2009 Antivirus Roundup

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And yet I have had Symantec Ednpoint 11 cause blus screens on multiple Vista systems which could only be solved by uninstalling and putting a proper product in place.
 

francisk

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Bitdefender Total Security is really great, I can't wait for the new version which is currently in beta. The best thing at bitdefender is that it doesn't take to much resources, it protects very well from malware, and keeps my thunderbird clean, the antispam is great. I also like that it has IM encryption, which is now also available for free on their site. If I had to recommend a security suite, i would recommend bitdefender total security.
 

Darkness Flame

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The things about Norton don't actually surprise me. On my old computer, we used Norton IS. Version 2006 was slow, 2007 was a bit better, but not much. However, 2008 actually used less RAM, and scanned much faster. The down side is that the computer had so many other problems at the time, it didn't even finish the year 2008.

Our new computer now has McAfee, but I also have ClamWin Portable for my own weekly scans. Due to the way I use ClamWin, it's flaws don't really apply. Either way, McAfee hasn't been too bad, but holds it's own pros and cons to me. I mean, it has a lot of nice features. However, there have been a few trojans that only ClamWin picked up, and that kinda upsets me. Can't complain too much though, as McAfee is free with our Comcast internet.

Like others, I am actually surprised the Kaspersky was so lowly rated. With the exception of this review, I've only heard good things about it. This definitely makes me reconsider future computer security plans ...
 
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Avast through and through - I admit I don't bother with resident protection..if anything is suspected as having got through it's a full boot time scan - never failed me yet....unlike many of the competitors listed here.
 

randomizer

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[citation][nom]bigdaddycool[/nom]If Windows was meant to stop outgoing traffic, and could do so without causing problems.[/citation]
In Vista you can add rules blocking certain outgoing traffic. Vista's firewall is quite capable of being two-way, it just isn't by default (since there's no rules).
 

igot1forya

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I'm curious why no inclusion of Symantec Corp was not included in these test... I assume because of no Firewall, but then again for corporate environments workstation level firewalls are not needed.
 

michaelahess

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Symantec Corp 10.2 and AVG are all I use. I've played with EVERY AV product reviewed, and other than Trend and Avast, I will never recommend any of the others.

I've put AVG on literally hundreds of machines and Symantec Corp on a couple hundred. Never had any problems that were VIRUS related.

Run Untangle behind a good firewall (pfsense) and you won't have any problems, even if you are dumb enough to click on that "free coupon" ad.
 
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Another option that isn't even mentioned here is Sunbelt Software's Vipre. It is available in both a consumer and an enterprise version. It is the newest anti-virus/spyware/rootkit on the market and lets you run even deep scans without slowing down your computer. Do a search for Vipre (spelled that way) and you will see what I mean. Also for $49.95 you can get a home site license good for up to 10 computers at one address.
 
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I looked and tested 2 years ago 7 of the alleged best anti-virus and any spyware packages and none have touched PCTools Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus. It stays the most current. For the price of one package you get three licenses. Up to the point of getting the PCtools package I got occasional spyware or a trojan horse or some mean as worm. That all stopped after Spyware Doctor. Tom! Want to try looking at all the packages next time sir?
 

plimkh

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This is CRAZY!! Just this morning, Kaspersky and Norton Internet Security systems with the latest virus signatures could not detect Win32:Walivun and were compromised. A Avast 4.8 Home (FREE) managed to detect and quarantine it. Always had the greatest respect for TOMS hardware until now.
 

hustler539

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I jumped off the AVG bandwagon long time ago after seeing a site with unbiased tests done on several anti-virus programs. AVG didn't do too well and I was tired of the slow scans as well. Jumped on Avira ever since and been using that for a few years now and it's the best I ever used. Also their file scanner is called Luke Filewalker, which I thought was kinda funny :p
 

isamuelson

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[citation][nom]Anonymous[/nom]Why not review Kaspersky Internet Security, instead of just the Antivirus, when the Internet Security package for other brands were reviewed?Also, The KAV Internest Securitiy is $54.99 at Walmart. The review stated it was double.I seriously have my doubts and found myself shaking my head after reading the reviews for several of the products in here.[/citation]

I totally agree. Kaspersky has been great for me and based on their review, I supposedly paid $100 for KIS. Nope. With a coupon, I've been getting it close to the Walmart price online.
 

bunz_of_steel

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I use AVAST and it rocks! constantly catching viruses as I visit all the hack sites and downloads. hee hee sorry CEO$. NIS drains system resources unless u use corp edt. Mcaffee suuuuukkkkka major! Gets walked on by virtually any and all viruses out there. This review sounds like it's bought and paid for allright. AVast rulez!
 
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Worst review ever.

No mention of the Avira popup that comes up EVERY DAY unless you buy it. No mention of the Avast! awesome boot time scan. Assertion that text files can harbor viruses.

I rate Tom's Hardware inferior to every one of their competitors in every way.
 

xpont8

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avira antivir. great protection (even superior than paid antivirus subscription) but light on you systems hard drive. best thing about it is.. it's FREE! i love it.
 
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So, they checked alot of things concerning interface and how the programs tests for threats.
What I do not see however is a test of which viruses they actually find in the filter; which one they have databased. My last virus-scanner let several viruses in that my next scanner (Avast) detected.
 
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