Top 10 Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware of 2006

A Review

Published on May 6, 2006 By Mithun Pal In Personal Computing

There are several reviews on Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware on the web. One I found at Top10Reviews.com.The review result is just as follows:

Top 10 Anti-Virus of 2006: A Review by Top10Reviews.com

	Excellent
	Very Good
	Good
	Fair
	Poor

Rank

Reviewer Comments

Overall Rating

Ratings

Ease of Use

Effectiveness

Updates

Feature Set

Ease of Installation

Help/Support

Features

ICSA 2005 Certified

√

VB100% 2005 Certified

√

W.C.L Level 1 Certified

√

W.C.L Level 2 Certified

√

Virus Defintions Updated (Average)

2-3 hours

hourly

1-10 Days

Daily

As Needed

Daily

Weekly

Daily

Scanning Time 80 GB HardDrive

20 Min

8 Min

35 Min

30 Min

24 Min

1 Hour

35 Min

24 Min

30 Min

35 Min

Scanning Capabilities

On-access Scanning

√

Realtime Scanning

√

On-demand Scanning

√

Scheduled Scanning

√

Heuristic Scanning

√

Manual Scanning

√

Adware/Spyware Scanning

√

Script Blocking

√

Scan Compressed Files

√

Auto-Clean Infected Files

√

Quarantines Infected Files

√

Email POP3 Protection

√

Instant Messaging Protection

√

P2P/File Sharing Protection

√

Registry Startup Protection

√

WebMail Protection

√

Detailed Virus Information

√

Updates

Yearly Subscriptions to Definition Updates

$14.97

$39.95

$24.95

$27.30

$34.95

$29.95

$33.30

$9.95

$39.95

Automatic Definition Updates

√

Automatic Program Updates

√

Manual Definition Updates

√

Manual Program Updates

√

Other Features

Online Virus Scanner

√

Estiamted Scan Time

√

History/Report logging

√

Password Protect Settings

√

Outbreak Notice

√

Technical Support

Live Chat

√

Phone Support

√

Manual/FAQ/Knowledge Base

√

Tutorials

√

User Forum

√

Email Support

√

Product details

Detail

Supported Configurations

Windows XP

√

Windows 2000

√

Windows ME

√

Windows NT

√

Windows 98

√

Windows 95

√

Rank

TOP TEN PRODUCTS

BitDefender

Kaspersky

F-Secure

PC-cillin

ESET
Nod32

McAfee
VirusScan

Norton
Antivirus

AVG
AntiVirus

eTrust
Antivirus

Norman
Virus

Top 10 Anti-Spyware of 2006: A Review by Top10Reviews.com

</tr>

	Excellent
	Very Good
	Good
	Fair
	Poor

Rank

Reviewer comments

Lowest price
*(annual price)

$24.95*

$29.99*

$19.95*

$29.95

$29.99

$29.95

$41.91

$39.95

$39.99

Overall Rating

Ratings

Feature Set

Effectiveness

Ease of Use

Customization

Ease of Setup/Installation

Help/Support

Features

Components that are Searched For

105,000+

36,000

37,691

56,940

23,675

36,254

38,996

Rollback/Restore Capabilities

√

Indicates Spyware Severity

√

Descriptions of Found Spyware

√

Scan Scheduling

√

Auto Updates

√

Tracking Cookie Blocking

√

Real-time Blocking and Protection

√

Scans Removable Media

√

Detection and Deletion Capabilities

Adware

√

Spyware

√

Keyloggers

√

Trojans

√

Active X Configuration

√

Scumware

√

Dialers

√

Malware

√

Data Mining

√

Parasites

√

Toolbars

√

Drive-By Download

√

Tracking Cookies

√

Spyware Registry Keys

√

Browser Hijackers/BHO's

√

Technical Support Available

Toll Free Phone

√

Built-in Application Help

√

Knowledge Base/FAQs

√

Forums/Email

√

Online Chat

√

Product Details

Detail

Supported Configurations

√

2000

√

Rank

TOP TEN PRODUCTS

Spy
Sweeper

Spyware
Eliminator

Counter
Spy

Trend
Micro

Anti
Spy

Spy
Doctor

Pest
Patrol

Ad-aware
Pro

Spyware
Begone

McAfee
AntiSpy

So, according to the review of Top10Reviews.com BitDefender and Spy Sweeper are the winners in the Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware section respectively. What's your decision? Want to go with the leader?

sources: source1, source2

Comments (Page 1)

George Rogers Jr

on May 07, 2006

Thx tons Mithun Pal for this information on AV/SW - Wonder if BitDefender ways heavily on system resources??? Alot of AV/SW apps really degrade system performance & speed...after uninstalling various AV software I've noticed a big speed boost like just after a fresh install of Win.Xp.

Mithun Pal

on May 08, 2006

Thx tons Mithun Pal for this information on AV/SW

Welcome George. BitDefender is a big surprise here. But, AVs like Norton & McAfee are performing far beyond their reputation. Though there are several opinions and reviews on AVs, but I think this review is enough reliable.

Mithun Pal

on May 08, 2006

Now here is one more review from PC World.

Rank	Antivirus software		Comments
#1 Best Buy	BitDefender 9 Standard
		Performance: Superior Ease of Use: Very Good Features: Very Good Price when ranked: $30 Vendor's Website	PCW Rating: 92 - Superior Inexpensive product received excellent scores in our performance tests, although its scan speed was sluggish. Full Review \| Test Report
2	McAfee VirusScan 2006
		Performance: Superior Ease of Use: Very Good Features: Very Good Price when ranked: $40 Full Specs	PCW Rating: 87 - Very Good Relatively good heuristics help VirusScan provide solid protection. Phone support costs $3 per minute. Full Review \| Test Report
3	Kaspersky Lab Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0
		Performance: Superior Ease of Use: Good Features: Good Price when ranked: $40 Full Specs	PCW Rating: 85 - Very Good Program had the fastest response to new malware outbreaks. Interface is clean but not exceptional. Full Review \| Test Report
4	F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006
		Performance: Superior Ease of Use: Good Features: Good Price when ranked: $40 Full Specs	PCW Rating: 83 - Very Good Solid performer responded quickly in tests and provides best breaking news on malware outbreaks. Full Review \| Test Report
5	Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2006
		Performance: Good Ease of Use: Very Good Features: Very Good Price when ranked: $40 Full Specs	PCW Rating: 80 - Very Good Veteren utility offers solid threat detection and a nice interface. Phone support costs $30 per incident. Full Review \| Test Report
6	Panda Software Panda Titanium 2006 Antivirus + Antispyware
		Performance: Very Good Ease of Use: Good Features: Very Good Price when ranked: $50	PCW Rating: 79 - Good This former Best Buy performed well, but not exceptionally, in our newest nonspyware tests. Full Review \| Test Report
7	AntiVir Personal Edition Classic 6.32
		Performance: Good Ease of Use: Good Features: Fair Price when ranked: Free> Vendor's Website	PCW Rating: 78 - Good AntiVir performed the best of the free programs, although it failed to clean several old macro viruses. Full Review \| Test Report
8	Alwil Software Avast Home Edition 4.6
		Performance: Fair Ease of Use: Very Good Features: Good Price when ranked: Free Vendor's Website	PCW Rating: 77 - Good Free product has a slick media-player-style interface that hides some features. Scan speed was slow in tests. Full Review \| Test Report
9	Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security Security 2006
		Performance: Fair Ease of Use: Superior Features: Good Price when ranked: $50 Full Specs	PCW Rating: 77 - Good Former Best Buy performed poorly in heuristics and zoo tests but has the best interface of the bunch. Full Review \| Test Report
10	Grisoft AVG Free Edition 7.1
		Performance: Fair Ease of Use: Fair Features: Fair Price when ranked: Free Vendor's Website	PCW Rating: 73 - Good Free program has subpar heuristics and one of the clunkier interfaces among the products we tested. Full Review \| Test Report

George Rogers Jr

on May 08, 2006

Himangshu, This is a super graph display comparison....I really appreciate you input!!

Jafo

on May 08, 2006

I discarded 12 months of new subscription when Norton actually destroyed 'bits' necessitating a re-install of SP2.

Since then it's been AVG [freeware]...but have been looking into paying for something that actually WORKS...and more often than not it's 'BitDefender' that gets the good write-ups.

There's a free ver, much like the free AVG [it seems]...but the purchased one isn't expensive anyway. I'm currently using the online scanner....and it's having fun...found itself a nasty in the pst ...slow as a wet week...looks like 70 minutes for my 'C' drive [20gig].

Full ver is a 30 day trial anyway...so looks like I'll go 'that way'...

liquidguru

on May 08, 2006

here's a link to a very detailed Antivirus comparison report, testing all aspects, including memory usage...

i've started using NOD32, which seems good, great detection rate and low memory use...it comes out very well in all tests:

Link

Mithun Pal

on May 09, 2006

Himangshu, This is a super graph display comparison....I really appreciate you input!!

Thanks George.

Himangshu (Mithun Pal)

Island Dog

on May 09, 2006

I'm happy with Trend Micro.

Mithun Pal

on May 09, 2006

NOD32, which seems good, great detection rate and low memory use...it comes out very well in all tests:

You've reffered to the following review:

The Antivirus Product Comparison: by

November 2004

So, it's enough old. I'm posting the latest one.

liquidguru

on May 09, 2006

So, it's enough old. I'm posting the latest one.

that's true enough...

i am, however, always a little wary of 'comparison' tests to pick a 'winner'...i think all the top 10 antivirus packages will offer adequate protection against threats, and at the end of the day it's down to personal preferences which one you pick...for another 'up-to-date' comparison, here's a link from AV Comparatives, who say they offer 'Independent comparatives of Anti-Virus software'. their latest tests are from Feb 2006.

Link

RisuShikyo

on May 09, 2006

Anyone heard of avast? It works better than anything else I've used* and its free.

Link

P.S: *that includes Norton And MacAfee

Lily Davis

on May 09, 2006

I agree with Risu Shikyo, I love AVAST !! It’s just superb, never had any problems with it, upgrades are done automatically, it’s just a great program. I’ve had it for many years and it performs much better than Norton, MacAfee and some others listed.

George Rogers Jr

on May 09, 2006

THX!!!

To everyone here posting comments & links...I really appreciate output from others having at least used many of these software AV/SW programs - the BEST indorsement of all!! I installed Panda Titanium once & couldn't BELIEVE the memory/system resorces it took from my PC - after uninstalling(I couldn't get all of it removed) it was like getting out of jail as far as performance went!

Mithun Pal

on May 10, 2006

THX!!! To everyone here posting comments & links.

Thanks from me also.

Mithun Pal

on May 10, 2006

Well one thing I must say, everyone is posting there comments on AVs. But, probably none has posted any comment on Anti-Spy.

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