Grisoft, the provider of the AVG anti-virus program has confirmed that it won't be winding up the free version of its security software .

Consumers, who get the anti-virus software free, have been confused by pop-ups appearing within the program. Support for the current version of AVG, 7.1, will end in January 2007, and this message refers to an upgrade to the next edition.

It suggests that users buy the full version of the new software, which comes with 24-hour technical support seven days a week.

However at the end it tells consumers they can if they prefer upgrade to the free version of the new edition, version 7.5 which can be downloaded here.

At the same time, Grisoft has announced that AVG will be fully compatible with Vista , the next version of Windows which is due out in January 2007. The program, including the free version, can be updated from within Windows' built-in security centre.

As an alternative, users can also look at Avira AntiVir which is also free. This anti-virus software also adds protection against rogue diallers which can change an internet dial up connection to a premium rate line.

The AntiVir Guard is checks every file for malware as it is used by Windows or other software and includes heuristic scanning; this means it checks for viruses that have not been formally identified.

Scans can be started manually or scheduled to run at daily or weekly intervals. Should a virus be found, it can either be removed or moved to a quarantine area.

However, this download will only work with Windows NT/2000/XP. A separate program for Windows 98 and ME is available and both versions can be downloaded here.

A separate paid for premium edition contains protection against viruses in emails as well as spyware and adware. We have asked for a copy of the software for review.