Best Antivirus 2010 Buyers Guide Discussion

For 2010 we reviewed ten paid antivirus solutions -- today we break the reviews down and show you which one is the best.

Read the full content of this Article: Best Antivirus 2010 Buyers Guide

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I'm glad to see that NOD32 still scores well: I have been using it for a couple of years and recently invested in a 3 year licence.

John

 

I wish you guys could compare the free and paid AV similarly (ie. same scales - pro-activeness out of 12 vs. 20) or in a single guide so that users can get a better view on whether or not it's worth it to buy a particular solution or stick with a free one.

 

I second sgogeta4's request. Are we any less safe with something like MS Security Essentials, Avast, or AVG?

 

You get about the same level of protection with the best free AVs compared to some of the paid AV solutions in this article. However, with highly proactive solutions like NOD32 and Kaspersky I think you are more protected.

Also, if you go for one of the Internet Security suites you are definitely more protected because they include a personal firewall. Standard AV products do not include a firewall.

-----

Thanks for the suggestion, that is something to consider for our future buying guides.

 

Between those two, which would you recommend?

 

I have been using NOD32 for about five years now, I currently use the Smart Security suite on all my machines. It is tough to go wrong with Kaspersky though. I would not complain if somehow I was forced to use Kaspersky.

If you plan on buying ESET, the bulk licenses are the best deal. See if you can get 1-3 people to go in with you on a purchase. You also save money going with the two-year licenses.

 

Interesting article. I haven't read the articles on the individual solutions, but this summary is exactly the type of thing that is useful so I can know where to look more heavily, based on which of the criteria I weight more heavily. I'm surprised Norton is tied for tops in performance impact - I associate it most heavily with the notorious Norton 2006 version. I'm curious how these all line up in impact on boot time - even Norton 2009 adds 50% to the boot time of my parents' (admittedly underpowered) PC.

I agree with sgogeta, too - a comparison with free solutions would be a plus, too. Back in the day (2009) Avast! used to have the annoying behavior of pausing the scan when it found a threat until you decided which action to take, which knocked it off my contenders' list. But I'm curious if, say, AVG would provide better value than MSE.

 

Nevermind that windows (starting with XP) has a more-than-adequate built in firewall.

 

Would you suggest a full-blown security suite or just an anti-virus, since windows has a built-in firewall and most homes/businesses have firewalls

 

For home use I think a standard anti-virus suite is sufficient.

I suggest a full Internet Security suite for a notebook that you take a lot of places and connect to public Internet connections.

 

I would recommend anti-virus + LUA+SRP+Sandboxie for a free solution; see the links in
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sec...y-best-free-security-software-list-world.html

More options available if you are going the paid route (eg, Malware Bytes real time protection etc).

 

I'd recommend Avira Anti-Vir, full paid version. They have one of the very top detection rates -- if not the best. They are highly scalable, hassle-free, and have a relatively small foot-print.

I don't work for Avira, I don't know anybody who does, and I don't make anything financial from their sales. I just think they make an excellent product that does as good, if not better, than all those listed here so far.

Avira Anti-Vir, a top shelf anti-virus/anti-malware/anti-spyware application.

 

Then you get into the complicated issue of whether or not there are better firewall solutions and how they interact with different AVs (as opposed to an integrated solution, ie. the integrated solution might be weaker individually comparing them to other AVs and firewalls, but together they cover eat others deficits). Guess we need a firewall review then combination testing!

 

Good review ... I have been hearing good things about NOD32 for a while now.

 

I've had Kaspersky for several years now. I chose it specifically for this reason. The anti-virus usually scores near the very top of any review or test I've ever read, plus the integrated firewall and security tools are great. Avira or NOD32 may barely beat them out on a pure anti-virus test, but for the full package Kaspersky comes out on top.

 

Here is my personal feelings regarding Nod32 and Gdata

After more than 2 years with the lastest Nod32 smart securities I decided to give Gdata a try
I currently have the 2011 internet security version since july
There are good and bad when comparing Gdata to Nod32

Gdata
Good:
more tweaking options thanks to the tuner, the firewall can be set finer
I prefer the firewall from Gdata rather than the one from Nod32 because there is one higher level of security
Gdata found one worm than Nod32 didn't find in my computer
I found the Gdata scan as fast if not faster than the one from Nod32 due to smart the scanning option
I like the automatic firewall activation switch available from the windows taskbar
I like the fact that you can choose which frequency you want to automatically update the virus database, scan your disk and backup your data

Bad:
The price
Gdata is way heavier than Nod32 sometimes. In fact, when it has to process something big. The rest of the time not. It reminds me Norton in a way lol
it freezes my computer at start for instance until mister Gdata finish initializing during at least a minute


I was used to reach the google page with Nod32 10 sec after getting the desktop windows screen
I would currently advise Gdata only to i7 840M and above laptops with ssd and mainstream to enthousiast pcs owners
or people who like to take time (you prefer tea or coffee?)
or people like me who prefer efficacity rather than efficiency
I think Gdata needs one or two more versions to be just fine

I currently have a W860CU i7 620M 4GB X25E SSD and 10699 pc marks result

 

most of the main consumer antivirus fail face to 7 specific attacks from experts under windows 7 (may 2010)

for obvious reasons no information regarding the different attacks has been given except some basic ones so we will have to trust them on this one
more information available here:
http://www.esiea.fr/IMG/pdf/CP_resultats_tests_antivirus_Esiea_iAWACS_Mai_2010.pdf

here are the antivirus:
Avast, Avg, Avira, Bitdefender, DrWeb, F-Secure, GData, Kaspersky, McAfee, MSE, Nod32, Norton, Safe n Sec, Sophos, Trend micro

here are the winners:
attack 1, 4 and 6 : all fail
attack 2 : all succeed
attack 3 : detected by Bitdefender, F-Secure
attack 5 : detected by GData, Trend micro
attack 7 : randomly detected by Kaspersky, Sophos

in fact all hook based anti-malware softwares are vulnerable to argument-switch attack as explain here

http://www.matousec.com/info/articles/khobe-8.0-earthquake-for-windows-desktop-security-software.php

here is a not exhaustive list:

3D EQSecure Professional Edition 4.2 VULNERABLE
avast! Internet Security 5.0.462 VULNERABLE
AVG Internet Security 9.0.791 VULNERABLE
Avira Premium Security Suite 10.0.0.536 VULNERABLE
BitDefender Total Security 2010 13.0.20.347 VULNERABLE
Blink Professional 4.6.1 VULNERABLE
CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2010 6.0.0.272 VULNERABLE
Comodo Internet Security Free 4.0.138377.779 VULNERABLE
DefenseWall Personal Firewall 3.00 VULNERABLE
Dr.Web Security Space Pro 6.0.0.03100 VULNERABLE
ESET Smart Security 4.2.35.3 VULNERABLE
F-Secure Internet Security 2010 10.00 build 246 VULNERABLE
G DATA TotalCare 2010 VULNERABLE
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 9.0.0.736 VULNERABLE
KingSoft Personal Firewall 9 Plus 2009.05.07.70 VULNERABLE
Malware Defender 2.6.0 VULNERABLE
McAfee Total Protection 2010 10.0.580 VULNERABLE
Norman Security Suite PRO 8.0 VULNERABLE
Norton Internet Security 2010 17.5.0.127 VULNERABLE
Online Armor Premium 4.0.0.35 VULNERABLE
Online Solutions Security Suite 1.5.14905.0 VULNERABLE
Outpost Security Suite Pro 6.7.3.3063.452.0726 VULNERABLE
Outpost Security Suite Pro 7.0.3330.505.1221 BETA VERSION VULNERABLE
Panda Internet Security 2010 15.01.00 VULNERABLE
PC Tools Firewall Plus 6.0.0.88 VULNERABLE
Prevx 3.0.5.143 VULNERABLE
PrivateFirewall 7.0.20.37 VULNERABLE
Security Shield 2010 13.0.16.313 VULNERABLE
Sophos Endpoint Security and Control 9.0.5 VULNERABLE
ThreatFire 4.7.0.17 VULNERABLE
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2010 17.50.1647.0000 VULNERABLE
Vba32 Personal 3.12.12.4 VULNERABLE
VIPRE Antivirus Premium 4.0.3272 VULNERABLE
VirusBuster Internet Security Suite 3.2 VULNERABLE
Webroot Internet Security Essentials 6.1.0.145 VULNERABLE
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 9.1.507.000 VULNERABLE