Tags: Top, Antivirus, Softwares, 2011.
1. VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware Score 96%
VIPRE may not yet have the brand recognition of some of the top names like Norton, McAfee, or Kaspersky, but that doesn't mean it doesn't do the job very, very well.
In our tests this year, a couple of competitors managed to gain ground on it, but VIPRE Antivirus still took first place for a second year in a row.
Each year our testing gets harder because with more viruses and other threats coming out every day, we retool our tests to take these new threats into account.
New tests mean new challenges for each antivirus program, and often our tests can help show that what may've worked last year, doesn't do the job this year.
We found the latest edition of VIPRE Antivirus is keeping up and is very much up to the task. In some cases, in fact, it offers protection, like against USB-based attacks, that most competitors don't.
So, when we'd finalized our scores, we found that for the second year in a row, VIPRE Antivirus came out on top, again winning our Editor's Choice.
2. BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 Score 94%
With their 2011 version, BitDefender remains one of the top antivirus programs, earning itself a top spot among the 2011 software we tested.
The only weak spot really worth mentioning is customer service, and it's not that their customer support is bad, rather, it's that VIPRE's is that good.
In terms of ability to protect a PC from viruses, spyware, and other malware threats, BitDefender consistently performed at the top of the pack, each time detecting, blocking, or removing the threats as needed.
The real-time protection, especially important when you're surfing the web, reading emails, or chatting on an Instant Messenger, was extremely accurate, blocking access to malicious web pages without putting extra drag on our test PCs.
It performed almost as well in manual virus detection, too, sniffing out and cleaning up the infected files we planted on our test computers.
After all the test scores were added up and the pros and cons reviewed, BitDefender once again proved it was one of the best antivirus software available.
3. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011
With a long history as an antivirus company, Kaspersky has always done well at the core aspects of virus protection; however, this year's version drops the ball in a couple of key areas.
Because of that, Kaspersky comes in third and misses out on moving higher in our rankings.
If you're looking for good virus prevention and detection, Kaspersky does a great job. The problem comes with the removal (remediation) process. That's not to say Kaspersky doesn't do a great job removing viruses, it does.
The problem is that the "Fix It" button in the interface gives you no confidence that what you've clicked on to happen has actually been done.
Most times we clicked it, the interface wouldn't respond. It wouldn't freeze. It just wouldn't do anything. And, we saw it again and again on each of the test PCs we used.
Here's where it gets even stranger: it worked sometimes. When or why it would work was anyone's guess. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
The end result is great antivirus software both for real-time protection and its ability to detect and remove viruses, marred by an interface that just doesn't inspire confidence it should.
Even still, its core abilities really are very good, so when we'd added the scores, Kaspersky came in a solid third for 2011.
4. AVG Anti-Virus Software 2011 Score 88%
Among the most popular antivirus software, AVG was among the most requested for us to review for 2011.
Quickly after getting our hands on the 2011 edition, we found AVG had created quite a good program.
Scoring near the top of our tests for both realtime virus protection and manual virus detection, it was effective at both preventing and cleaning virus infections.
Also a plus with AVG: telephone technical support. Depending on your needs, it's not always free, but it is there, which is more than most antivirus companies can say about their software.
In terms of things where AVG was lacking, neither the anti-spyware nor the anti-phishing were great. Likewise, we were disappointed to see AVG didn't automatically scan our USB keychain/thumb drives when we put them into our test PCs.
Even still, the positives of the software outweigh its few shortcomings, ultimately landing AVG near the top of our tests and comparison results.
5. avast Pro Antivirus Software 2011 Score 87%
Along with AVG, avast has been one of the antivirus applications we've gotten the most requests to review and as we learned, for good reason.
In its first year in our tests, it scored respectably and even aced out some better known products, including Norton and McAfee.
Given Norton's improvements for 2011, that's saying a lot for avast.
It won praise from us for its installer and interface, both of which are easy to like and easy to use, too. The same goes for its software and antivirus definitions updater, which proved better designed than most of the competition.
Its realtime protection and manual scanning, while not the best, were respectable.
Where did it fall short? Generally speaking, its scores ended up being good but not great. While it did score a couple of 90+ scores in some tests, they were mostly low 90s. Good, not great.
Its only 100% score in our tests came in the "Intallation" category, which is one of the least important in our ratings.
Even still, it's good software and definitely a strong showing for avast's first year in our antivirus software showdown.
6. Norton AntiVirus Software 2011 Score 85%
With one of the best-known names in computer security and antivirus software, Symantec and Norton AntiVirus is arguably the industry's best-known brand.
Recent years haven't always been kind to Symantec, with Norton gaining a reputation for being slow and hard to install, and for bogging PCs down. Symantec worked hard to fix that.
A new ultra-lean installer and lots of effort dedicated to shedding size and weight from the software helped things got back on track in many ways for Norton.
The 2011 edition brings good, continued refinement in several important areas.
Aside from the fast, easy installer, which is among the best made, the actual antivirus protection has improved, too, with Norton landing at or near the top of each of our antivirus tests. That's great.
If the antivirus protection is so good, why isn't it #1?
The shortcomings to Norton this year come primarily in three places, the first two of which are great ideas that are poorly executed:
the user interface
the updater
technical support
User interfaces are a subjective thing: some people will love it; we didn't. The updater is likewise, to some extent, subjective; you may love it.
If you are a fan of Norton's software, certainly no one can deny for its core functions it's among the best antivirus software made.
So, if you're choosing Norton this year, we'd suggest you spring for their Virus Removal Assurance. Why?
For under $10, you get guaranteed help removing a virus if one ever worms past Norton's defenses and onto your computer.
7. Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus + AntiSpyware 2011 Score 84%
From one year to the next, we have high hopes for improvements and revisions from all antivirus companies.
In the case of the 2011 version of Trend Micro Antivirus, we were worried when they added the word "Titanium" to its name. Why?
Often when a manufacturer does something like that, it means there's nothing new under the hood, so they're hoping a name change will be enough for them to get away with calling it a "new" version.
We're happy to report this is not the case with Trend. Their 2011 edition brings excellent improvement over the 2010 version in the way of real-time antivirus protection and virus detection.
We also saw improved ability to actually remove the malware (of all sorts, viruses, worms, trojans, keyloggers, spyware, etc.) that it detected.
That said, we're still disappointed with its resource usage and their technical support options, and their new update mechanism leaves a lot to be desired.
8. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 Score 79%
Even if you're not familiar with the name, ESET has been a leading contender in the antivirus software industry for some time.
ESET's antivirus software is a solid application with a funny name: ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4. Despite the sometimes obscure name, ESET has been able to build a strong, but flawed antivirus software this time around.
ESET's real-time protection scored well during our tests, but they still couldn't keep up with some of the stronger competition.
The user interface is clean and simple enough -- but perhaps too simple. You'll need to dig into the advanced settings to find more of what you need.
Technical support is not nearly as helpful as we'd like to see, but despite these set-backs, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 is still a sturdy, but basic antivirus software.
9. Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 Score 72%
The 2011 edition of Panda Antivirus Software brings an application with considerably better real-time resource usage than prior versions, both in terms of CPU and memory used.
And, unlike most other competitors on this page, Panda antivirus also features built-in firewall software, and not just that, it's actually a good firewall, too.
What else did we like? Compare Panda Antivirus software's antiphishing filter with the others, and it outperforms most everything else.
So if there's so much to like, why doesn't it rank higher than it does?
Well, for starters the actual virus detection, while very good for the most part, has certain parts that aren't as strong as in some of the best antivirus software we tested this year.
For example, email protection strangely only happens when you manually scan emails.
The same goes for USB scanning. That, too, only happens when you manually scan a USB drive.
Given that these are two of the most common ways computers get viruses, these are two shortcomings we just can't overlook.
Then there's the technical support, or really, the lack thereof.
Given how strong some of the other antivirus companies are at supporting their customers, the lack of strong support in Panda definitely doesn't work in their favor.
10. McAfee Antivirus 2011 Score 72%
Each year the big antivirus manufacturers like McAfee are expected to come up with major breakthroughs to help keep their customers' computers safe.
With more threats to protect against every day and more users to protect, it's a big challenge.
Sadly, one of the things a lot of users are expecting from antivirus software is that it has to look "modern," which puts even more pressure on companies like McAfee.
Sometimes they do a good job; sometimes it's not so good. And sometimes it's bad.
In this case, the McAfee interface drew criticisms for many reasons, not the least of which were the frustrations that arose from using it and its fixed size.
On the positive side, its virus detection abilities were good and its resource usage was fairly decent, too.
All things considered though, when we'd added up McAfee's scores in each of our tests we found it placed in the lower half of the antivirus software for 2011.
(Source: pcantivirusreviews)
1. VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware Score 96%
In our tests this year, a couple of competitors managed to gain ground on it, but VIPRE Antivirus still took first place for a second year in a row.
Each year our testing gets harder because with more viruses and other threats coming out every day, we retool our tests to take these new threats into account.
New tests mean new challenges for each antivirus program, and often our tests can help show that what may've worked last year, doesn't do the job this year.
We found the latest edition of VIPRE Antivirus is keeping up and is very much up to the task. In some cases, in fact, it offers protection, like against USB-based attacks, that most competitors don't.
So, when we'd finalized our scores, we found that for the second year in a row, VIPRE Antivirus came out on top, again winning our Editor's Choice.
2. BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 Score 94%
With their 2011 version, BitDefender remains one of the top antivirus programs, earning itself a top spot among the 2011 software we tested.
The only weak spot really worth mentioning is customer service, and it's not that their customer support is bad, rather, it's that VIPRE's is that good.
In terms of ability to protect a PC from viruses, spyware, and other malware threats, BitDefender consistently performed at the top of the pack, each time detecting, blocking, or removing the threats as needed.
The real-time protection, especially important when you're surfing the web, reading emails, or chatting on an Instant Messenger, was extremely accurate, blocking access to malicious web pages without putting extra drag on our test PCs.
It performed almost as well in manual virus detection, too, sniffing out and cleaning up the infected files we planted on our test computers.
After all the test scores were added up and the pros and cons reviewed, BitDefender once again proved it was one of the best antivirus software available.
3. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011
With a long history as an antivirus company, Kaspersky has always done well at the core aspects of virus protection; however, this year's version drops the ball in a couple of key areas.
Because of that, Kaspersky comes in third and misses out on moving higher in our rankings.
If you're looking for good virus prevention and detection, Kaspersky does a great job. The problem comes with the removal (remediation) process. That's not to say Kaspersky doesn't do a great job removing viruses, it does.
The problem is that the "Fix It" button in the interface gives you no confidence that what you've clicked on to happen has actually been done.
Most times we clicked it, the interface wouldn't respond. It wouldn't freeze. It just wouldn't do anything. And, we saw it again and again on each of the test PCs we used.
Here's where it gets even stranger: it worked sometimes. When or why it would work was anyone's guess. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
The end result is great antivirus software both for real-time protection and its ability to detect and remove viruses, marred by an interface that just doesn't inspire confidence it should.
Even still, its core abilities really are very good, so when we'd added the scores, Kaspersky came in a solid third for 2011.
4. AVG Anti-Virus Software 2011 Score 88%
Among the most popular antivirus software, AVG was among the most requested for us to review for 2011.
Quickly after getting our hands on the 2011 edition, we found AVG had created quite a good program.
Scoring near the top of our tests for both realtime virus protection and manual virus detection, it was effective at both preventing and cleaning virus infections.
Also a plus with AVG: telephone technical support. Depending on your needs, it's not always free, but it is there, which is more than most antivirus companies can say about their software.
In terms of things where AVG was lacking, neither the anti-spyware nor the anti-phishing were great. Likewise, we were disappointed to see AVG didn't automatically scan our USB keychain/thumb drives when we put them into our test PCs.
Even still, the positives of the software outweigh its few shortcomings, ultimately landing AVG near the top of our tests and comparison results.
5. avast Pro Antivirus Software 2011 Score 87%
Along with AVG, avast has been one of the antivirus applications we've gotten the most requests to review and as we learned, for good reason.
In its first year in our tests, it scored respectably and even aced out some better known products, including Norton and McAfee.
Given Norton's improvements for 2011, that's saying a lot for avast.
It won praise from us for its installer and interface, both of which are easy to like and easy to use, too. The same goes for its software and antivirus definitions updater, which proved better designed than most of the competition.
Its realtime protection and manual scanning, while not the best, were respectable.
Where did it fall short? Generally speaking, its scores ended up being good but not great. While it did score a couple of 90+ scores in some tests, they were mostly low 90s. Good, not great.
Its only 100% score in our tests came in the "Intallation" category, which is one of the least important in our ratings.
Even still, it's good software and definitely a strong showing for avast's first year in our antivirus software showdown.
6. Norton AntiVirus Software 2011 Score 85%
With one of the best-known names in computer security and antivirus software, Symantec and Norton AntiVirus is arguably the industry's best-known brand.
Recent years haven't always been kind to Symantec, with Norton gaining a reputation for being slow and hard to install, and for bogging PCs down. Symantec worked hard to fix that.
A new ultra-lean installer and lots of effort dedicated to shedding size and weight from the software helped things got back on track in many ways for Norton.
The 2011 edition brings good, continued refinement in several important areas.
Aside from the fast, easy installer, which is among the best made, the actual antivirus protection has improved, too, with Norton landing at or near the top of each of our antivirus tests. That's great.
If the antivirus protection is so good, why isn't it #1?
The shortcomings to Norton this year come primarily in three places, the first two of which are great ideas that are poorly executed:
the user interface
the updater
technical support
User interfaces are a subjective thing: some people will love it; we didn't. The updater is likewise, to some extent, subjective; you may love it.
If you are a fan of Norton's software, certainly no one can deny for its core functions it's among the best antivirus software made.
So, if you're choosing Norton this year, we'd suggest you spring for their Virus Removal Assurance. Why?
For under $10, you get guaranteed help removing a virus if one ever worms past Norton's defenses and onto your computer.
7. Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus + AntiSpyware 2011 Score 84%
From one year to the next, we have high hopes for improvements and revisions from all antivirus companies.
In the case of the 2011 version of Trend Micro Antivirus, we were worried when they added the word "Titanium" to its name. Why?
Often when a manufacturer does something like that, it means there's nothing new under the hood, so they're hoping a name change will be enough for them to get away with calling it a "new" version.
We're happy to report this is not the case with Trend. Their 2011 edition brings excellent improvement over the 2010 version in the way of real-time antivirus protection and virus detection.
We also saw improved ability to actually remove the malware (of all sorts, viruses, worms, trojans, keyloggers, spyware, etc.) that it detected.
That said, we're still disappointed with its resource usage and their technical support options, and their new update mechanism leaves a lot to be desired.
8. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 Score 79%
Even if you're not familiar with the name, ESET has been a leading contender in the antivirus software industry for some time.
ESET's antivirus software is a solid application with a funny name: ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4. Despite the sometimes obscure name, ESET has been able to build a strong, but flawed antivirus software this time around.
ESET's real-time protection scored well during our tests, but they still couldn't keep up with some of the stronger competition.
The user interface is clean and simple enough -- but perhaps too simple. You'll need to dig into the advanced settings to find more of what you need.
Technical support is not nearly as helpful as we'd like to see, but despite these set-backs, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 is still a sturdy, but basic antivirus software.
9. Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 Score 72%
The 2011 edition of Panda Antivirus Software brings an application with considerably better real-time resource usage than prior versions, both in terms of CPU and memory used.
And, unlike most other competitors on this page, Panda antivirus also features built-in firewall software, and not just that, it's actually a good firewall, too.
What else did we like? Compare Panda Antivirus software's antiphishing filter with the others, and it outperforms most everything else.
So if there's so much to like, why doesn't it rank higher than it does?
Well, for starters the actual virus detection, while very good for the most part, has certain parts that aren't as strong as in some of the best antivirus software we tested this year.
For example, email protection strangely only happens when you manually scan emails.
The same goes for USB scanning. That, too, only happens when you manually scan a USB drive.
Given that these are two of the most common ways computers get viruses, these are two shortcomings we just can't overlook.
Then there's the technical support, or really, the lack thereof.
Given how strong some of the other antivirus companies are at supporting their customers, the lack of strong support in Panda definitely doesn't work in their favor.
10. McAfee Antivirus 2011 Score 72%
Each year the big antivirus manufacturers like McAfee are expected to come up with major breakthroughs to help keep their customers' computers safe.
With more threats to protect against every day and more users to protect, it's a big challenge.
Sadly, one of the things a lot of users are expecting from antivirus software is that it has to look "modern," which puts even more pressure on companies like McAfee.
Sometimes they do a good job; sometimes it's not so good. And sometimes it's bad.
In this case, the McAfee interface drew criticisms for many reasons, not the least of which were the frustrations that arose from using it and its fixed size.
On the positive side, its virus detection abilities were good and its resource usage was fairly decent, too.
All things considered though, when we'd added up McAfee's scores in each of our tests we found it placed in the lower half of the antivirus software for 2011.
(Source: pcantivirusreviews)
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