[BlackBlade]

Antivirus

The following antivirus programs were reviewed (in no particular order):

• Avira AntiVir Personal Classic
• alwil avast!
• Grisoft AVG
• ClamAV and Clam Win
• F-Secure Anti-Virus
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus
• Panda Security Antivirus 2008
• Panda Security Online Active Scan
• Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2008
• McAfee VirusScan Plus

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Avira AntiVir Personal Classic – AntiVir is one of the most popular free anti-virus programs. From the parent company Avira, AntiVir is a British based program that allows users to download and use the anti-virus program for free. Their program acts like any other anti-virus program with real-time protection, scanning, and updates.


alwil avast! - avast! (and that is not a typo) is another popular free anti-virus program out there. It is free for personal home use, and also spouts real-time protection, scanning, email protection of both webmail and POP3/IMAP emails, updates, IM protection, automatic updates, and WiFi protection. It is considered “light weight” and also includes VRDB (the Virus Recovery Database) Generator, which ensures that your anti-virus protection is running at 100%.


Grisoft AVG - AVG, by Grisoft, is the most used free anti-virus program on the Internet. It has a strong user base with over 60 million users. Like avast, this also scans emails, however it lacks webmail protection. Grisoft is prompt in releasing new security updates. Even there is no direct support, there is a large community for support.


ClamAV and Clam Win - Both of these free programs were reviewed as one because they share the same backbone. ClamAV is primarily a server email scanner or professional email scanner. Clam Win is a port of ClamAV for use on the Windows operating system. Both of these programs are supported by an independent group of users and software coders. Generally, anti-virus updates are quick and efficient. This software works on Linux, OS X, and Windows with equal protection on all three systems.


F-Secure Anti-Virus – F-Secure is an “up and coming” anti-virus company with a surprisingly good record. This pay-for software is known for the quick turn-around of anti-virus protection. This also monitors the “core” of your computer to make sure that the internal necessary files are not altered. It has real-time protection, scanning and email protection.


Kaspersky Anti-virus – Kaspersky is another pay-for anti-virus program. This program boasts that it has the best protection and most positively identified malware pieces. It monitors your computer for any malicious activity, and can roll back any changes made by malware programs. They also boast to have a great turn around time for new anti-virus updates, (Zero-Day). It has real-time protection, scanning and email protection, IM protection, automatic updates, and WiFi protection.


Panda Security Antivirus 2008 – Panda Security is another newer company joining the security race. Panda boasts great support and fast anti-virus updates. This one program also includes AntiSpyware, AntiPhishing, and AntiRootkit software for one price. The programs can be slight memory users, but this should be fine for newer computers. Panda adds new virus definitions daily, and protects with real-time protection, scanning, automatic updates, and email protection.


Panda Security Online ActiveScan – This program is not really a full protection suite, but rather an online virus scanner and remover. This scanner installs an ActiveX controller on your computer and allows it to scan and disinfect your computer via the Internet. This does not provide real-time protection.


Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2008 – One of the two “big name” home security companies, Symantec's Norton is usually bundled with computers and sold at large retailers. Due to their large size, they have greater support capabilities than some of the other company's listed here. This program is also able to block spyware (through an extra add-on) but not remove it. Norton has real-time protection, scanning and email protection, along with automatic updates.


McAfee VirusScan Plus – Another “big name” home security company, McAfee's VirusScan Plus is a bundled piece of software that claims to protect you from virus, spyware, and hackers. They have a large support system as well, though it is difficult to even find a phone number to call them. This program is sometimes bundled with new computers and can be found in any large retailer.