One thing I always hate to do is to find the best Antivirus program that will protect my computer. The two best paid versions that I have always heard about are Kaspersky and NOD32. For free software, I always look towards Avast or AVG. Of course, that is what I knew before but it looks like there may be some new people climbing the ladder.
Virus.gr tested quite a few different software companies to see how they would stack up against each other. How did the 147,000+ virus test pan out? Here are the results (the ones in bold are the ones I expected to do good):
1. Kaspersky version 6.0.0.303 - 99.62%
2. Active Virus Shield by AOL version 6.0.0.299 - 99.62%
3. F-Secure 2006 version 6.12.90 - 96.86%
4. BitDefender Professional version 9 - 96.63%
5. CyberScrub version 1.0 - 95.98%
6. eScan version 8.0.671.1 - 95.82%
7. BitDefender freeware version 8.0.202 - 95.57%
8. BullGuard version 6.1 - 95.57%
9. AntiVir Premium version 7.01.01.02 - 95.45%
10. Nod32 version 2.51.30 - 95.14%
11. AntiVir Classic version 7.01.01.02 - 94.26%
12. ViruScape 2006 version 1.02.0935.0137 - 93.87%
13. McAfee version 10.0.27 - 93.03%
14. McAfee Enterprise version 8.0.0 - 91.76%
15. F-Prot version 6.0.4.3 beta - 87.88%
16. Avast Professional version 4.7.871 - 87.46%
17. Avast freeware version 4.7.871 - 87.46%
18. Dr. Web version 4.33.2 - 86.03%
19. Norman version 5.90.23 - 85.65%
20. F-Prot version 3.16f - 85.14%
21. ArcaVir 2006 - 83.44%
22. Norton Professional 2006 - 83.18%
23. AVG Professional version 7.1.405 - 82.82%
24. AVG freeware version 7.1.405 - 82.82%
25. Panda 2007 version 2.00.01 - 82.23%
26. Virus Chaser version 5.0a - 81.47%
27. PC-Cillin 2006 version 14.10.1051 - 80.90%
28. VBA32 version 3.11.0 - 79.12%
29. ViRobot Expert version 4.0 - 76.22%
30. UNA version 1.83 - 75.44%
There’s the list and as you can see there are several towards the top that really shocked me. The one I am most happy about is the Active Virus Shield by AOL because it is offered to the public for free. Sure it branded as AOL but underneath it is all Kaspersky and this goes to show it.
I expected NOD32, Avast, and AVG to perform a little better than they did but NOD32 and AVG definitely fought back at the heuristic testing. Heuristic testing is extremely important because that is what gives an Antivirus the ability to catch a virus even it is not in the database. Here are the top 10 from that list:
1. Nod32 2.51.30 - 41503
2. Vba32 3.11.0 - 32911
3. VirIT 6.1.9 - 16469
4. AVG 7.1.405 Professional - 13624
5. AVG 7.1.405 freeware - 13624
6. Rising AV 18.41.30 - 12214
7. McAfee 10.0.27 - 10708
8. Ikarus 5.19 - 7191
9. F-Prot 6.0.4.3 beta - 6247
10. Ukrainian National Antivirus 1.83 - 5506
One thing is for sure and that is Norton needs some work for as much as it costs. So many people rely on Symantec’s software because that is what comes installed on most computers but it obviously won’t provide the protection that is needed.
I fix computers for people all of the time and when I find that their Antivirus subscriptions have expired I normally install Avast. After seeing these tests it definitely makes me ponder using Active Virus Shield by AOL because of the high ranking. Avast does have the Web Shield which stops malicious attacks through your Web browser and I really like that feature. I wonder what is more important, the overall ability to find a virus or being able to block Web attacks?
| Update: |
For more great antivirus and firewall information, please read our most recent article. It highlights many of the free antivirus, firewall, and anti-spyware solutions that are currently available to you.
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| Update 2: |
We have done a follow-up article on this one with more up-to-date rankings for the antivirus software listed here. In that article you’ll also find hyperlinks to each of the antivirus solutions listed.
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| Update 3: |
Unfortunately AOL’s Active Virus Shield is no longer available.
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| Update 4: |
There are some new stats available as of December 6th, 2007: VB100 test and Retrospective test. The first test checks antivirus applications for known viruses, while the retrospective test sees how well the apps can do against “unknown” viruses.
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Tags: Software
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Nice. I’m glad they finally updated their ratings.
I’m actually not surprised at all about AVG. I’ve never been impressed with it and have always been amazed at how much it is recommended, simply because it’s free. If you look at a lot of reviews, AVG has always performed poorly even compared with the other free anti virus software.
I’ve seen so many computer repair techs install it on their client’s systems and frankly, those people who need a computer repair tech, need AV software that can perform better than an 83% detection rate
In my opinion, an AV program shouldn’t be only rated by it’s detection rate. Performance and the usability are important aspects too, which should be also rated.
Yes, I do agree that usability is a good way to rate a program - AVG may have been reasonable at catching viruses, but the interface looked straight out of Windows 98, it installed serveral processes and services and was generally confusing for any normal computer user.
NOD32, on the other hand, installs just two processes which don’t change regardless of which options you enable or disable. It updates automatically in the system tray, has a very simple menu interface for when you do open it up (since getting it I’ve only done this once and that was to mess with some settings) and found a virus in a folder the instant I opened that folder. No surprise it was my downloads folder.
So NOD32 for the win everyone.
Been quite happy with Avast. Used Norton a long time ago, went to AVG then to the current Avast. I am uneasy of using anything that is branded by AOL.
May be it has to do with bad experiences dealing with AOL and trying to remove their software off my PCs.
For me Antivir is one of the best free options around. Lightweight, updates at least 5 times a day and have catched many trojans while surfing the web. OK, the free version doesn’t include e-mail scan but the attachment will eventually be scanned before be opened.
I’ve been using Zone Labs products like their Internet Security Suite for years because Zone’s Firewall is awesome, but now that I see it’s not rated I’m going to switch to Zone’s Free Firewall and get one of these AntiVirus solutions listed. Thanks Ryan!!!
I am glad everyone is finding this useful but the bad part is that most of the Antivirus solutions are good at something. I think seeing this list makes it even harder to pick which one to use. NOD32 has always been good to me when I have used it and hopefully with version 3 they will really step up their overall detection performance.
Good detection rates are the heart of an antivirus but there are many other things to consider as well such as:
1. What is the likelihood of contracting any or all of those thousands of viruses?
2. False positives.
3. Ease of use.
4. Configuration possibilities like excluded files.
5. Speed of scan.
6. Integration with download managers.
7. Impact on system performance.
In light of the above and many other variances not mentioned, an antivirus choice should be made on more than just detection rates.
Just my humble opinion.
False positives are easy for tech savvy users to notice, but I do agree that an ordinary user may have difficulty. NOD32 has never produced a false positive for me.
Previously NOD32 has always come top in the detection test as well as heuristics. Maybe it was just a bad time for their update team.
Can I have 2 anti-virus programs installed on my machine at the same time?
You sure can…providing that they let you install two. I know several people that do that but I think certain programs will not let you install the Antivirus software if you have another installed.
I want to install AVG and Avast! on one PC. And I want to install BitDefender Free Edition (or Avast! - I’ll try both) and Norton AntiVirus 2006 on my laptop. Do you know if I will have problems with either of those?
I haven’t heard about any problems between AVG and Avast but I think Norton is pretty picky about other Antivirus installations. They should warn you before the installation starts whether there will be any problem.
Hey I’ve changed my configuration. Now it’s the free Avast antivirus and the free Comodo Firewall.
My next two questions are, do you think this is a good security solution and if not what is the best standalone free antivirus on this list and what free firewall should I be using?
Thanks for the advice!
I’ve heard great things about the Comodo Firewall and using it with Avast sounds like a perfect solution. I don’t think I could come up with anything better.
Sounds good, I really like the combination of them also. I like the GUI of Avast! and Comodo and they both work perfectly to boot.
Rock on! We’re suck geeks!
I meant to say such…
#17
I finally registered, I don’t know why I put it off for so long, but I’m all good now!
So how does Comodo compare to Sygate? But first I should ask is Comodo free?
Yes, the Comodo Firewall is free…
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
I haven’t used Sygate in years so it wouldn’t be fair for me to compare them but Comodo has been receiving a lot of awards lately and you can’t beat the price.
I’ll have to take a look. I had tried Sygate on my folks computers and both reported different problems from not being able to get a network connection to having the hard drive going non-stop. I’ve had no problems, but as we know, no 2 computers will act alike even if they are the same exact model.
yes, Nod32 is the best, i’m using it~
I’ve been PC tech for many years, and have recommended Avast over any other antivirus software for the majority of my career. The interface is awesome, and the skins make it really easy to use. We use AVG at work, but I have never been impressed with it, this just reaffirms that…. Though my workstation is the only one running Antivir (I use Antivir for work because it has a great combination of usability and speed, and I also wanted to try something new). I recently installed OneCare on my second home machine so I want to see how that compares with my Avast and Antivir impressions.
I actually haven’t had a chance to try OneCare out but I am curious as to how it would stack up to the other Antivirus solutions. Unfortunately it is not free so I don’t feel that much of an urge to try it out.
My vote is with Nod32 also. The fact that it uses few system processes and, therefore, is among the least intrusive commercial AV apps available is important, methinks.
Kaspersky rocks! I’ve been using it for 3 years noiw and no virus has infected my computer since(not that I know of)
you totally forgot ZoneAlarm
why didnt u test windows onecare?
I’m actually not the one that did the test which I mentioned in the article. Virus.gr is the one that did it so I’m not sure why they didn’t include OneCare.
Active Virus Shield by AOL is actually a stripped down version of Kaspersky
The AOL vesion is just a stripped down version of Kaspersky. Also AVG uses very little resources unlike Kaspersky.
I don’t trust any firewall programs out there. A firewall is only as good as its filter and the user of the firewall. You can actually turn windows firewall into a good firewall with the proper settings but users tend to be the main flaw in firewalls. If a user gets click-happy and always clicks “ok” on everything then many firewalls won’t do them any good. If a user allows everything due to ignorence or just plain stupidity then there is no point in having a firewall at all.
Firewall programs also use your computer’s resources so I suggest using your router’s firewall and customizing your filter to block everything but what you need. This is hard for most users to do but it is the best solution for home protection.
On the subject of Anti-viruses I wouldn’t recommend Mcaffee or Norton to anyone b/c of 3 reasons:
1-They will decrease your computer’s performance drastically (with default settings)
2-They usually don’t catch modified versions of viruses
3-They charge you good money for poor protection
I would recommend AVG-free as a good antivirus, it manages to protect my computer very well and has yet to fail me. While AVG may use several processes these processes are not CPU or RAM intensive. On the other hand AVG has been giving me trouble with the update process forcing me to re-install the program about every month.
But in the long term it all comes down to the user. If the computer is 2-3 years old and it is taking several minutes to login it is not always viruses and spyware. Many programs can be set to run on startup and will load (and slowdown) your computer when you login. Anti-viruses do need to be updated regularly, with most anti-viruses you can set the program to do this automatically but it is always a good idea to check for updates manually. If you are convenced that viruses have taken over your computer the fool-proof way to get rid of them is to reformat and re-install windows. While this is beyond the skills of the average user there are many small computer repair shops that can do this for you.
Some good facts to know:
-Windows XP always runs faster durring the first 2 months than any other time (guess why)
-Many viruses are spread through networks so check the other computers in your house or LAN
-File sharing and e-mails are major sources of viruses and Spyware
-Getting a good Internet browser (I recommend firefox) will act as a good first line of defence against viruses
-There are lot of viruses that use JAVA to execute
I was surprised that nod32 missed ~5% in the test, if you listened to their marketing they would have you believe 100%.
I wanted to point out one problem with nod32. When I am on holiday or away on business I use a mobile phone for my laptop internet connection - nod32 doesn’t have an option not to download, so you end up paying heaps of ££££’s for bandwidth usage when it downloads 8meg of AV data, and the only way to stop it doing it is to kill the process nod32kui.exe - not ideal. When I mailed their support about this they chose not to respond.
I’ve also noticed the advantages of using Avast. It works well for me and I love the web filter, it’s saved me several times.
i use AVG, it does me just fine. i never get infections.
i think a lot of the time people don’t realise they are the anti-virus aswell.
Gosh…Some people never learn. The test(s) from Petrakis/virus.gr have been the laughing stock for all AV companies for years - whatever the outcome. Wrong/polluted/damaged testbed, wrong amateurish way of testing, you name it.
Contact your AV vendor and do ask for their opinion as these test(s) are concerned. Very illuminating….
http://www.av-comparatives.org (see “comparatives”) from Andreas Clementi and http://www.av-org from Andreas Marx are the only tests taken serious by AV companies.
you don’t notice any infections because AVG is
horrible (in every somewhat legitimate test under the sun). In need of free AV? = AntiVir. As far as AOL branded Kav/anything - read the eula carefully.
much better testing =
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
These days computer failure, financial loss or identity theft are much more likely to be caused by spyware/trojans/malware, not viruses.
Don’t think that you are necessarily protected if you have one of the antivirus utilities that tested well.
You already know the two things that are most likely to reduce your chance of having your identity stolen and having to reformat your computer. If you are unwilling to do either of those (for the dummies: Linux and/or Firefox), you’d better make sure you have a good firewall and anti-spyware utility, and apply the windows update patches promptly.
I’m not saying antivirus isn’t good to have. But focus your attention on the biggest risk- trojans.
Best antivirus?
*NIX systems!!!
You missed out Sophos, a superior product in my opinion.
Virus.gr have been under the spotlight previously for poorly testing products.
They are not an authoritive body, and as such should not be relied on at all for any reliable type of testing.
What about eTrust EZ Antivirus? (formerly VET, now owned by Computer Associates)
best antivirus for windows? - limited user !!!
How come they didn’t test Symantec Antivirus, it’s way better than Norton Antivirus??
How about links to all the top ones cited in the article?
piece of crap
no facts, no metrics, no testing methodology, no even clamav, just PR, only loosers will trust this page
Windows - the only virus with a GUI
what you mean the metrics listed on virus.gr which is linked to at the start of the article (this being the highlights)
http://www.virus.gr/english/fu......asp?id=82
what virus scanner does zonealarm use under the hood?
Where’s Sophos antivirus?
i use avg and i haven’t gotten a virus since then. it works fine for me because i don’t go and download crap on the internet. one of the main reasons people get viruses
are from hacks that they download for stuff, my cousin downloaded hacks and got so many viruses that his computer took like 20 minutes to open the firefox.
I have tried 2 options. AVG Free and Trend Micro Corporate Edtion.
I first had Trend Micro, the GUI wasnt easy to navigate, updates were large and slow and I did get a Virus while using it.
Now use AVG Free, updates are small and Fast, GUI is easy to use even if it is a bit dated. I havent got a virus yet.
From an IT POV, I’d say web attacks would lead to the most frequent need for repair.
Select in left menu “Tools / Scheduler”, a list of scheduled tasks displays in right panel. Uncheck the “Update NOD32″ checkbox. Later, when you change your mind, just check it again (or just sometimes click “Update Now” in the “Update” menu).
There is a 90 day free trial of OneCare, I’m sure that’s ample time to test it.
Anyway, good article despite not including OneCare.
I’d be forever in your debt if you did a similar thing about firewalls and preferably include ones available on other platforms, mostly Linux *BSD.
the acticle the post references is not something I could trust as a point of reference for deciding on an AV program for a business. There is no listing of how they test, what controls are used, etc…
Also, the leave out many bigger name AV programs and show a bias in testing versus others.
For example: Where is trend micro?
Example 2: they test McAfee Enterprise and Personal… but test Norton AV Pro… not the correct version called Symantec (which could be a typo on their part) but also ignore the Symantec Enterprise…
These are just what I notice right off the bat. I’m sure there is a lot more.
One consideration, I don’t see in the ratings is how much memory/cpu cycles the programs use. I’m tired of AV programs like Norton and McAfee slowing down my computer. Which of these programs is the least noticeable when running?