Top 10 antivirus software

PCWorld Magazine conducted testing, evaluating and ranking 10 latest antivirus programs in 2006.

The testing team evaluated and ranked these antivirus software based on virus detection and removal, graphical interface, price and technical support. In the virus scanning test, there were two heuristic test rounds: using actual virus samples and zoo test: using virus samples created by the test team themselves. Below is a list of the top antivirus software ranked in the top down order.

1. BitDefender 9 Standard

BitDefender 9 Standard is inexpensive, easy to use, effective against viruses, worms and trojans . voted by PC World magazine as the best antivirus software.

Achieving the highest performance, BitDefender 9 achieved the best score while heuristics tests. Detecting 43% of worms and 57% of backdoor programs. The software also achieved the highest score with viral samples created by the experimental group (zoo test), with 93% detecting worms, backdoor programs, and trojans.
Bit Defender 's interface is simple and neat. The General Information tab provides basic information about the last system scan and software updates. Real-time information is located in the Antivirus and Update tab, you can access it on the left side of the screen.

2. McAfee VirusScan 2006

McAfee VirusScan 2006 offers good virus scanning at acceptable prices. McAfee VirusScan 2006 ranked second 10 out of 10 due to its stability and no error in any case. This software ranked 4th in virus scanning capability, worked very well in actual virus testing, and ranked 3rd in scanning speed and ranked 6th in detecting malware in the zoo test .

The software has a simple interface, through a single central interface. However, this interface tends to solicit, encouraging the use of other McAfee products, which can be frustrating for users who want to use VirusScan only. Moreover, McAfee's telephone support is also quite expensive, 3 USD / minute.

McAfee VirusScan has good virus scanning capabilities and powerful features, but with just 15 minutes of phone call technical support you have enough money to buy the license of this software!

3. Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0's interface is unfriendly and confusing, but its ability to detect and remove viruses is very good.

Kaspersky is the only product in 10 tested products that can detect up to 99% of backdoor programs, viruses, and trojans. The software also offers the fastest updates of virus patterns, and security vulnerabilities. During the testing period, Kaspersky Lab released updates after just 2 hours after detecting security vulnerabilities. Kaspersky ranked fourth in the heuristic test.

4. F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006

F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006 is a good product that provides detection and removal tools for viruses, worms and trojans. However, the user interface should also be more focused.

F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006 ranked 4th out of 10 products with the ability to detect up to 98% of worms (backdoor), 99% of bots and 96% of trojans . In the heristic test, this product ranked second 3 with 35% deep and 55% backdoor.

Although high performance, the interface is too simple. Just click on the Virus & Spy Protection button on the left side of the main window, the configuration and options will be expanded. However, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006 has an interface that is not really diverse and attractive, but this simplicity makes it easy to manipulate.

5. Norton Antivirus 2006

Norton Antivirus 2006 provides a good, friendly interface, but the product is only ranked 5th in terms of performance.

While conducting the test, Norton AntiVirus is only 6th in terms of virus scanning capabilities. Meanwhile, the test was carried out in zoo test only average result.

The software also includes antispyware (spyware), which provides features that most other antivirus products do not have, for example: the ability to scan messages. If PC protection is against spyware, adware and other types of attacks, this software is a good choice. The price of $ 40 is moderate even though the price will not include telephone support.

Norton Antivirus starts and runs very easily, works quite well and provides useful pop-up alerts. Symantec provides alerts to identify threats, allowing users to know what activities they need to perform. If users want more information, they can click on the link below to see details about alerts at Symantec's homepage.

6. Panda Titanium 2006

Panda Titanium 2006 combines both antivirus and antispyware software. Virus scan results are only average, and lack of basic tools such as scheduled scanning. Moreover, the price of the product is relatively expensive, 50 USD, users can find better anti-virus program but the price is cheaper. This product has a small difference compared to Panda Platinum 2006 Internet Security, which is not integrated firewall.

Panda Titanium 2006 ranked 5 out of 10 virus scanning software, and ranked 7th out of 10 in detecting and destroying viruses. However, the scanning speed of the program is remarkable, only 1 minute 46 seconds, the fastest compared to other products.

7. AntiVir Personal Edition Classic 6.32

AntiVir is free antivirus software, but when compared to other antivirus programs, AntiVir is only average.

AntiVir provides a neat and easy to use user interface. However, AntiVir also lacks some features such as the ability to scan emails and attachments, and the ability to quarantine infected files. AntiVir also lacks telephone support, like all other free antivirus software.

Of the 10 products, AntiVir is ranked at an average level, but it is still the best free antivirus software anyway. AntiVir can detect up to 90% of the test viruses in zoo test. However, when testing in the heuristic test, this software stood near the bottom of the table, only "capturing" 25% of the depth and backdoor program. AntiVir 's scanning speed is also quite good, ranked 4/10.

AntiVir lacks some features, and lacks phone support. However, the new version of AntiVir promises to launch an entirely new interface and antivirus mechanism.

8. Alwil Software's Avast Home Edition 4.6

Avast Home Edition 4.6 is free antivirus software, has an attractive interface like a music player, but the virus scanning capability is in the "top" of the bottom of the table.

Just like the interface can change skins for music players, Avast also allows users to customize skins. New users may be embarrassed with these interfaces, but the familiar users are quite attractive and have no problems.

Unfortunately, Avast's virus scanning capability is not as great as the interface. This software scans the worst of the test software. In testing with real virus samples, the software ranked 3rd "bottom up", and the virus scanning time was the slowest with more than 13 minutes 11 seconds in the test.

9.Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2006

Trend Micro 's PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 was voted No. 1 antivirus software in 2004. But in this test, the product ranked 9/10.

However, the interface of PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 is the best among 10 software. Just click on the icon on the left side of the interface screen, users can configure and customize the interface to their liking.

Except for the beautiful and close interface, PC-cillin 's scanning capabilities are very poor. For example: In the experiment with the virus samples in zoo test, the software did not kill any virus samples. Worse, this product is also at the bottom of the table in testing with real virus samples. Other antivirus software can detect more than 50% of viruses but Trend Micro can only detect 6% of virus samples.

10.Grisoft's AVG Antivirus Free Edition

Although no free anti-virus software ranks high, Grisoft's AVG AntiVirus Free Edition ranks at the bottom of the table, including the interface to virus scanning capabilities and capabilities.

The main interface only provides three options: Scan Computer , Scan Selected Areas and Check for Updates . Moreover, useful features such as scheduled scanning are available only in the Pro version (not free).

In the virus scanning test, the AVG Free Edition ranked 9/10 (Avast is the bottom of the table). While AVG Free Editon can "capture" almost 100% of the viruses in the test sample in zoo test, but only scan 65% of the Trojans. But when experimenting with actual virus samples, the software only detected 11% of worms and 8% of trojans.

Minh Phuc