It is a question that is often raised in the forum and discussions are often very lively.
Some believe that the best anti-virus are as below:
AVAST
AVG
Bit Defender
Nod 32
Kaspersky
The list is much longer on other anti-virus, they represent only a sample of the best known in the computer market. But honestly speaking it is not possible for an individual to compare all anti-virus simply because lack of time and resources. It would need thousands of viruses to test the efficiency in the detection and elimination of malware. Let us take a look at their report to determine which to choose.
Testing of antivirus software for the detection of polymorphic viruses
Polymorphic malicious programs (also referred to as viruses) are completely capable of mutating with every new infection, generating multiple samples of themselves.
When scanning files on a computer using the traditional method, antivirus products search for specific traces of a virus - a signature. If the code of a virus that has been assigned a signature is modified, it will no longer be possible to detect it using that signature. A polymorphic virus is capable of performing such modifications to any of its parts.
As a rule, detecting polymorphic viruses makes use of a detection algorithm that is specially developed for each individual virus. The aim of this test is to assess the quality of the special algorithm function in various antivirus products.
Moreover, because polymorphic viruses are the most difficult viruses to detect, the ability to do so reflects the level of professionalism of an antivirus product's developers. They not only have to analyze the complex variants of the viruses but also develop a reliable procedure and methodology to ensure 100% detection rates.
The following is the test results:
- Excellent Safety
Avira Antivir Personal Edition Classic 7.06 (31 out of 33 points)
F-Secure Anti-Virus 2008 (31 out of 33)
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 (31 out of 33)
- Medium Safety
Avast Professional Edition 4.7 (25 out of 33)
AVG Anti-Virus Professional Edition 7.5 (22 out of 33)
Doctor Web 4.44 (21 out of 33)
ESET Nod32 Antivirus 3.0 (20 out of 33)
- Less Safety
Microsoft Windows Live OneCare 2.0 Pre-Release (19 out of 33)
Trend Micro Antivirus plus Antispyware 2008 (18 out of 33)
Symantec Anti-Virus 2008 (17 out of 33)
BitDefender Anti-Virus 2008 (16 out of 33)
Agnitum Outpost Security Suite Pro 2008 (15 out of 33)
Sophos Anti-Virus 7.0 (14 out of 33)
Panda Antivirus 2008 (14 out of 33)
None VBA32 Workstation 3.12.6 (14 out of 33)
- Poor Safety
McAfee VirusScan 2008 (11 out of 33)
Testing of antivirus / anti-rootkit software for the detection and removal of rootkits
It has become increasingly popular for virus writers to make use of rootkit technologies. The reason for this is obvious – they make it possible to hide malicious programs and their components from PC users and antivirus programs. Numerous source codes for ready-made rootkits can be found on the Internet, which inevitably leads to their widespread use in various Trojans or spy programs (spyware/adware, keyloggers, etc.).
There are numerous specialized anti-rootkit products available for the detection and removal of these types of malicious programs. Furthermore, many antivirus developers state that their products include a function to detect active rootkits. The aim of this test is to evaluate the ability of the most popular antivirus and anti-rootkit products to detect and remove malicious programs that use rootkit technologies and actively circulate over the Internet, as well as checking proactive detection capabilities to detect proof-of-concept rootkits hidden on a system.
It should be noted that although testing of malware samples is of real practical use, there is also a great deal of research value in ascertaining the capabilities of proactive detection when combating the hidden threat of rootkits.
Summary of anti-rootkit testing results:
- Excellent Safety
Rootkit Unhooker 3.7 (7.5 out of 8 points)
GMER 1.0 (7 out of 8)
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 (6.5 out of 8)
Avira Rootkit Detection 1.0 (6.5 out of 8)
- Medium Safety
AVG Anti-Rootkit 1.1 (5.5 out of 8)
Panda AntiRootkit 1.08 (5.5 out of 8)
Sophos Anti-Rootkit 1.3.1 (5.5 out of 8)
Dr.Web 4.44 (5 out of 8)
Trend Micro RootkitBuster 1. (5 out of 8)
- Less Safety
Symantec Anti-Virus 2008 (4.5 out of 8)
F-Secure Anti-Virus 2008 (4 out of 8)
McAfee Rootkit Detective 1.1 (3.5 out of 8)
- Poor Safety
BitDefender Antivirus 2008 (3 out of 8)
McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 (1.5 out of 8)
ESET NOD32 Anti-Virus 3.0 (1 out of 8)
Trend Micro Antivirus plus Antispyware 2008 (1 out of 8)
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