it includes a cookie and track deletion utility.  The program has a quick scanning feature; however, the scanning will stop when you leave the scanning page.  Security 360 uses about 62 megabytes when scanning for viruses and malware and about 17 megabytes when idle.  The memory usage is significantly higher than competing antivirus products.  The virus scan found mostly cookies on my machine.  The virus scan also found “Hijack.DisplayProperties.”  Interestingly, this is identical to what MalwareBytes Antispyware finds and is not a result of malicious modification hence a false positive.  (Update 11/03 This issue is explained on this thread here and here and is very common among Windows Vista 64bit Operating systems. It is not malicious.  BTW Malwarebytes was originally the only antispyware program to alert me to this problem) I have posted below a picture of the malwarebytes detection and the iObit detection. Notice the same name and location.

MalwareBytes Hijack.DisplayProperties Photo

Here it is clearer...

Iobit Hijack.DisplayProperties Photo

You can read a more in-depth analysis into this issue at http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1568991&postcount=133

Original Review continued...

The real-time protection isn’t completely enabled and excludes zero day virus protection.  However, this can be enabled by simply going to the real time protection menu and selecting the button.  It seems like the trial works as if it is freeware only automatic updates and scheduling scans are disabled. However, you can still update the program by clicking update.  The program also offers virus tools which basically are re-branded versions of Spyware Blaster and Hijackthis but with more user friendly menus. 

Conclusion

   The only problem I have with Security 360 is that it isn’t a mature product.  The program only has about 200,000 security fingerprints. This is in contrast to other competing software with millions of detection definitions.  The Security Holes scanning utility is also not available for 64bit O/S yet.  It comes with a currently "not supported message" instead of a functional utility.

Download

   While IObit Security 360 is far from perfect, you can get Security 360 full for free during the promotional period. Go to the website below to download.

http://db.iobit.com/license-free/win7-special-offer.php

Spyware Doctor 10.0 has just been released and has received a significant amount of fanfare.   The software was awarded PC magazine's highest rating ever of 95% for an antivirus / antispyware product.  I definitely tend to agree with this award as it's been a featured product on this website for over 2 years.  Unfortunately, the latest version of spyware doctor must be purchased.  While this may seem like a downside, if you want the latest in PC protection definitely think about picking up the full product. However, most of the readers of this website want a free version.  Therefore,  there are many free offerings that people are unaware of made by PC tools.  In addition to Free Spyware Doctor starter edition, PC tools offers a free antivirus software, free firewall, and threat fire to protect against undiscovered malware threats.

PC tools Antivirus 6.1:

PC tools antivirus is an excellent free antivirus software. The program uses very little resources and is certified by Westcoast and ICSA labs (the main antivirus reviewing companies.) The updates are very fast and the software includes a real-time scanning agent. I'm not quite sure why PC tools doesn't charge money for this antivirus software. 

PC tools Firewall Plus:

The company has an excellent free firewall that works with all versions of Windows including, Windows 7.  The default Windows firewall only includes an inbound firewall.  PC tools firewall will also give a PC inbound protection in addition to out bound protection.  I really like the included support for IPV6 which will soon become the standard on the internet.  Most current firewalls omit IPV6 protection and only protect IPV4 creating a lot of vulnerabilities.

ThreatFire 4.5:

ThreatFire is an antivirus add-on that uses behavioral technology to detect viruses even before they are released. ThreatFire has already scanned more than 100 billion programs and counting. 

In conclusion, if you install all of these free programs you are practically ensuring that your PC will be secure even in some of the most mission critical situations.  So head over to the PC tools website and happy downloading :).