| Product |
Review |
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#1
BitDefender
$29.95
(visit site)
30-day Money Back Guarantee!
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Pros:
• Easy to install and use
• Proactive detection
• Hourly updates
• Reduces risk of identity theft
• Protects against phishing attacks
• P2P protection
• Registry protection
• E-mail protection
• Excellent customer support
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Cons:
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Review Summary:
Our number 1 ranked product is BitDefender. BitDefender truly is an "install and forget" antivirus product. Once it is installed, you will be protected without specifying any additional options. The clean, intuitive tabbed interface makes this product one of the easiest and most comprehensive to use.
BitDefender has the ability to immediately detect viruses and malicious code that spreads via instant messaging and file sharing programs (Peer To Peer programs). BitDefender employs a powerful and sophisticated behavior analysis algorithm also knows a heuristic scanning which detects certain patterns of code segments within a file to detect virus-like behavior. Your file system, registry, and internet connection are always being automatically monitored realtime. You can also manually scan files by dragging and dropping them into the "File Zone" / "Net Zone" area. BitDefender also protects your computer against viruses sent by e-mail at the POP3 protocol level, regardless of the e-mail client that you use (Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape, Eudora, etc.)
BitDefender now also includes rootkit detection and removal, real-time web scanning, anti-spyware protection, and privacy protection.
Product details... |
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| #2
Kaspersky Antivirus
$59.95
(visit site) |
Pros:
• Hourly updates
• Great reputation
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Cons:
• High price
• Incompatible with some apps
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Review Summary:
Kaspersky provides excellent protection against all major threats including trojans, worms, rootkits, and phishing sites. Kaspersky also makes hourly database updates, the only other product that updates this frequently is our #1 ranked product, BitDefender. The protection engine utilizes preliminary behavior analysis as well as on-going behavior analysis to actively scan for realtime threats while not taking up much of your CPU or memory. It also has the ability to actively protect popular instant messaging applications.
Product details... |
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#3
Trend Micro AntiVirus
$39.95
(visit site)
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Pros:
• Easy to install and use
• Wireless protection
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Cons:
• Incompatible with other firewalls
• Relatively high price
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Review Summary:
Our number 2 ranked product is Trend Micro AntiVirus. Trend Micro AntiVirus is an excellent product which contains several security tools in addition to it's antivirus functions such as a spyware blocker, a firewall, and wireless network protection. The only problem that we've encountered is that Trend Micro AntiVirus appears to be unable to co-exist with other firewall products. It would not let us install it without first removing ZoneAlarm - perhaps one of the most popular firewalls around at this time. Also, these extra features require more system resource usage such as CPU and memory usage. On the plus side, Trend Micro AntiVirus is ICSA and VB100% certified, and is relatively easy to install and use.
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#4
Panda Antivirus
$39.95
(visit site)
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Pros:
• Fast
• Daily definition updates
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Cons:
• Heuristics disabled by default
• No P2P protection
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Review Summary:
Panda Antivirus is another great antivirus program which is effective and simple to use. Panda is ICSA and VB100% certified and now includes identity theft protection, anti-phishing, and IM protection. The interface is very clean and simple to navigate however heuristic file scan is disabled by default for some reason. Another interesting feature we found is a CPU load management option which reduces CPU load during scans.
Product details... |
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#5
McAfee VirusScan
$34.99
(visit site)
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Pros:
• Trusted McAfee name
• Spyware/Adware scanner
• Instant Messaging protection
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Cons:
• Lacks P2P protection
• Lacks registry protection
• Somewhat cluttered interface
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Review Summary:
If you're looking for pure antivirus protection without the CPU/memory overhead of an Internet Suite, McAfee VirusScan does an excellent job of keeping your system free of viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, and adware. One feature included with McAfee VirusScan that many lack is the ability to scan Instant Messaging application attachments. The download/registration process is quite inconvenient and cumbersome.
However, once it is installed, it's fairly user-friendly.
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| #6
AVG Antivirus Pro
$34.99
(visit site)
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Pros:
• Relatively fast scanning
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Cons:
• Relatively slow virus definition updates
• Lacks several important protection mechanisms
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Review Summary:
AVG Antivirus Pro is not nearly as impressive as our higher ranked products. It lacks several important monitoring and protection features such as scripting protection, Instant Messaging and Peer-To-Peer software scanning protection, realtime registry protection, spyware/adware protection. It does, however, do a good job of detecting a virus that has already infected your computer.
Product details... |
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| #7
Norton AntiVirus
$39.99
(visit site)
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Pros:
• Trusted Norton name
• Instant Messaging protection
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Cons:
• Relatively slow and CPU/memory intensive
• Relatively expensive
• No registry monitoring
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Review Summary:
Norton is probably the most well known and widely used antivirus software available at this time. It does a great job of detecting viruses, worms, and repairing of infected files. The interface is easy to follow and use. However, there is alot of system overhead and incompatibility issues with Norton Antivirus, and there are better products available at lower prices.
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| #8
F-Prot for Windows
$29.00
(visit site)
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Pros:
• Minimal system overhead
• Relatively inexpensive
• DOS scanning engine included
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Cons:
• Not ICSA certified
• No registry monitoring
• No scripting protection
• No IM protection
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No P2P protection
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Review Summary:
The unique thing with F-Prot is that is has a DOS based scanning engine included. This can be helpful if you become infected with a virus that leaves Windows inoperable. However, there is no scripting protection, registry monitoring, Instant Messaging, or Peer-To-Peer application protection. Also, this is the only product that we reviewed that has not been ICSA certified. F-Prot does, however, hold the VB100% certification. If you are only concerned about speed and basic file-based virus protection , this may be the product for you.
Product details... |
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