I have long since given up on Symantec’s Norton Antivirus and McAfee. These guys used to be the top dogs but now add so much bloatware that their efforts to keep your machine clean can greatly degrade performance. I often clean machines of viruses and spyware. I am good and I enjoy it. I usually encourage people to go with Avast or AVG as their antivirus of choice. Ryan at CyberNet Technology News alerts us that Virus.gr has ranked the leading antivirus solutions. Be sure to check out the comments Ryan is receiving. Click More to see the list.
- Kaspersky version 6.0.0.303 – 99.62%
- Active Virus Shield by AOL version 6.0.0.299 – 99.62%
- F-Secure 2006 version 6.12.90 – 96.86%
- BitDefender Professional version 9 – 96.63%
- CyberScrub version 1.0 – 95.98%
- eScan version 8.0.671.1 – 95.82%
- BitDefender freeware version 8.0.202 – 95.57%
- BullGuard version 6.1 – 95.57%
- AntiVir Premium version 7.01.01.02 – 95.45%
- Nod32 version 2.51.30 – 95.14%
- AntiVir Classic version 7.01.01.02 – 94.26%
- ViruScape 2006 version 1.02.0935.0137 – 93.87%
- McAfee version 10.0.27 – 93.03%
- McAfee Enterprise version 8.0.0 – 91.76%
- F-Prot version 6.0.4.3 beta – 87.88%
- Avast Professional version 4.7.871 – 87.46%
- Avast freeware version 4.7.871 – 87.46%
- Dr. Web version 4.33.2 – 86.03%
- Norman version 5.90.23 – 85.65%
- F-Prot version 3.16f – 85.14%
- ArcaVir 2006 – 83.44%
- Norton Professional 2006 – 83.18%
- AVG Professional version 7.1.405 – 82.82%
- AVG freeware version 7.1.405 – 82.82%
- Panda 2007 version 2.00.01 – 82.23%
- Virus Chaser version 5.0a – 81.47%
- PC-Cillin 2006 version 14.10.1051 – 80.90%
- VBA32 version 3.11.0 – 79.12%
- ViRobot Expert version 4.0 – 76.22%
- UNA version 1.83 – 75.44%
- Rising AV version 18.41.30 – 73.60%
- Sophos Sweep version 6.0.2 – 69.48%
- Ikarus version 5.19 – 63.22%
- Antiy Ghostbusters version 5.1.3 – 61.55%
- Digital Patrol version 5.00.12 – 54.29%
- Vexira 2006 version 5.002.45 – 52.66%
- V3Pro 2004 version 6.1.1.2.640 – 52.38%
- Ewido Premium version 4.0.0.172 – 51.27%
- Ewido freeware version 4.0.0.172 – 51.27%
- ClamWin version 0.88.4 – 51.23%
- E-Trust version 7.2.0.0 – 50.36%
- ZoneAlarm with VET Antivirus version 6.5.722.000 – 44.65%
- A Squared Anti-Malware version 2.0 – 43.28%
- A Squared Free version 2.0 – 43.28%
- Zondex Guard version 5.4.2 – 41.73%
- Comodo version 1.0.0.4 – 41.02%
- Solo 4.0 version 3.1.0 – 40.83%
- Protector Plus version 7.2.H03 – 37.04%
- Quick Heal version 8.00 – 33.66%
- PC Door Guard version 4.2.0.35- 24.13%
- AntiTrojan Shield version 2.1.0.14 – 24.11%
- VirIT version 6.1.9 – 21.39%
- Trojan Hunter version 4.2.924 – 13.44%
- Trojan Remover version 6.5.1 – 8.00%
- Tauscan version 1.70.1414 – 7.70%
- The Cleaner version 4.2.4319 – 6.03%
- Hacker Eliminator version 1.2 – 1.70%
- Abacre version 1.4 – 0.00%
Some antivirus software uses hueristics. "What are heuristics: They analyze the code of each file with generic methods and detect new viruses that have not yet been included in the virus database of the antivirus software."
- Nod32 2.51.30 – 41503
- Vba32 3.11.0 – 32911
- VirIT 6.1.9 – 16469
- AVG 7.1.405 Professional – 13624
- AVG 7.1.405 freeware – 13624
- Rising AV 18.41.30 – 12214
- McAfee 10.0.27 – 10708
- Ikarus 5.19 – 7191
- F-Prot 6.0.4.3 beta – 6247
- Ukrainian National Antivirus 1.83 – 5506
- ArcaVir 2006 – 4987
- Digital Patrol 5.00.12- 4760
- Panda 2007 2.00.01- 4191
- Norton 2006 Professional – 4004
- Trojan Hunter 4.2.924 – 3766
- AntiVir 7.01.01.02 Premium – 3697
- AntiVir 7.01.01.02 Classic – 3594
- Dr. Web 4.33.2 – 3575
- Norman 5.90.23 – 3272
- F-Prot 3.16f – 2493
- McAfee Enterpise 8.0.0 – 991
- Sophos Sweep 6.0.2 – 869
- BullGuard 6.1 – 511
- BitDefender 8.0.202 freeware – 511
- AntiTrojan Shield 2.1.0.14 – 386
- BitDefender 9 Professional – 353
- ZoneAlarm 6.5.722.000 with VET Antivirus – 124
- PC Door Guard 4.2.0.35 – 52
- eScan 8.0.671.1 – 45
- Comodo 1.0.0.4 – 0
- Quick Heal 8.00 – 0
Be sure to check virus.gr for more information including detailed test results.
We use AVG in the office and you can download AVG Free (avgfree.com, I think) for home use.
I’ve been running NOD32 after deciding Kaspersky sucked up too much resources. Yes, I’ve also been spotted with no A/V for long amounts of time. Say what you will, Doug.
What kind of “bloatware” does McAfee install without my knowledge? I have McAfee at home and the office (no choice there) and have been quite satisfied, not noticing any appreciable system degradation either place..
My bloatware reference was in regard to their security suite and the method by which they provide updates. I have one client that won’t pay to renew the updates but still uses their firewall but daily clicks the link that requires a username and password to login for the updates.
The bloatware comment is more targeted to Norton. I cleaned a machine once and it was running well. I installed the Norton Security Suite and the machine became almost unusable. In researching the problem, I found it was common. As for McAfee, I am biased against their user interface.
i also hate norton 2004 and 2005 with a passion. i will install 2003 if necessary. Mcafee I refuse to use. Norton 2005 I will reformat a hard drive to remove (trust me its the only way) I dont use a virus scanner at all now – havent had a virus for over a year! but we do live behind a linux firewall and i use spam assassin on my mail server
FREE AVG.
FREE AVG.IFIND IT GREAT FOR THE HOME.
FREE AVG.I FIND IT GREAT FOR THE HOME.
Barry, if you’re not noticing any degradation with with McAfee, then it might be time to give something else a try … seriously. 😉
My three biggest complaints about Norton & McAfee is they both suck the life out of your system (and continue to until an arduous MANUAL uninstall — neither company can write an uninstaller that actually works), neither update as frequently as they should, and they run on unsecured RPC services — and can be disabled without you even noticing.
When testing Enterprise antivirus for the public sector, Sophos proved to be an ungodly fast scanner, and it’s unfortunate that so few companies know anything about it. My complaint with it, however, is that updates are a bit of a chore… and it’s not inexpensive. And thus, I ended up pushing Avast Pro-Netclient Edition (available with 10+ licenses). It’s nearly as fast as Sophos, updates from the master almost daily, and is flawless with its push-updates to the clients.
For home, I still use Avast Home Edition … it’s free, updates almost daily, and I haven’t had a problem with it since I started using it nearly five years ago.