Download: ClamWin Free Antivirus

It is possible to spend a lot of money on security software but if your needs don't have to stretch that far, neither does your wallet. ClamWin AV is a basic antivirus program that can scan 

Read more: Antivirus downloads

Installation is simple. The default options include installing the Ask toolbar in your browser, so you may want to disable this option. It offers integration with Windows Explorer and Microsoft Outlook. Virus database files can be downloaded during installation, a good idea as you don't want any delay in getting these.

The interface is easy to use. Double-click on the Desktop icon to see a list of drives connected to the computer. Click on a drive and then on scan to start a complete scan. If you only want to check a particular folder you can double click on drives and folders to see their contents.

By default, ClamWin will only report on infected files. Other options include automatic removal (best used with care) or moving to a quarantine folder. It will unload infected programs from memory. 

Scheduled scans can be set up to run on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. There is also an option to run the scan only on workdays.

It can extract attachments and macros from Microsoft Office documents.

If you have Microsoft Outlook it can scan incoming and outgoing emails. If you use an alternative email program, it would probably be wise to use an antivirus program that can scan its messages.

Compressed files can be scanned and the options allow for large files to be skipped, saving time.