Top 4 Antivirus software recommendations
People always ask me; “Whats the best Windows Antivirus software?”
These days the best protection for your home PC is a decent security suite. A security suite is just an AV with more modules attached to it, and therefore more security and protection. Most security software companies offer a low end product (an antivirus) and more more powerful options (security suites). The one to select is a proper security suite.
We all know someone who swears by a particular product, and many people have their favourites. However, the best indication of the effectiveness of an AV is how well it performs on multiple independent performance tests. In other words, just because it has worked for one person, does not mean it is broadly and consistently effective.
Here are some criteria that are important to consider:
1. Proactive protection
Does the software protect, ‘live’ while the computer is in use and stop anything nasty from taking hold?
2. On Demand protection
If it is told to do a scan, can it effectively FIND and *REMOVE* threats?
3. Low false-positives
Does the software persistently hassle users about software that is not a risk? (ie annoyance and time-consumption factor)
4. Low system load
Does the software hog system resources and slow down the computing experience of the user?
Tndependent test reports are available online.
A number of online PC magazines also run their own comparatives.
There is contention about the methodology used by various comparisons. The safest way to pick security software is to look at a number of reports, over time, and select a product that consistently and reliably scores across tests.
My recommendations:
1. Kaspersky
Kaspersky has a fantastic reputation for performance and reliability. Its relatively easy to use and very reliable. One criticism is that it’s quite resource intensive, so not ideally suited to slower/older machines. Most modern, powerful computers will run it fine.
2. Eset Nod32
A very easy to use AV with great performance, not only in protection and security, but known for its low system requirements. This vendor also has a ‘netbook’ edition, which is perfect for small machines.
3. Avast
A great, all round, security provider, with an excellent reputation. Notably, it offers a ‘sandbox’ system, that allows users to run programs in a safe environment before installing on the machine. (this is automatic, and easy to use). It does have the annoying characteristic of ‘speaking’ in a grating american accent every time it updates its database, however this feature can be switched off.
4. Symantec (Norton)
Norton has rightly suffered from a poor reputation having had a long and patchy history in terms of the quality of their product. They have been criticized for products that are very bloated and have a slow-down effect on machines. However, their recent offerings (since 2010) have been very good indeed, with greatly improved performance and speed. Norton also has an exceptionally easy-to-use interface, and consistent protection results on a number of independent tests.
Products to avoid
1. Trend
Despite its very prominent marketing profile, trend is a consistently average performer on some tests, and can also be a horrible resource hog. Comparatively speaking, it is also a very expensive product.
2. McAfee
McAfee is a very long-standing provider in AV technology. Unfortunately, their product has had a quite patchy history, with updates in the last couple of years causing some significant problems for users. This quality control issue is concerning. Most recently, (last month in fact) an update completely killed internet connectivity for many of its users. There was a fix offered by the Company, that, required an internet connection to apply (quite difficult when the software itself has completely killed Wireless and LAN access to the Net). A product to be avoided.
..
Posted in: Blog
Leave a Comment (0) →