http://www.av-comparatives.org/ go to Comparatives, then to Online results for 17. On-demand comparative February 2008
a little surprising that kaspersky and nod32 werent the top scorers

I have yet to hear about that site anywhere besides the post and also since they give no facts as how they tested the software makes anyone wary of who sponsor them....??? There so many sites promoting one software over another I would like them to disclose whom sponsor them that will tell us the objectivity of the test...??

no one sponsor them...its an independent site...its a pretty well known site...its one of the few trustworthy av test pages according to wilderssecurity forum...but if you assume all tests are sponsored then no tests or reviews of anything can be trusted

If Kapersky Internet Security Suite was not on top , Nod32 also, then the comparisons are flawed. It is most likely a paid for comparision.

That site is pretty solid, although like all these it's real life that counts not comparitive tests

Avira Premium has been doing well for some time now. Been using Classic on another PC for a few months, good app.

Might not renew NOD32 on current laptop as V3 is a miss IMO and I'm still using 2.7.

AV-Comparitives is one of the few reliable sources for AV comparison. Just because your favourite little AV program did not succeed enough doesn't mean the site or its tests are flawed.

My hubby has been using Avira Premium on his laptop and loves it. It seems to work very well and I'm considering Avira when my current license for Kaspersky expires.

Even the free 'classic' version of Avira (which is what I have) is great. It doesn't have spyware checking (have programs for that) and doesn't do email checking but who needs that when they (the virus) is only a problem once run?

Updated many times a day, I stopped paying yearly trials with NOD32 because it was a waste of money for me, plus they had very poor customer service.

Just remember that there is no perfect Anti-Virus, and there never will be. Having a Anti-Virus is better then nothing, no matter what Anti-Virus you may have in the list. Never depend on it to be 100%, always have a secondary backup to double check periodically.

Something else that maybe of interest is Virus Total.

http://www.virustotal.com/

If you need to scan a file then, you can upload and scan with these program simultaneously.


AhnLab (V3)
Aladdin (eSafe)
ALWIL (Avast! Antivirus)
Authentium (Command Antivirus)
Avira (AntiVir)
Bit9 (FileAdvisor)
Cat Computer Services (Quick Heal)
ClamAV (ClamAV)
CA Inc. (Vet)
Doctor Web, Ltd. (DrWeb)
Eset Software (ESET NOD32)
ewido networks (ewido anti-malware)
Fortinet (Fortinet)
FRISK Software (F-Prot)
F-Secure (F-Secure)
AVG Technologies (AVG)
Hacksoft (The Hacker)
Ikarus Software (Ikarus)
Kaspersky Lab (AVP)
McAfee (VirusScan)
Microsoft (Malware Protection)
Norman (Norman Antivirus)
Panda Security (Panda Platinum)
Prevx (Prevx1)
Rising Antivirus (Rising)
Secure Computing (Webwasher)
Softwin (BitDefender)
Sophos (SAV)
Sunbelt Software (Antivirus)
Symantec (Norton Antivirus)
VirusBlokAda (VBA32)
VirusBuster (VirusBuster)

Nice service

Note 1) av comparatives is an independent site

Note 2) Avira scores well, but partly because it has a very high false positive rate.

No site is truly independent as someone has to pay or sponsor them...whether that influences them is if there site is willing to do a full disclosure of sponsors names...also if independent site why does it have a google search on there??? Also I do agree with Alan comment on posting #4 about how the comparison was made.

THANKS

AVIRA (Symantek) Nortons...Say no more! Another HOG!!
Nod32 is Best in my Book.

I have Bit Defender v10plus
Don`t know how good it is , But has Blocked some Trojans.
Also sorts Spam out nicely;

Hi
Really, I never found Avira a "HOG".
Of the free A/V's Avira in my experience is easily the best.
Of the paid for variety Kaspersky & NOD32.

Hi
If you change for the reason of cost.
Don't.
Keep upto date on Kaspersky offers. Regular discounts aplenty.
Kaspersky Suite is far more comprehensive & didn't cost me anymore (in fact marginally less [£0.50]) than the Avira Premium.
N.B. It may have changed without me noticing but Avira A/V was (& to my knowledge still is) Kaspersky 6 based.

AV-Comparatives is a reliable and authoritative site; IMHO a lot more than most others. They actually give full details of how their tests are done (check out the site better if you don't spot where). They aren't sponsored by any AV company as fair as I'm aware (weren't last time I checked) so are 'independent'.

The author also feedbacks to the community; he's mentioned before that a few AV titles don't get their results published due to hassle he's had from their vendors - hence, if your AV software isn't on the list then it's a bad sign!

Until recently Kaspersky and NOD32 got the best ratings which corresponds to 'industry opinion'. Since I doubt he's got anything against them I think it just indicates that they've dropped their game a little in the latest test. I guess this is to be expected though (I recall reading elsewhere that Kaspersky missed getting the Virus Bulletin award a little while ago); as long as they recover I don't see this an issue.

Personally, I use both Kaspersky and NOD32; former on home machine and latter on work. I'm quite happy, but have now moved completely over to Kaspersky due to getting a bad trojan at the weekend under NOD32.

I'm sure the Kaspersky rating will probably improve next time around.

Yeah, a little surprising as they have been in the past. However, checking the report they still get 'Advanced+' status so that's fine for me.

I wouldn't worry too much about a per cent or two since this will likely vary from one test to another (due to different sample sets).

Of more importance, for me, is the overall status gained, having a high 90s score, and consistant performance over a long period of time. Kaspersky and NOD32 both fulfill these so will continue recommending them.

Think the tests highlight that some of the 'lesser players' are also worth now recommending, ie AVIRA.

I dislike security suites wherever they come from. I'd always buy a standalone product.

Avira doesn't use Kaspersky's engine or anything else.

So far, I've used Norton (unimpressed), MCAFEE (bloated and slooowwwww), and currently have ETRUST, and I absolutely love it. I can't even tell it is on my system. I have the Security Suite, and I have no problems whatsoever. I've played with AVG (free version), and didn't like it too well. I may look at NOD and AVIRA, one of these days, but not in any hurry at the moment. No matter which security suite I have, I will always be running Spybot S & D, with Teatimer, and at least one other.

Yo-

Currently trying out AVIRA and it looks damn good at this point - only thing is on my license it says that it expires 05/31/2008 - wtf is up with that??? I thought it was free!!!

And like rob I always run Spy Bot with teatimer turned ON - plus ThreatFire and WindowsDefender - now looking for a great free firewall that is better than m$hit one-eh!!

For free ones security pros seem to recommend http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

I don't buy security suites either. I much prefer a standalone AV. No need for a firewall, my router already has one and properly configured.

Hi
If using the FREE version, it only means that you need to register (email address only). If you've already done this, it is likely that they are planning a new version to start at around that time.
Otherwise you may have downloaded & installed the pay for version.
As for F/W's , Comodo Pro (free) is probably the best at present.