Normally, it's difficult to jump into these "which is best" debates on security software. It always seems that what works well for one, may be less than effective for another. I've seem pro and con debates on almost every major AV/malware program.
That said, there are organizations that test the "current effectiveness" of programs and publish this data. One of the principal sites is
AV Compararatives. This used to be open access, but now (I believe), you have to register (free) to view the lastest reports/comparatives. The last complete report was Nov. 2006, I believe.
Another decent source of 3rd party data is:
Virus Bulletin - you have to register here too, I believe.
These "groups" test current popular AV Programs using the lastest know threats (not old, known viruses). I recall that frequently a program will "fail" (must catch all) because the tests were ran just hours before the definitions and patches/updates were issued. Doesn't mean the program is junk, just that they may have been "slow" to update that testing period. if you don't visit malicious sites (porn, etc), then you would probably be ok.
Keep in mind that no AV solution scores 100% everytime (as I recall). There is this thing refered to as
zero-day exploits. Essentially, this is an exploit (vulnerability) discovered on day 1 - often exposed by hackers and revealed by a new virus "in the wild". These exploits haven't been "patched" yet and definitions are hours or days away. These are the ones that effect most security conscious "surfers". It's hard for AV companies to keep up with this every growing and evolving sophistication (as malicious as it may be).
I have found that no single AV solution should be counted on for complete protection for some of the above reasons. I personally scan with 3 AV programs. I use Avast (no slowdown here) as a resident AV shield. I scan regularly with
BitDefender Free On-Line Scanner and
Trend Micro’s HouseCall - a UK based scanner that lets you scan with Java (Firefox). BitDefender is Active-X based and requires IE. It's slow, but excellent at catching "packers" (compressed files) that contain harmful code that others miss.
I need to mention that I have an on-line friend and acquaintance that is a security expert.
Donna Buenaventura has her own security web site and is a Moderator at C|Net. She regularly participates at other security sites.
Donna conducted this AV comparative in August that showed that AVG (for those using it) only caught 8 out of 140 known malware files. Avast was 2nd best, with a Kaspersky product, "Active Virus Shield" (available thru AOL
🙁 ) detecting 157 of 170. Tells me that I'll always seek a "second" opinion (or third).
See Donna's Test here - need to register.
Nothing I've said above even touches the growing nuisances of spyware/ad-ware. Many good programs out there - and many more bad ones. A good source of info on Spyware is
Eric Howes's Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites - now hosted at
Spyware Warrior's forums
It's a good reference source for selecting anti-spyware programs - and especially avoiding the ones that are, in fact, malicious in themselves.
Personally, I use Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, Ad-Aware (scanner only), Webroot's Spy Sweeper (excellent!), Pest Patrol, CounterSpy (seems to be "slacking" lately), a HOSTS file, and several custom blocking lists. And I'm not sure I've touched them all here.
Hopefully, I've shed some light on what many see as a problem with any single AV/malware solution - they all are vunerable. And there are decent sources of information for those who want to look into this farther. I warn you, it's a "rabbit hole" ...
For those that wipe drives often and re-install, this cleans up a lot of sins - I don't do this so I scan often.
One last point, some of the newer and more clever malicious programs "hook into" windows system files and drivers. This makes them almost impossible to delete in normal mode. In these instances, I use safe mode with networking to access the on-line scanners (only!). I have found that, as slow as safe mode is, it is an effective way to delete malicious files that can't be deleted any other way.
Hope this helps ... my 2¢ worth
One last note - PM Fredi and "demand" that he set up a "Security Software" forum in Software! So far, we don't have one and my requests have been ignored.
Edit: I also use Zone Alarm and a wireless G router (hardware firewall). The router screws up bittorrent d/l's but not much else.
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