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Free, Instant Antivirus Scanning: Trend Micro%squots HouseCall

No-excuses utility is easy to access and run.

By Stan Miastkowski, PCWorld   

If you still don%squott run an antivirus utility, Trend Micro just took your last excuse away. PC-cillin HouseCall is available for free on the Web. Sure, other makers of antivirus software provide free virus scanners on their Web sites, but they require that you download, decompress, install, and run the programs offline. HouseCall, an ActiveX program, loads into your browser and runs immediately--albeit with annoying ads displayed on your screen at the same time.

Unlike free scanners that simply let you know whether you have a virus, HouseCall will also destroy any nasty visitors that it finds.

If you%squotre a Microsoft Internet Explorer user, you can run HouseCall directly. But if you prefer Netscape Navigator, you%squotll need to download the NCompass Labs ScriptActive plug-in (available from the HouseCall page) to run HouseCall.

Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it takes three to four minutes for HouseCall to load into your browser the first time. You%squotll then see an Authenticode Security Technology certificate declaring HouseCall to be a genuine registered ActiveX control. A screen shows your local and network drives; you choose the drives you want to scan, click the Scan button, and off you go.

Rather than check for all of today%squots 12,000 or so existing viruses, HouseCall looks strictly for the approximately 200 that are circulating %dquotin the wild,%dquot including the common Word and Excel macro viruses. It took HouseCall a little more than 15 minutes to check 12,654 files on my PC and find no viruses. If it does find a virus, HouseCall lists the name of the virus and the infected file. Most viruses can be removed with a click of the Clean button, but if it%squots a particularly virulent strain, your only option may be to delete the offending file.

One caution: HouseCall is effective, but it only takes a snapshot of your files. You still need a full-time virus scanner (like Trend%squots $50 PC-Cillin II) for the best protection. Trend also encourages anyone who runs a Web site to post HouseCall for free for visitors to use.