Essential Free Software from Google

The Google Pack was launched by Google at the beginning of 2006. The Google Pack is a collection of essential free software aimed at your average home computer user. The goal of Google Pack is simplify the process of getting useful software on your home computer by making installing and keeping the programs up-to-date as easy as possible.

Google has teamed up with other companies to provide a lot of the software in Google Pack. The security software supplied in Google Pack to protect users against spyware and virus threats is an example of this. In fact the security software provided in Google Pack is essential free software for the home user.

The anti virus software is provided by Symantec who is the company behind the popular Norton AntiVirus products. The program in Google Pack is called Norton Security Scan and despite its name it scans AND removes virus threats. Security Scan is based on the award-winning Norton AntiVirus products and provides excellent protection from viruses.

The anti-spyware software has recently been improved and is now supplied by a company called PC Tools. PC Tools are the makers of the excellent Spyware Doctor spyware remover software which again has received many industry awards. Within Google Pack you will find the Spyware Doctor Stater Edition which lacks some of the more advance, active protection features of the full version but retains the excellent spyware scanning and removal capabilities.

There are some other useful applications within Google Pack. Picasa is a personal favorite for editing and organizing my digital photos. Mozilla FireFox is also included which is an excellent web browser. There are also some other Google Applications like Google Desktop and Google Earth which you could find useful.

At the center of Google Pack is "Google Updater." This program downloads and installs all the software you want. It also keeps the software up to date which is very important. Basically the Google Updater provides a single, simple interface to manage your Google Pack software download.

The security programs in Google Pack are essential free software to protect your computer and for that reason alone Google Pack is worth downloading.

Richard Rogers is a PC enthusiast and runs a number of PC related sites. He recommends you download essential free software from Google.

Free Virus Protection Software From Google

One of the biggest announcements from Google at the beginning of 2006 was a collection of free software called "Google Pack." Google Pack was developed in order to provide computer users with essential software which Google felt every user needed for their new or current PC. One of the programs in Google Pack was free virus protection software.

The virus protection software in Google Pack was provide by Symantec the vendor behind the popular Norton Antivirus products. The Norton Antivirus products have continuously received excellent reviews from independent testers and still remain one of the leading anti virus products. For Google Pack to start with Symantec supplied Norton Antivirus 2005, although not the latest version, a more than capable anti virus program. The only limitation was that Symantec would only supply 6 months of virus definition updates after that the user would need to upgrade.

At the beginning of 2007 Google persuaded Symantec to provide a virus protection program which the user would not have to upgrade from. Norton Antivirus 2005 was replaced by "Norton Security Scan." Despite the name Security Scan both scans for AND removes virus threats. The product is based on the same award-winning virus scanning and removal technology found in the Norton Antivirus range of products. More importantly the virus definition updates are not limited to six months.

There are a number of other good reasons to download Google Pack. For starters, Google Pack now includes a Starter Edition of Spyware Doctor which is based on one of the best anti spyware programs on the market today. There is also an excellent photo organizer software called "Picasa."

Danny Jones runs a number of computer related sites. He recommends Free Download Norton Anti Virus from Google Pack to protect your computer.