Antivirus protection. Software review.

The security has always been topical. We have repeatedly discussed it and shall keep on discussing it in future. You understand - on the stipulation that Your money is secured to its maximum only, normal work on-line is possible, don`t You? The work of e-businessman. No other variants possible. Today we decided to revert to the question of antivirus protection and tell You about most popular and most high-quality antivirus software.

In the previous issue we have already listed the most popular antivirus programs, known all over the world. So, according to the results of our investigation, the rating looked like that: "AVG Anti-Virus", MÑ Àfee, as well as Symantec (Norton AntiVirus) utilities are on the top. The y are really fast, reliable, and easy to use. PANDA ANTIVIRUS is also rather popular. Then there are eTrust EZ Antivirus, AntiVir Personal Edition. NOD32 is also very popular and widely used. There are different specialized Trojan protection measures, such as Trojans First Aid Kit, Trojan Remover, which can be used along with other antivirus programs. F-Secure Anti-Virus, Dr. Web and other less famous software are on the list as well. According to the version of some net observers, the rating of best antivirus for Windows was the following:

1) PC-cillin Internet Security Suite 2004
2) Panda Antivirus Platinum v7.0
3) F-Prot for Windows
4) NOD32 Antivirus System v2.0
5) Norton Internet Security 2004
6) BitDefender Professional Edition v7
7) Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal
8) McAfee VirusScan 2004

As You see the difference between them is not significant. Hence, we can say for sure - these antivirus programs are considered to be the best in the world. Of course, somewhere on-line there can be some project realized by professional programmers on a pretty high level. A very narrow circle of people makes use of them and they are noted for some sort of cliquishness. Though we are not going to talk about the, due to several reasons. First of all, antivirus needs support greatly. Choosing the antivirus protection for Yourself, You must pay attention to that. As a rule antiviruses update their databases daily (in any case, NOD32, Kaspersky and many others from the top list). Though programs, mentioned above, - don`t, because they are, let`s say, authoring.

Secondly, the "non-popularity" rule acts with an inverse effect speaking about antiviruses. The thing is that antiviruses don`t care a lot about their own vulnerability, which is high-level enough. No doubt, if antivirus is designed poorly, harmful programs can cause damage to it as well, but if it is designed good enough, the main thing for him is "knowing" viruses. And this "knowing" is impossible without support, possible only when antivirus is popular. Here You are - quite a simple, logical rule.

That`s why we`ll take the public opinion as a matter of course, the more so as these antiviruses are really the most high-quality, and take the liberty of recommending them namely. Of course, it`s impossible to name the only one of them as the most universal. Each of them has its name, characteristic distinctions etc. As it was mentioned, the rule is still active, on of them is updated more often than another, another takes more memory, the icon in the third one is not so pretty or its interface is not convenient. That`s why, it`s better to try "in practice". However, we have opportunity to give short description of these programs, according to the information, based on researches of the site http://antivirus.about.com/, which is the acknowledged authority in this sphere. It will certainly be useful for You as well.

PC-cillin Internet Security Suite 2004. Building on its solid antivirus capabilities, PC-cillin 2004 also includes spam and spyware protection, wireless device protection, customizable firewall, privacy data protection, parental controls to block unsavory sites, and a year's free tech support via a toll-free number. The software automatically checks for new virus updates every 3 hours and the spam prevention includes a whitelist, blacklist, and Bayesian filter - all at a price lower than many standalone antivirus products.

Panda Antivirus Platinum v7.0 combines antivirus and firewall protection to provide robust security with minimal system impact. Configurable script blocking and attachment filtering combined with daily antivirus updates help ensure protection against even fast spreading new email threats.

F-Prot for Windows continues to impress with its stellar performance on virus detection tests. The interface is extremely pleasing - easy enough for novice users to navigate yet sophisticated enough for the more advanced. An excellent addition to any antivirus arenal. Should be used in conjunction with a firewall.

NOD32 is a solid performer, easy to use and with little impact on system resources. Version 2 builds on the product's past accomplishments, remaining true to a singular theme - virus detection. Should be used in conjunction with a firewall.

Norton Internet Security 2004 offers antivirus protection, a personal firewall, spam filtering, privacy filters, and parental controls to block unwanted websites.

Softwin's BitDefender Professional protects against viruses, spyware, and instant messaging threats, as well as offering firewall rules to block undesirable traffic and a privacy gateway to keep your identity and preferences private while surfing the Internet.

Kaspersky offers excellent antivirus protection, perhaps unsurpassed in its ability to recognize various compression algorithms and accurately detect infected files contained within the archives. However, their interface is rather convoluted and may be best suited to more advanced users. Should be used in conjunction with a firewall.

McAfee VirusScan 2004 offers focused antivirus protection coupled with an intuitive interface and streamlined update process. Unfortunately, much of their interface is cluttered with advertising for other products in the McAfee family and configuration options for VirusScan are extremely limited. However, McAfee has played catch-up this year and the 2004 version now offers the same level of POP3/SMTP email protection offered by other vendors. Should be used in conjunction with a firewall.

Besides, many antivirus programs carry out the on-line test on the Internet resources, they own, to attract users. It can also be useful, though, per se, is just a poor prototype of the "real" test with the PC program. Besides, it takes traffic. Though, we decided to give an example of the services like that. Trend Housecall ((http://housecall.trendmicro.com/) tests different objects via Internet, which can have harmful programs inside, has additional functions), RAV AntiVirus Scan Online ((http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/) needs no registration, tests Your system quickly enough, easy enough to control), Panda's ActiveScan ( (http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm) fast and easy to control), BitDefender Online Virus Scan ((http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php) for system check, done DEEPLY enough, no need to enter any data at all, which is very convenient), McAfee FreeScan ((http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/mfs/default.asp) on of the most developed on-line scans), Kaspersky Virus Checker (http://www.kaspersky.com/remoteviruschk.html).

What is the advantage of such systems - constant and operative virus database update. Disadvantage is - impossibility to "treat" the files, delete and carry out the measures, possible with a program, installed on Your PC.

At the end of January the info of the new variant of Sober worm appeared. There was also some information of the new variants of My.Doom. They are the most dangerous for PCs now. Though, of course, the most dangerous are yet to be explored and caught. Be careful, stay with us.

Author Eric Marriam