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"With So Many Anti-Virus Programs Now Claiming to be the Best, Which One Should You Trust?"
We get asked the same questions everyday by my subscribers: "What is the best antivirus software?" and "How do I keep my PC safe on the internet today?"
At Buzz-PC.com, we understand how challenging it can be for the average person to keep their computer running smoothly. So not only has our team of computer security experts carefully reviewed each and everyone of the most recent antivirus programs, we have taken reviews from the top authority sites such as CNET.com, Amazon.com and PCMag.com to name a few and totaled up the results. Here are the top 10 antivirus programs as of right now.
If your looking for maximum protection for your computer make sure
to check out our 2009 antivirus
firewall software review.
#1 Cyberdefender Early Detection Center 2.0™
Includes:
Read our Cyberdefender Review or
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"The things I really liked that made this program orginal was the "Early Scam" and the "Early Moniter." At $29, the program offers decent protection for a reasonable price. Recommended." - BrightHub.com
"Really great at detecting and killing spyware.
Good at virus. Very easy on system resources."
- NewEgg.com
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#2 Paretologic Antivirus PLUS!™
ParetoLogic Anti-Virus Plus protects against viruses, malware, spyware. Will scan, clean and completely remove even the most deeply rooted viruses, spyware, adware, and even rootkits, which attempt to cover the tracks of potentially damaging malware. Will warn you and block malware-related websites. Protects against the drive-by-download.
We have been using Paretologic's Antivirus Plus for a few years now. In that time we have not had one instance of virus infestation. Antivirus Plus runs in the background and uses very little resources which as computer techs is very important to us. There is nothing more annoying than a fast computer running slower than it should because your antivirus program is bogging it down.
"...detection and complete removal of viruses." - Brothersoft.com
"Premium protection against a wide variety of dangerous threats. Thwarts viruses, spyware, malware and even rootkits." - SoftPedia.com
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#3 Norton Internet Security 2010™
Symantec's Norton Antivirus programs are probably the most well known antivirus programs available. This year they seem to have done something right as their Norton Internet Security 2010™ moved up our charts by 9 spots. If you saw our review of their 360 program last year you might remember that we were not impressed. It was overcomplicated bloat-ware to say the least. In 2010 they decided to get back to the basics and slimmed down their product accordingly.
"Norton Internet Security 2010 builds on the immense progress it made in last year's version, maintaining a low system profile while strengthening its security framework. It's not perfect, but even Symantec's detractors should check it out." - Cnet.com Editors Review (84%)
"Installing Norton, however, was a walk in the park. Symantec's one-click install had the suite updated and running on most systems in under four minutes. When it did hit problems, it solved them. In a couple of cases, it decided to run a preinstall scan and complete the installation after reboot. One proxy-based malware sample bollixes many installers; Norton detected its chicanery and offered to disable it. And when LiveUpdate failed on one system, the help system automatically suggested a fix; when I didn't respond right away, LiveUpdate offered live chat-based technical help. Wow!" - PCmag.com Editors Choice (90%)
Learn more about Norton Internet Security 2010™ HERE
#4 Kaspersky Internet Security 2010™
Last year Kaspersky's antivirus program was our top ranking program, however this year it only managed a fourth position due to a few changes in the way the program works along with the fact that it only caught 94.70% of the viruses during a recent AV-Comparatives.org test..
The most advanced Internet security software with premium protection from viruses, spyware hackers and spam. Also includes comprehensive identity theft and phishing protection, parental and privacy controls, and super fast performance.
"Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 is a full-featured security suite, and the 2009 version scored well on independent antivirus detection and removal tests. However, be prepared to pay a premium for what you're getting." - Cnet.com Editors Review (78%)
"On the surface, the latest security suite from Kaspersky Lab looks more polished than last year's edition, but the actual security features in Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 haven't changed much. That's not a bad thing; this suite has tons of features and the updated user interface makes them more visible and accessible." - PCmag.com Editors Review (70%)
Download Kaspersky's Internet Security 2010™ FREE
#5 Webroot Antivirus with Spy Sweeper™
This is the first time a Webroot antivirus program has cracked the top 5 for one of our reviews. Their top notch Antivirus & Antispyware program preformed well in our testing and the fact that it is one of the cheaper products helped out with its ranking this year.
Don't let the cheap price scare you on this product as it performed quite well overall in our testing and received favorable reviews.
"Most security vendors offer a range of products, from simple antivirus to sub-suite to a full-blown top-of-the-line security suite. Normally I just review the full suite. There aren't enough hours in the day to consider all the variations from each vendor separately. I have to make an exception for Webroot AntiVirus with AntiSpyware 6.0, the very best element of the Webroot Internet Security Essentials suite. Though the suite itself isn't outstanding, the malware-fighting component merits our Editors' Choice for standalone antispyware. It's definitely worth the $39.95 (direct) price tag." - PCmag.com Editors Choice (90%)
Download Webroot's Antivirus with Spy Sweeper™ FREE
Our Antivirus Software Test Setup
Antivirus programs are designed to detect and intercept harmful files downloaded to your computer. In order to monitor incoming files, however, antivirus programs--like all applications--need to use system resources. The degree to which an antivirus program detrimentally affects a system's performance varies from one application to another. I test three areas of antivirus application performance: how deep-file virus scanning impacts overall system performance, how quickly files can be scanned for viruses, and how system boot time is affected by the antivirus program. I also report on how effective the antivirus programs are at identifying viruses by putting them through a strict test and by citing the studies of established industry authorities.
Test environment
Antivirus software is tested on a desktop system with a 3.4GHz Pentium 4 550 processor, 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM running at 533MHz, an Nvidia GeForce 6600 PCI-Express graphics card with 256MB of memory, a 74GB Western Digital WD740 Raptor hard drive, and Windows XP Professional SP2 with the latest security updates installed. Once the antivirus software being tested is installed, I make sure the most recently available updates are installed, including the latest virus definitions. I test using the antivirus program's default settings.
System-performance impact test
Actively scanning a system for viruses can have an adverse affect on overall system performance, as the antivirus engine competes with other applications for system resources. When performing regular real-time scans, most of today's antivirus scan engines are sophisticated enough to relegate the additional overheard they introduce to the background and not significantly impact the performance of other applications. Performing deep scans, on the other hand, often requires enough of the available system resources for the antivirus engine to have a noticeable impact on the performance of other applications. Deep scanning is when the antivirus application scans every file located on all partitions found on each drive.
This set of tests is designed to measure how much performance degradation selected applications suffer when a deep scan is taking place. I first run the three tests listed below, before an antivirus application is installed. I then install the antivirus app and run the same tests again--this time while the antivirus program is performing a deep scan of the system.
iTunes MP3-encoding test
Using Apple's iTunes 6.0.1, we time how long it takes to convert 19 WAV files to 192Kbps MP3 files.
Sorenson Squeeze video-encoding test
Using Sorenson Squeeze 4.0.301.11, we time how long it takes to convert a 30-second DV AVI file to an MPEG-4 file.
Scanning speed test
Using the antivirus software being tested, we scan a 1.57GB folder of files that includes DLL, TXT, BMP, ZIP, WAV, and MIDI files ranging in size from 1KB to 8MB, and time how long this process takes to complete. The quicker it takes the antivirus program to scan the folder--relative to other antivirus applications--the more efficient the program is at scanning files.
Boot speed test
I then time how long the system takes to boot from a full powered-off state until Windows starts and the antivirus software finishes loading. The quicker it takes the system to finish booting and loading the antivirus program--relative to other antivirus applications--the less impact the app has on boot time.
Antivirus effectiveness
Last, but certainly not least, I test the effectiveness of the antivirus product by trying to eradicate a list of the top virus threats from the test computer. This list includes the top 3000 computer threats, spyware & computer viruses, according to techupdate.com. I also take note of the historical findings of the virus-scanning engine from the extensive testing of numerous industry experts, such as AV-Comparatives.org and Checkvir.com.
Antivirus
Test 2009 Conclusion
For the majority of our readers we would have to suggest Paretologic's Antivirus PLUS!™
- * Removed 100.00% of all threats from test computer
- * Complete package includes: antivirus, anti spyware & anti malware
- * Second place overall in scanning speed test
- * First place overall system performance impact test
- * Very easy to use
- * FREE anti-virus / anti-spyware threat scan
- * Free online technical support