Antivirus in the cloud: Is remote security remotely secure?

Web-based virus scanners are dead easy to use -- that's right, as easy as dying (whoever invented that metaphor needs medical attention) -- since they just run in your Web browser. They won't monitor your computer for any infections you snag on your dirty Interweb travels, but if you need to give your machine a once-over, there are a number of free and easy options.

The online apps run as either ActiveX plug-ins (inside Internet Explorer) or as Java apps (inside any modern browser), and they're fast. No, wait, the other thing: tedious and slow. When launched, they'll download the scanning engine and the latest definition files. Always bear in mind that you're only scanning for current infections, and not protecting yourself against future ones.

Also, you may find some scanners only tell you you're infected, and suggest you buy that company's antivirus software if you want to be cured. Kind of like, "Haha, you've got malaria! I'll just sit here and watch. Oh, would you like to buy some quinine?" What a fiend!

Incidentally, all the Web-based scanners we recommend below are from companies that also offer full-size desktop antivirus and security software packages.

Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky's Online Scanner is a good first choice. Like most of these Web-based scanning services, it's free and just runs as a Java application inside your browser. Click to scan, choose whether you want your entire machine scanning or just certain critical areas (such as the Windows system folders), and off it goes. It can take several hours to scan an entire machine, but will offer to clean and heal any virus and infections it finds.

BitDefender
BitDefender's Online Scanner is similar to Kaspersky's, but obviously uses its own virus database. It's also an ActiveX application, meaning it'll only run in Internet Explorer. It's a lightweight and simple option for scanning an entire machine, requiring only two clicks to get a full scan underway. You're offered a list of healing options, such as disinfection and deletion, and can scan files as well as hard disk boot sectors. You will have to put up with a large display advertisement promoting BitDefender's paid-for desktop packages, but it's a small price to pay for free scanning and cleaning.

Trend Micro
Trend Micro's HouseCall is another Java app, similar to Kaspersky's. The company is currently testing version 7.0, which runs as a stand-alone application similar to HitMan Pro. It's much faster than the online scanner, and detected the viruses on our machine. It looks a whole lot better than the Web-based version 6.5 that went before it too.

Don't forget you can use all three of these options (in succession, not concurrently) to make sure you're thoroughly scanned and cleansed.

Next: Scan individual files from a Web site...