Himangshu Himangshu

Top 10 Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware of 2006

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Top 10 Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware of 2006

A Review

http://hcp.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?SID=6843&AID=116286
from WinCustomize Forums
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
Good
Fair
Poor
Rank 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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 Daily 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 $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 Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail
Supported Configurations
Windows XP √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Windows 2000 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Windows ME √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √
Windows NT √ √ √
√

√ √ √
Windows 98 √ √ √ √ √ √
√
√
Windows 95






√
√
Rank 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TOP TEN PRODUCTS BitDefender Kaspersky F-Secure PC-cillin ESET
Nod32		 McAfee
VirusScan		 Norton
Antivirus		 AVG
AntiVirus		 eTrust
Antivirus		 Norman
Virus
BitDefender Kaspersky F-Secure Anti-Virus PC-cillin ESET Nod32 McAfee VirusScan Norton AntiVirus AVG AntiVirus eTrust EZ Antivirus Norman Virus Control

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


</tr>
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Rank 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Reviewer comments
Lowest price
*(annual price)		 $24.95*
 $29.99*
 $19.95*
 $29.95
 $29.99
 $29.95
 $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 NA 37,691 56,940 23,675 NA 36,254 NA 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 Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail Detail
Supported Configurations
XP √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
2000 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
98 √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √
95



√ √
√ √
NT √ √

√
√
√
ME √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √
Rank 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TOP TEN PRODUCTS Spy
Sweeper		 Spyware
Eliminator		 Counter
Spy		 Trend
Micro		 Anti
Spy		 Spy
Doctor		 Pest
Patrol		 Ad-aware
Pro		 Spyware
Begone		 McAfee
AntiSpy
Spy Sweeper 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software Aluria Anti-Spyware 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software CounterSpy 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software Anti-Spy 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software Spyware Doctor 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software PestPatrol 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software Ad-aware SE Pro 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software Spyware BeGone 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software McAfee AntiSpyware 2006 - Top Anti-Spyware Software

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

125,254 views 44 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
having now fully read all the reviews in the first table, i'm very glad i'm using NOD32...the review for BitDefender seems as if it were written by BitDefender's marketing team...

all the AntiVirus programs, apart from AVG, passed all the June 2005 VB100% and all the level 1& 2 Checkmarks from West Coast Labs., whatever they may be...

the only reason that NOD32 was marked 'down' was because
Nod32 is a first-rate antivirus program that offers several levels of superior protection. However, the product is somewhat hard to understand because of the technical jargon and wouldn't be our first choice for the average home user.


i don't mean this as a plug for NOD32, just that the review was written for 'the average home user' and it's worth probably downloading a few different trial antivirus programs and see which one suits you best...

on a side note, for me the most important thing is how much resident memory the programs use...it's very hard to find any info on this...my memory usage is

nod32krn.exe 20MB
nod32kui.exe 1.5MB

total 21.5MB

that's with the email scanner, file system moniter and internet moniter all running..

it would be interesting to see the figures from other products
Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've just switched from Norton Anti-virus 2002 to Bit Defender because I'd read it was top in the PC magazine.

With Norton this year they required a software update to 2006 instead of renewing the 2002 yearly subscription, so I decided to switch.

So far I really like Bit Defender....it has more updates and it caught two old trojans that I didn't even know I had on my computer. It's cheaper than Norton and my internet connection has speeded up...so I'm happy I switched!
Siege of Centauri
Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top
What about Spyware Blaster?
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Nothing from Norton will ever be on this machine again.

I can't put it more succinctly than that.

Literally YEARS of running Norton didn't find that old email attachment in my ancient PST file...so old it was via [email protected]  [provider is LONG gone - 3 years or so]....BitDefender found it...and removed it.

I'm still running the 'trial'...it took forever to do a thorough scan of my half million files [or there abouts] on 4 physical drives ....350 gig or so ...but I'm fairly confident it's all cleaner than it was...

Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Ive Tried pretty much every antivirus and spyware out there and they are all good, each with seperate strengths and weaknesses. Whichever antivirus you want depends on what your needs are:

1. If you want pure speed and performance: I suggest AVG Free
2. If you want #1 with good protection: I suggest NOD32
3. If you are one of those paranoid types that want the absolute best protection possible: I suggest Kaspersky
4. Bitdefender does everything REALLY good, but nothing exceptional
5. Avast free is good, but offers no scheduling
6. AntiVir took up 100% of my cpu straight on installation........
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Paul, I've always wondered how long it would take to scan 4 physical HDD's in RAID configuration along with having to defrag all that space as well....guess when you start you just leave everything running & hit the hay!!!
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top

guess when you start you just leave everything running & hit the hay!!!

Yep...

Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
How come no one mentioned Spybot???

Just wondering.
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Spybot S&D is average in detection (not great), offers minimal proctection, and makes actual files hard to delete manually

I have tried many Anti-Spy/Adware programs as well as antiviral programs, and in terms of anti-spyware:

The best in my opinion is Spy Sweeper, it has a very good detection rate, Updates frequently, and has good protection features
Ad-Aware has good scanning speed, but a mediocre detection rate
Spybot S&D isnt reccomended by me
Reply #35 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I've just downloaded and installed CounterSpy 1.5 trial. It has detected two keyloggers in my system. But, very soon as I reboot my computer in safe mode, to my surprise I found it running in safe mode. The third-party software can only run on demand in safe mode. But, it started running as a start up process. Look at the following pictures:

Click to enlarge Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge  
Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I bit the bullet and bought BitDefender 9 standard .... only 'odd' thing is once a scan completes the icon disappears from the tray...[though the processes are still running] [could be a LS issue].

...and after every signature/update it sets a restore point...and since it can update every hour it pays to keep an eye on just how many points are made....[bit overkill, really]...

Reply #37 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I bit the bullet and bought BitDefender 9 standard .... only 'odd' thing is once a scan completes the icon disappears from the tray...[though the processes are still running] [could be a LS issue].

...and after every signature/update it sets a restore point...and since it can update every hour it pays to keep an eye on just how many points are made....[bit overkill, really]...

Share your experiences with BitDefender support team.
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My anti-spyware strategy is using Firefox for everything possible, IE7 for the rest (mainly just Windows Update), and avoiding downloads that look like they might have sketchy origins. The only spyware I've ever had was when a roommate tried to load a pirated program on my computer. It wasn't even the program that did it, but the keygen program. SpywareBlaster also is a nice bit of preventative maintenance. I run Spybot and AdAware every now and then for fun, but they never find anything. As for antivirus, I get McAfee free from my university so i just use that. No problems yet in 3 years.
Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I bit the bullet and bought BitDefender 9 standard


I'm about to reformat, and am looking for a new AV prog. Would you recommend Bitdefender, Jafo?

What's the resource (memory) usage like?
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Norton 2006 screwed my computer. I had to reformat and now also looking for AV having to give up a 12 month subscription to Norton.

Jafo, what is your further experience with Bitdefender and did you manage to control restore point issues? After a time, accumulation of restore points can add up to a few gigs on the hard drive.
Reply #41 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Is it just me, or does it still say this post hasn't been responded to in 10 days...
Reply #42 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Bash2Cool gets responses. I can't even get lettering size to respond.
Reply #43 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Maybe it will update when using forums.wincustomize.com...

Edit: nope...

Anyone else seeing this problem in other threads?
Reply #44 from Stardock Forums Top
Before buying anything from Herman Street, I strongly suggest checking out their vendor reviews at ResellerRatings.com:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller11505.html