In this article we would discuss the importance of Antivirus software, we would judge the performance and different antivirus software available in market and would try to figure out which one is the best for protecting your precious data and information.
Today internet is no more a safer place, every time you turn on your computer or go online, you make yourself vulnerable to multiple threats that can damage your data or steal your confidential information. Programs such as viruses, Trojans, rootkits, spywares and keylogger attempt to steal your personal information and harm you data and computer. So you need constant protection against these threats. Antivirus software provide you this critical protection against these threats. An antivirus software often comes with a host of other programs that are designed to protect you and your machine from these threats. Today numerous antivirus softwares are available in market, some are free and others charge a specific amount to guarantee your protection while you are online. Selecting the best antivirus program can be a hard nut to crack because of the complexity of malware programs and number of different protection softwares.
In this article we would discuss the top ten antivirus softwares that are available in market. We have graded them on basis of following factors.
· Ability of an antivirus software to detect malware of all types
· Ability of antivirus software to remove that malware
· Effect of the software on performance of computer and its efficiency
· Price of the antivirus suit
· Compatibility
· Features
· False Positives (Lower number indicates better performance)
Depending upon the above listed factors, we have made a list of top ten antivirus software that is given below.
1. Bit Defender Antivirus
2. Norton Antivirus
3. Kaspersky Antivirus
4. Webroot Antivirus
5. ESET NOD32 Antivirus
6. AVG Antivirus
7. Avira Antivirus
8. G DATA Antivirus
9. Trend Micro Titanium
10. Zone Alarm Antivirus
Now we will briefly discuss the performance of these antivirus softwares.
BIT DEFENDER ANTIVIRUS:
Bit defender antivirus comes first in our list of top ten antivirus softwares. Bit defender antivirus was developed by SOFTWIN, which is a software company based in Bucharest, Romania. First version of Bit defender was released in 2001 and currently 13 versions have been developed and released. The latest version of Bit defender antivirus is Bit Defender 2011.
Bit defender is one of the most reliable and efficient anti virus software. It is powered by SOFTWIN’s latest “B HAVE” technology which is based on behavioral analysis of programs in a virtual environment. It is also loaded with another latest and state of the art technology, the Active Virus Control. Active Virus Control continuously monitors the running processes in an operating system and allocates scores to them, upon reaching a specific threshold level the program is declared as harmful. It is different from heuristic technologies which monitor executable files when they are accessed or started. Active Virus control monitors everything that applications perform during their entire activity. This ability makes it a third level of defense.
Awards:
The home version of bit defender was awarded PC Answers editor’s choice award in 2007. Bit defender also passed the Virus Bulletin’s test 14 times till June 2007. It also secured an advance certification from AV Comparatives. In another test conducted by AV Comparatives in 2009 bit defender received Advance+ certificate. PC MAG also conducted a test on Bit Defender 2010, it successfully detected 97 percent of all tests and completely blocked all of them. Bit defender is also the most economical of all the top antivirus which makes it one of the most trustable and efficient of all. Bit defender Antivirus costs you only 24.95 USD.
Norton Antivirus:
Norton Antivirus is developed by Symantec corporation which is the oldest and one of the most trusted computer security software developing company. Norton antivirus is powered by Symantec’s SONAR and INSIGHT technologies. SONAR is the second version of advance heuristics protection technology and INSIGHT technology lets Norton scan only suspected files, bypassing the trusted programs. This makes Norton fast, efficient and robust without compromising on its prime goal- Security. It is easy to use and satisfies its users with a friendly GUI and stunning features.
Some of the prime features of Norton Antivirus are:
· Firewall
· Anti spyware
· Insight Downloading
· SONAR 2
· Intelligent threat protection
· Vulnerability protection
· Bootable Recovery
· Norton Reputation Service
· Light weight and efficient
This trustworthy and efficient antivirus is available for only 39.99USD.
Kaspersky Antivirus:
Kaspersky Antivirus is developed by Kaspersky Labs. It is also one of the most trustworthy and efficient antivirus software. It offers complete protection from both known and unknown threats. Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 provides you rock solid protection with its latest technology and stunning features combined with a friendly and simple user interface. It comes with a new feature called System watcher, which monitors activity of all the processes running at a system and blocks or flag them depending upon their behavior. It also protects you form all type of keyloggers with its virtual keyboard technology. A new desktop gadget provides better access and protection. Kaspersky antivirus has performed exceptionally well in Virus Bulletin tests. It detected and blocked 100 percent threats. AV comparatives had awarded A+ grade and it is also verified by West Coast labs to be one of the best antivirus software.
Features:
· Anti virus
· Anti spyware
· Anti malware
· URL Advisor
· Virtual Keyboard
· Gamer mode
· Desktop Security gadget
· Excellent Help and support
The only shortcoming of this great antivirus program is its price, it is available for 59.95 USD.
WEBROOT ANTIVIRUS:
Webroot antivirus is probably the best combination of antivirus and anti spyware. This antivirus provided you real time security from both known and unknown threats. With its multi layered security approach it had got all the best features that you need for protection and security. It monitors, detects, blocks and removes all kinds of malicious files, viruses, spywares, keyloggers, dialers, cookies and rootkits. The most notable feature of webroot antivirus is its Spy sweeper which is a stand alone program that protects you from all kinds of spyware. It is powerful enough to terminate running programs that exhibit suspicious behavior and remove registry entries. It has 13 protective shields that protects your network, start up items, web browsing, email operating system and many more. Its web browser shield provides you real time protection while surfing the web. Email shield protects you from malicious programs while downloading attachments and viewing mails. Webroot antivirus is ICSA certified and also has secured awards from west coast labs. It provides you with an impressive level of protection for just 29.95 USD.
ESET NOD32 Antivirus:
ESET NOD32 Antivirus is developed by ESET. It is available in two versions, business version and home version. Business version comes with additional features like Remote Administrator which allows deployment on servers and mirroring of threat signatures. It is specially useful for home users due to its simple and sleek interface and easy deployment. ESET NOD32 is loaded with all the necessary tools and technologies. It detected 94.4 percent of malware and detected and removed 94.7 percent of spyware, providing protection against all the known threats. It earned A+ award in AV test with a 97.2 percent detection rate. It is certified by ICSA Labs. PC PRO Magazine gave it a recommended award and gave it 5 stars out of six. CNET gave it 3.5/5 and version 4.0 got 5/5. ESET NOD 32 also got 60 VB awards. It allows users to create a rescue disk. NOD 32 is also loaded with a self protection module.
Problems were reported during installation on Windows Vista, however ESET claimed that these issues were later resolved. ESET NOD32 may not be as efficient or robust as other high tech antivirus solutions but for home users it is one of the best antivirus solutions. It is available for 39.99 USD.
AVG ANTIVIRUS:
AVG Antivirus is developed by AVG Technologies for Microsoft Windows. With its compelling features, simple user interface and light weight it offers right technology to home users for protection and security. The latest version of AVG has some really innovative and efficient features like link scanner, social networking protection, proactive web protection, cloud antivirus, and security network. It protects you from viruses and spyware, hackers, phishing scams, malware, keyloggers, worms, Trojans, rootkits and spam.
The detection rate is not as impressive as other antivirus software of its grade, problems have been reported with its link scanner feature and it don’t stands a chance against comprehensive antivirus solutions like Bit defender or kaspersky. It also has an annoyingly high level of false positives. The price tags also fails to provide attraction, it costs you 34.99 USD for average grade protection.
AVIRA ANTIVIRUS:
Avira Antivirus is a personal antivirus solution program. Its free version is very popular among home users. It provides reliable protection against all threats like viruses, Trojans, spyware, rootkits, adware and bots. With its simple interface it is easy to use and deploy. Standard features include Email Scanning, WebGuard, Anti spam, Firewall, Back up system, AntiBot and parental controls.
Although it is effective against malware but its extremely resource hogging and slows down the computer considerably during scanning. Its price is 26.95 USD.
G DATA ANTIVIRUS:
G DATA Antivirus provides comprehensive and reliable protection against viruses, rootkits, malware, Trojans, bots, adware, spyware and phishing scam by a using a combination of Avast and bit defender antivirus engines. It is remarkably fast in scanning, monitoring, locating and blocking malicious programs. It has a very good detection and virus removal rate. Its price is 24.95 USD. It lacks advance features like parental controls, Heuristics signatures, and behavioral analysis.
TREND MICRO TITANIUM:
Trend micro titanium formerly known as Pc cillin is another easy to install and simple to use antivirus software. With its simple and sleek user interface it can be the ideal antivirus solution for home users. Trend micro titanium has a very effective rate of scanning, locating, blocking and removing malicious software, viruses, Trojans, spyware, bots, adware and keyloggers. With its latest cloud based security feature it guarantees your safety while you are online. This feature is specially designed to improve detection and resource utilization. Most of the security processes run online which saves disk space and makes it more effective against known and unknown threats.
West Coast Lab has certified it to be an effective solution against virus, Trojans and spyware. Although some standard features are missing but that deficiency is leveraged by its speed of scanning and low use of resources. Bootable disk can not be created, gamer mode is missing and there is no battery saving plan for laptops. Behavioral analysis feature which is present in most of the advance antiviruses is also missing.
Trend Micro Titanium is available for 39.95 USD.
ZONE ALARM ANTIVIRUS:
Zone alarm antivirus is developed by checkpoint software technologies which is well known for its products for business and data security. The same technology had been used in zone alarm antivirus so you get a business class antivirus solution at the affordable price of a basic home version. Tests have shown that this antivirus is remarkably fast and utilizes resources efficiently. Its unified scan engine provides protection against viruses, Trojans, spyware and keyloggers. The two way firewall monitors all the incoming and outgoing traffic. The Operating System firewall or OSFIREWALL monitors within the system files of your operating system. It has an advance auto learn feature that configures antivirus in harmony with your working manners.
This antivirus software is available for 29.95 USD.
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