My Review :
GOLD
KASPER-SKY ANTI VIRUS
Ease of Use:
In the past, Kaspersky had issues with their interface and the ease of use associated with it. They have listened to their customers over the years and changed the interface to rival others on the market. Now, simplicity is key within Kaspersky Antivirus. Kaspersky's main menu screen is split into different sections depending on what you would like to accomplish. Protection, Scan, Update, Reports and Data Files, and Support are listed on the left side of the screen with the options pertaining to each in a sub menu or on the right-hand side of the screen. There are also advanced options available through a settings option at the bottom of the screen.
Effectiveness:
Kaspersky Antivirus is one of the most advanced products on the market for virus scanning. Its on-access scanner is extremely fast and doesn't cause any noticeable slowdown of the computer while performing regular tasks such as browsing the web or writing documents or even higher end tasks such as transferring and moving files. The on-demand scanner within Kaspersky Antivirus is very fast as well. Another plus with Kaspersky is its light footprint on your system resources. Memory usage is minimal during the on access scanning times as well as on demand scanning. During a system scan, we noticed about 55MB of memory usage on average with up to 30% CPU usage.
Updates:
Kaspersky Antivirus checks for updates every hour by default. There are other programs out there that also do this but Kaspersky takes it to a new level because of the speed that they respond to outbreaks and release updates. If there is a major outbreak, Kaspersky Labs has an average update release time of less than 2 hours. This is the fastest of any antivirus company at this time.
Feature Set:
Features included with Kaspersky Antivirus are some of the most complete in the market. Beyond protecting your files and email from viruses, Kaspersky Labs took this a step further. They included a scanner that will check all the web pages you visit for viruses as well. This feature is especially useful for people that use Internet Explorer as their web browser due to the history of security holes related to viruses in the Internet cache your computer stores.
Kaspersky Antivirus also includes a registry protector called Registry Guard. This will prevent any unwanted changes to your computer registry.
We were especially impressed with the reporting features included with Kaspersky Antivirus. There are reports available for each scan that is done as well as "live" reports that are generated on the fly for several portions of the program that are scanning all the time.
Ease of Installation:
The installation of Kaspersky Antivirus is extremely simple and posed no problems for us. A single reboot was required to complete the installation.
Help/Support:
Kaspersky Labs offers several support options to help keep your system in top shape. Direct email support, support forums, phone support as well as an impressive FAQ are all available.
Summary:
Antivirus programs are a dime a dozen. Kaspersky makes nearly all of them look like a futile attempt at hanging with the big dogs. Many times Kaspersky has been awarded certification from top organizations such as ICSA and WCL, as well as receiving the TopTenREVIEWS Silver award multiple times. What this all comes down to is that the hard work Kaspersky puts into their products provides us with some of the most elite protection available. Whether you are just a novice or are dining with the digital elite, Kaspersky Antivirus is a great choice to protect your computer from the dark side of the Internet.
Screen shots:
http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/scrn/1884-kaspersky-lg1.jpg
http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/scrn/1884-kaspersky-lg10.jpg
SILVER
BIT DEFENDER
Ease of Use:
Softwin has covered all of the bases with BitDefender. This comprehensive product has an attractive, easy–to–use design that is consistent throughout the software and the manufacturer’s website. Because it is simple to use and updates itself automatically, you can install it on your system, then practically forget it’s there—an ideal solution for any user.
BitDefender has an option to display a small window called the “File Zone” on your desktop that indicates how many files the program has scanned in the past few minutes. You can also drag and drop files into the File Zone for an immediate scan. The program prepares a report of each completed scan so you know exactly what your files do or do not contain and you can instruct BitDefender to disinfect or remove any infected files or messages.
You can also customize BitDefender’s security settings for features such as AntiVirus, Antispam, Antispyware and Parental Control.
Effectiveness:
BitDefender’s customizable settings make the program effective for a variety of users. For example, if you receive legitimate commercial email, you can set BitDefender’s spam filters to allow specific or all emails.
Virus Bulletin rated BitDefender a VB100%, the highest honor for anti–virus software.
The VB 100% logo is awarded to anti–virus products that detect all current “in the wild” viruses during both on–demand and on–access scanning in Virus Bulletin’s comparative tests.
Additionally, BitDefender passed the ICSA 2007—a similar test that certifies the software can detect viruses, prevent virus replication, and doesn’t generate false positives.
Updates:
The live update feature checks for product and virus definition updates at either a user–defined interval, manually or default (every hour). When you do a manual check for updates, you can decide which updates to install. When the software automatically checks for updates, it can update the files immediately or at a specified time that you can determine during setup.
Feature Set:
BitDefender creates a summary log of events that shows the last definitions updates, details on any virus the software encounters, the last time you ran a scan, definitions number and more. And new in 2008, Bitdefender has added a Gamer Feature so it won't interrupt you during intense gaming.
BitDefender’s startup guard will tell you if a program is trying to load itself upon start up so you can choose to allow it or not. This software suite also comes with adware and spyware detectors. Though we recommend using an antispyware scanner, as they are designed specifically for this purpose, it is nice to have two programs working towards a common goal, to keep your computer clean.
Ease of Installation:
Installation of BitDefender is a snap. Uninstalling BitDefender was easy as well. We did find some leftover registry entries and directories after the uninstall completed though.
Help/Support:
When you purchase BitDefender you also receive one year of virus signature and scan engine updates. The manufacturer offers qualified technical support live via the Internet and telephone.
There is also an online database with answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and they have an email address–they answered our email within 6 hours. An online forum is also available on the BitDefender support site.
Summary:
BitDefender is easy to use, simple to install, has a great feature set and at $24.95, it won’t break your bank account. Anyone who spends time on the Internet knows the importance of anti–virus software; BitDefender will keep your computer virus–free and running smoothly.
Screen Shots:
http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/scrn/1883-bitdefender-lg1.jpg
http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/scrn/1883-bitdefender-lg2.jpg
BRONZE
NOD32
Ease of Use:
ESET NOD32 Antivirus is a changed product. The base features are extremely simple and easy to use while still being effective. The redesigned interface includes a menu on the left with sub options on the right. Several options exist in the sub options to assist in "drilling down" to what you wish to do.
There is little or no base configuration needed to get the NOD32 Antivirus working after install. If you do require custom configurations though, you have a simple advanced configuration menu that gives you all the options needed to customize NOD32 to your specific needs.
Effectiveness:
ESET NOD32 Antivirus is very effective in detecting and cleaning viruses from your computer. The on-demand scanner is fast and effective while still allowing you to do other things on your computer during the scan. The on-access scanner is almost behind the scenes compared to many other options out there. The only time you will notice what it is doing is when it detects a threat.
Updates:
The standard update cycle for ESET NOD32 Antivirus is once a day if needed. They have the ability to "push" updates if there is a significant threat though.
Their response times for new threats are very fast ranging from 1 to 4 hours depending on the threat.
Feature Set:
Included with ESET NOD32 Antivirus are several layers of protection. Antivirus scanning includes integrated real time email protection, web access protection as well as a rootkit scanner and a spyware scanner. All of these features are included and integrated into the on demand scanner. The email protection included with NOD32 integrates directly with MS Outlook and any standard POP3 email client. It surprisingly doesn't include IMAP scanning. This shouldn't be an issue for most people though since POP3 is by far the most used email protocol in use today for local email clients.
Also included to make this version of NOD32 Antivirus much more effective is the ThreatSense engine. ThreatSense is a system developed