Get it while it’s HOT!  For years ClamAV has probably been protecting you to some degree without you even knowing it.  It has historically been used for appliances like email servers, web servers, file servers, etc and usually only on a Linux OS.  Why?  Because that’s where it all started :).

At one point they had a Windows version of ClamAV called ClamWin but it must have been a few years ago it vanished (or at least seemingly vanished) because they decided to develop it further.  I have been keeping my eye open and occasionally checking for a Windows version and it’s now finally out! Updated 12-27-2010:  ClamWin is what I’d recommend getting here –>  Link

If it’s good enough to scan your email it’s good enough to protect the desktop.  I suppose there are several schools of thought on this.  One saying you’ll want one AV scanner to scan inbound files on the server, a different one on the firewall (if it has that feature) and yet another on the desktop.  Sure – but for home losers like us anything that’s both good and free works for me!

The good thing about ClamAV for windows:

The bad thing about ClamAV:

  • Doesn’t seem to do a “full system scan” from the gui, I have a batch file to help you though (for WindowsXP, ClamAV version 1.0.26, feel free to edit for your OS’s directory path –> Here)  Update:  I’ve left that old link for historical purposes, I recommend download this version instead as it’s MUCH BETTER –> Link
  • Currently have to be “online” for it to scan (they plan on offline in the future)
  • Note that the version I had pointed to was one from Clamav.net NOT the one from ClamWin.  ClamWin is where it’s at!  :)