Protecting your network from viruses and Trojans isn't cheap, but it's significantly cheaper than losing employee productivity or mission-critical data due to a virus outbreak. One option to help trim your security costs is to use one of the low-cost alternatives. Many organizations are reluctant to try these alternatives because they consider them to be less reliable and less secure than the name-brand products. Nonetheless, there are low-cost solutions that might work well enough for you to consider, depending on the size of your shop and your security needs.

GRISOFT, developer of the AVG range of security software, announced that its anti-virus program, AVG Anti-Virus.Free Edition, was downloaded more than 1,000,000 times from CNET Download website .

My computer was in need of new anti-virus software. It has become increasingly obvious to me that my current software was not doing the job. Norton Anti-Virus happened to be the software that I was most recently using. The software performed so well that I ended up with a severe virus on my computer. I was upset because I had paid for this software. Luckily, I found an anti-virus software program that is both free and better than the other two programs. Here is my review of the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition software.

Make sure that the "Enable" (or "Enable selected antivirus") is selected. It is possible to enable more than one antivirus application on the server, but this will affect the number of messages that can be scanned over a period of time.

AVG UK, the official business partner of Grisoft, makers of AVG anti-virus software, has introduced a free version of its software specifically for the Linux desktop. AVG Free is a commercial-grade antivirus product developed for free home use, providing maximum virus protection for single Linux computers.

AVG, which is best known for its free Windows antivirus tool, is developing a version of its security application for Apple's OS X platform. However, the company is not yet sure if the product will make it out of the lab

The AVG brand is widely recognized in the anti-virus and internet security marketplace; a recent poll undertaken in the United States found that AVG was the third most widely recognized anti-virus brand after Norton/Symantec and McAfee, and is one of the twenty most-downloaded programs at CNet's download.com site. Over the past several months, the company has been acquiring AVG domains in multiple international markets to ensure a smooth transition to the new corporate identity.

For the Newport School District in Newport, Washington, their computer security wasn't always something to brag about. Eleven years ago, when the now Technology Director Steve Fhumski came on board to manage the schools IT department and teach technology courses at the high school, the district was using Trend Micro software to protect their workstations.

When Owen Stevens, Systems and Network Manager for Overton's, Inc. needed to choose a new anti-virus product, he had to make sure it would meet the demands of his fast-growing company. Before switching to Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus, Overton's was running a competing anti-virus software on all 250 workstations in 4 separate locations. However, there were a number of problems with the existing virus product that not only made Owen's job more difficult, but that also left them vulnerable to viruses.

Walling Data Systems has been designated the first United States Authorized Distributor of the AVG Anti-VirusTM software, created by Grisoft. They will also provide service to Canada. Walling, celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, is based in Claremont, North Carolina. With the opening of their new retail service center in 1998, they evolved to become one of the area's most respected full-service IT sales and service sources.