eScan is a free utility that can be downloaded and run
directly without the need to install it. This toolkit is compatible with
Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP, Windows 2008, 32 & 64-bit OS. This utility can
also be run even if the system already has an antivirus software installed. The
interface is pretty simple and gives you multiple options for scanning the
system. You can select whether you want to scan the entire drive, folder, etc.
Also it provides you the option to scan startup folders, spyware, registry and
system folders.
To check performance, we installed viruses and spyware on a
system. We enabled the option that scans & cleans the drive which contains
viruses. The results were not encouraging as within the entire drive full of
viruses, it was able to detect 15007 objects. Out of these, it showed total
critical objects as 8857, total disinfected ones as 351 and total deleted
objects as 211, with no errors. The time taken by it was approx 30 minutes. For
scanning the PC with all options, it took 34 minutes and the total number of
objects scanned was huge. The number of critical and disinfected objects was
almost similar and it deleted 223 objects with 13 errors. It also maintains a
complete log report of all network activity for good. However, Norton and PC
Tools, reviewed in January 2010, performed better. Norton was able to detect
and delete all the viruses it detected, within in 2 hours; while PC Tools took
45 minutes.
Price: Free |
Bottomline: With a fast scanning rate and no
associated costs, this is a good option for SOHO users.
* Test Bed: Windows 7 (32-bit), 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HDD, AMD
Athlon Dual core processor..