Earlier this week AV-Test.org – a reputed antivirus software testing group, released the results of their latest Antivirus shootout. In this test only detection abilities were tested, not cleaning. Over 600,000 malware samples (which included backdoors, Trojan Horses, bots and worms) were used to test twenty nine software. The top ten performers were :
Software – Detection Rate
AVK 2007 – 99.56%
AntiVir – 99.42%
F-Secure – 97.93%
Symantec – 97.77%
Kaspersky – 97.64%
Fortinet – 97.06%
Avast! – 96.32%
AVG Anti-Malware – 96.15%
Rising – 96.02%
BitDefender – 95.68%
(Actually WebWasher was the top performer with a detection rate of 99.83% however I have ignored it because it is not available for desktops)
Detailed report is available here.
AVK and AntiVir emerged as the winners. In the most recent test carried out by Av-comparatives.org also they had performed very well. The Top Five based on the tests carried out by Av- Compratitives were Trustport, AVK, Antivir, F-Secure, and Kaspersky.
Recently, Virus.gr also had carried out their own antivirus shootout. I am not including those results here, as virus.gr is known to be unreliable. You can read my analysis on Virus.gr test results here.
G DATA AntiVirusKit (AVK) uses two of the best engines in the market – Kaspersky and Bitdefender. This explains its excellent performance. However, I am not a big fan of double engines since they are often resource hogs. AntiVir from Avira continues to impress. I have always considered Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic to be one of the best free antivirus software. But, based on these results it is safe to say that Avira is the best antivirus software – free or paid.
Most disappointing for me was Nod32’s performance. It is widely believed to possess the best engine. Its database has always been slightly weak, however I definitely expected it to detect more than 88.32% of the malware. Kaspersky’s performance also has dipped slightly in recent times. While Symantec delivered, other much hyped products like Microsoft One Care and McAfee fell flat. In fact they got beaten badly by Avast! and AVG. It should be noted here that freeware editions of Avira AntiVir and AVG would have got lower scores since they do not include spyware and adware protection.
Conclusion : Based mainly on the tests done by Av-test.org and Av-comparitives.org I recommend the following products :
Paid : i) Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium
ii) Kaspersky Antivirus
Free (for Personal Use) : i) Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
ii) AOL Antivirus Shield
How did your antivirus software perform? Are you satisfied with the product you are using?
I have been a fan of NOD32 ..
I tried avira n your saying .. interface and customizations SUCKS !
Might want to look at this too 🙂
NOD 32 🙂 yeaa !
Link removed by Admin since it violates terms of av-comparatives.org.
You should never choose an Antivirus Software based on interface. It’s the biggest mistake you can make. Note that NOD32 has never come in top 5 according to these tests.
NOD32 is good for pro users as it offers a lot of options. However, its interface can be terribly confusing for a novice.
In AntiVir by default most of the options are hidden. If you switch to expert mode more options are revealed. However, still its much simpler than NOD32.
That is retrospective test – not on demand. As I said NOD32 has one of the best engines. However, it has a relatively weak database.
Also, NOD32 was outperformed by AntiVir again.
Anti-Virus Shooyout from AV-Test org…
The AV – Test Org (Anti-Virus Test Organization) has just recently launched an anti-virus competition that involves the best anti-virus, spyware and bot detectors available.
The objective is to mak……
Thanks for this post.. Out to download AOL Shield.
Yes , Avira Antivir is real good .
Those people who complain abt the GUI/interface
probably bcoz they cant find any faults with it
or accept the fact that it has got better.
Good recommendation
LOL…I stay away from anything with AOL in it. I have a great hatred for AOL that dates back to troubleshooting their service over 10 years ago. And besides this comparison is not even valid anymore. AOL sheild is no longer distributed.
We’re Sorry!
AOL® Active Virus Shield is no longer available.
Looking for protection from viruses, spyware and hackers?
We are now offering McAfee® Virus Scan Plus-Special edition from AOL.
EWWW MCAFEEEE..JUST AS BAD AS AOL!
i personally think that if you want speedy pc then nod32 is ONLY choice. and if you want to focus on protection then Avira and Kaspersky is always best. But it takes a lot more memory than nod32.
Your have to choose. Speedy pc with less protection or Slow pc with more protection.
for more discussion….
http://instechgroup.blogspot.com/2010/01/feeling-stuck-with-antivirus.html
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