Review of 11 Antivirus Software applications

[Mem]

Looks like I'll be trying out BitDefender.

I`ve just installed Bitdefender 8 Standard, seems better on resources since the last time I used Bitdefender AV( back in early "Version 7" days), it has always been a very good AV,I would rate probably Bitdefender,Kaspersky and Panda as my top 3 favourites.

 

[Malladine]

nice man

 

[Mem]

Another AV roundup review.

 

[Rustynuts]

Why is the percentage for NOD32 so low? I thought this was one of the best around. They always advertise 100% rates on the standardized tests (forgot what it's called) edit - Virus Bulletin tests

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
RAM mistakes are now fixed

and a much better pic of mcafee proccess viewer has been posted

 

[blazer78]

what do u mean by "in your face" ?

 

[Mem]

I`ve been trying out Bitdefender 8 Pro plus,has AV and firewall plus anti-spam filter,only one icon in taskbar which is good,no resource problems speed wise .

The last time I used Bitdefender 7 Pro I found it to be excellent but bit of a resource hog,version 8 is better for sure in that department.

The layout is very similar to the free edition but with more options, since the Pro version has more features.
I think I`ll be keeping Bitdefender Pro 8 on my PC.

 

[whistleclient]

i installed bitdefender 8 last night.

here are some of my problems with it:

1) i'd prefer an antivirus only package. i already have antispam and a firewall. even with the antispam disabled, it adds its toolbar to outlook/outlook express

2) if i did want to use their antispam, i'd want to set how it labels the spam, and which folder it goes to (both of which you can't)

3) you can specify how often antivirus checks for updates (every 3 hours, etc) but not when (between 3 and 4 am every day)

 

[Mem]

tangent1138,you should of tried the "Bitdefender 8 Standard" version,that`s AV only and does not have spam filter or firewall.

if i did want to use their antispam, i'd want to set how it labels the spam, and which folder it goes to (both of which you can't)

In the Bitdefender help menu it says it goes in the "spam folder" in "Outlook Express" which Bitdefender creates,see "Bitdefender toolbar" in the help section.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: blazer78
what do u mean by "in your face" ?

like it continuasly pops up messages like "YOU HAVE NOT SCANED YOUR HARD DRIVE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?"

"YOUR VIRUS DEFENITIONS ARE OUT OF DATE, UPDATE NOW?"

"DO YOU WANT OTHER APPLICATIONS TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR SYMANTEC?"

 

[stickybytes]

nice read. thanks.

 

[n7]

Great review!

I currently use AVG, since it's free, & doesn't bug me like NAV (which i used to use).

I guess i should consider switching, as it seems it really doesn't do too well.

 

[erikistired]

there's a beta for the new avg free version, based on avg 7.x. but when i was using it my system would lock up randomly. uninstalled it and the problems went away. guess that's why it's a beta.

 

[blazer78]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: blazer78
what do u mean by "in your face" ?

like it continuasly pops up messages like "YOU HAVE NOT SCANED YOUR HARD DRIVE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?"

"YOUR VIRUS DEFENITIONS ARE OUT OF DATE, UPDATE NOW?"

"DO YOU WANT OTHER APPLICATIONS TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR SYMANTEC?"

ahh, yea, i guess that is pretty annoying

 

[NeoV]

my wife uses the computer frequently during the day while I'm at work, so I need to have this!

My norton 2004 'sub' ran out...I tried the 2005 beta, but wasn't particularly impressed...I'm going to check out that Kaspersky....looks like a good performer

 

[kingshoc]

Thanks for the info

Go Yanks and spank them Soxs long live the curse

 

[sciencewhiz]

Can you include PC-Cillin, which is PC-World's recommended antivirus. http://www.trendmicro.com/down...tid=32&show=pcprod

 

[whistleclient]

i tried panda for a while. i liked it at first, but it turned out sometimes it made my system unstable at startup. the instability went away when i uninstalled. so i guess i'm looking for a new option...

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
Can you include PC-Cillin, which is PC-World's recommended antivirus. http://www.trendmicro.com/down...tid=32&show=pcprod

i will if trilobite runs his detection rate tests on it. Im waiting for him to upgrade the detection rates before i write a new roundup. Untill then, it is wait and see, i asked him to include it in the next one he does.

 

[Mr Bob]

I am going to do a clean install of XP Pro and figured now would be the time purchase some AV software.

McAfee and Norton compare so close to one another, how can we see the differences?

Or maybe Kaspersky is who we should go with now?

Is this the best one now? http://www.kaspersky.com/personalpro

 

[MegaWorks]

Thanx for the info Schadenfroh but try to put this link in your sig, that will help a lot!

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob
I am going to do a clean install of XP Pro and figured now would be the time purchase some AV software.

McAfee and Norton compare so close to one another, how can we see the differences?

Or maybe Kaspersky is who we should go with now?

Is this the best one now? http://www.kaspersky.com/personalpro

Kaspersky is the best choice overall. They update their antivirus definitions every hour and have the highest detection rate of any antivirus software (according to the tests).

from Kaspersky's site:

New virus definitions every hour

New viruses appear every day! Kaspersky Labs protects you with 24 daily antivirus database updates automatically downloaded via the Internet. New epidemics are no threat to you.

Although the freeware antivir, should be more than sufficient for most users, unless you are engaging in activities that increase your exposure to viruses and trojans significantly.

 

[Mr Bob]

My next question is, Personal, or PersonalPro?

It looks like the only difference was the way the software looked. I didn't think I would have more chances of viruses being detected if I used PersonalPro over Personal, but I don't know much about this software anyways.

Thanks for the time it took to prepare such a great review on these programs. It helps a lot of us who prefer to look at results rather than "well it has worked for me" sayings.

 

[Stangs55]

I wonder how Symanted AV ram usage compares to Norton AV ram usage?....Anyone have numbers? (I know it's less)

btw- nice work!

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob
My next question is, Personal, or PersonalPro?

It looks like the only difference was the way the software looked. I didn't think I would have more chances of viruses being detected if I used PersonalPro over Personal, but I don't know much about this software anyways.

Thanks for the time it took to prepare such a great review on these programs. It helps a lot of us who prefer to look at results rather than "well it has worked for me" sayings.

from looking over their site, it appears the differance lies in these areas:

pro offers the following over home, from looking at the two on their site:

integrated OfficeGuard? technology protects MS Office applications

Pro-active protection from macro viruses

Kaspersky Anti-Virus ensures total control over macros in all MS Office documents and halts all suspicious activity. This means that you are guaranteed almost total protection from macro-viruses, including unknown ones. Your MS Office documents are safe!

Data integrity

Personal Pro also includes an Inspector module that traces all changes occurring on your PC, such as: altering, deleting or creating files. All of these activities can be signs of a virus infection. By checking only modified or new files, the solution increases both speed and effectiveness. If Personal Pro detects any viruses, you are able to restore the file to its original state and delete the infected object.

i am unable to confirm any of this tho, that is info coming from their site. I would install trial version of each and look over them, but i dont feel up to it right now. I have come down with the flu or bronchitis.