Antivirus review. Antivirus rating for Windows: functionality
Greetings to all readers of this site, in previous posts we discussed in detail on the computer. Now, we are faced with another task, this is to ensure the protection of the computer from viruses and malware. Therefore, in today’s article we will talk about which antivirus is better.
I suggest considering both free and paid versions. Each program has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you must decide for yourself which antivirus to choose. Many of you probably know very well that nowadays, your computer must have a virus protector that can protect your personal data from theft, as well as protect information stored on hard drives from action malicious code. After all, it’s no secret that some viruses can not only damage the user’s files, but also disable the computer. As a rule, to protect your home computer from threats, it will be enough for us to install one of the antiviruses.
Which antivirus is better - choose the right protection.
As I already told you, there are free and paid antivirus programs, which should not be neglected free utilities, since they can be no worse than their paid counterparts. We will try to determine which antivirus is best for Windows.
In order for you to protect your computer from viruses, you need to choose only one antivirus, since if you install two or more programs at the same time, a conflict will begin between them. At the same time, it often happens that antiviruses come into battle with each other over what, and about any protection in in this case there can be no talk anymore, since they block each other’s work. I also want to recommend that it does not conflict with a third-party antivirus.
It is quite difficult to unequivocally recommend which antivirus is better, since each developer praises their own products. We can only choose favorites based on the results of using certain programs. As for me, most popular antiviruses are very similar to each other. Their only difference is that some programs specialize more in protecting computer files, while others provide maximum protection when working on the Internet.
The best free antiviruses.
I propose to start considering the list of which antivirus is better, with free products. As a rule, demon paid antiviruses have all the basic functions that will be enough to protect home computer. Such programs can be classified as “set it and forget it”, since they work independently and do not require paid license renewals or other actions from the user. If you are interested in such antiviruses, then let’s start our list.
Avast! Free Antivirus is a fairly popular antivirus program among users. The utility is completely free, but at the same time it can perfectly protect computers in different areas applications. Once installed, Avast! Free Antivirus, you won't have to delve into its settings, since after installation it will be configured by default to perform its basic duties. But if you want to use some Extra options, then the program can offer you big choice options. Avast can quarantine infected and suspicious files, perform full check computer for viruses, supports Game Mode and many other functions. After installation, the program requires a one-time registration. Therefore, if you don’t want to worry too much about choosing a defender for your computer, then Avast is perfect for you. 
Avira Free Antivirus is another popular free antivirus program that is ideal for home use. Avira differs from other programs in that it uses little computer resources, thereby not slowing down its operation. The program can constantly monitor the state of the PC, or check it for viruses on a schedule. Avira can update automatically and also monitors the installation of unwanted software. Thus, the utility, without interfering with the user, protects the computer from viruses and malware. 
Microsoft Security Essentials– the latest contender for the title of best free antivirus. This is a small anti-virus program from Microsoft, which has a minimum set of all necessary functions, but at the same time protects your computer well from viruses. The program is constantly updated, so it is able to repel the interference of any modern viruses. You can scan your computer on a schedule. Microsoft Security Essentials is suitable for those who do not want to install third-party software, but at the same time care about protecting their PC from viruses. It is advisable to use this antivirus software in conjunction with the Windows Firewall. 
I would also like to mention to you about such free antiviruses as 360 Total Security, Comodo, Panda, they are less popular among users and have more modest functionality, but just like the products described above, they can provide basic PC protection. All of the above programs can be downloaded from the official websites of the developers. Also in the following articles I will tell you how to install them.
The best paid antiviruses.
Let's now look at several paid virus protectors, and also talk to you about which antivirus is better to install. Paid products are quite interesting. They have very broad functionality and support work on devices with different platforms, are constantly being improved and updated. At the same time, some programs were developed quite a long time ago and were loved by users so much that they became undisputed leaders. At the same time, they can provide device protection at a professional level.
Kaspersky Antivirus– probably one of the best paid antiviruses. Of course, you can use its free version, but it will have reduced functionality. In order to have “protection to the teeth”, you need to buy an annual license. Kaspersky is able to provide full-fledged firewall, has a rich set of functions, and also allows the user to customize protection to suit any needs. I would also like to say that the cost of the license is not particularly high, so I recommend installing this antivirus and using its capabilities to the maximum. 
Dr. Web is another fairly old antivirus program that almost all users of computers, laptops and smartphones know. Doctor Web, like Kaspersky Anti-Virus, has different versions, and after installation provides the user with a monthly trial period. Thus, you can later make a choice, leave this product on your computer or look for another option. But as a rule, due to its comprehensive functionality and impeccable protection, users prefer Doctor Web. The price for a licensed product is less than for Kaspersky, the subscription is also issued for a year. 
ESET NOD32 completes our list. This contender is one of the three best paid antiviruses. It can effectively protect your computer from viruses, provide constant control and system monitoring. Unlike the antiviruses described above, this product does not slow down the computer and copes with its task with five points. The program is constantly updated and improved, so if you choose ESET NOD32, you can rest assured about the security of your computer. 
Russian antiviruses fail tests of the authoritative British magazine Virus Bulletin
Russian antivirus programs created in companies " Doctor Web " And " Kaspersky Lab" failed to pass the next test of the British magazine dedicated to computer security Virus Bulletin. However, the researchers noted, in general, extremely low level modern antivirus software.
The antivirus laboratory of Virus Bulletin magazine reported the results of another test of the most popular antivirus programs. The test was carried out on Windows platform 2000, 32 programs took part in it, of which only 17 passed the selection, catching all the running viruses. Testers took the malware from the In the Wild database, which is collected by the Wild List group based on signals from correspondents from around the world.
"Kaspersky"
Russian products were also among the failures of the test. However, Kaspersky Anti-Virus needed very little to win - the program missed only one virus and did not give a single false warning, which is generally quite good. Company representatives have already stated that they have already made the necessary changes to the program, and now the type of viruses missed during the tests will be caught in any case. At the same time, Kaspersky Lab stated that their program would have protected the user’s computer in any case, since it would have blocked the operation of the virus.
"Doctor Web"
The second Russian loser, Doctor Web, showed worse results. The program did not detect 11 viruses and gave two false warnings. However, the company took the research results calmly. “It is already obvious to everyone that anti-virus tests today do not satisfy anyone in terms of quality, not even the testers themselves,” quotes general director"Doctor Web" by Boris Sharov CNews. The results that “stunned” the Virus Bulletin tester are actually quite revealing None of the leading antiviruses today is guaranteed against missing several viruses in any large collection.”
According to Sharov, the Virus Bulletin test has two disadvantages. Firstly, the ability of antiviruses to fight these same viruses in conditions where malware are not just located on the disk and represent only a potential danger, but when the virus is running and loaded into RAM.
"In addition, Virus Bulletin testing results always reflect the state of one and a half months ago, so they have very little relation to the real quality of anti-virus protection. 11 samples missed by Dr.Web antivirus were added to virus databases a few days after submitting the distribution for testing without access to the Wild List collection, Doctor Web receives them from other sources,” CNews quotes Sharov as saying.
However, the fact remains. At the time of the test, the program allowed the computer to become infected with viruses.
The best
According to a series of tests conducted by Virus Bulletin this year on different operating systems, the best that is, not missing a single virus on any platform were the programs
Anyone who has ever suffered from virus attack on your computer, understands perfectly well that the choice of antivirus must be approached with the utmost responsibility. We don't want to scare you, but if you don't protect your PC properly, you can suffer from ransomware Trojans important files, banking Trojans can steal money from your cards or electronic wallets, and the botnet will try to involve the computer in a DDoS attack. There are dozens of antivirus programs, but the expensive solution, alas, is not always the best. Fortunately for you and me, today there is a lot of free software, which in terms of functionality and security level is not inferior to paid and expensive ones, and sometimes even surpasses it, as confirmed by tests of specialized laboratories. We present to your attention the 10 best free antiviruses 2017: the rating includes products with different functionality - there is plenty to choose from.
Does an antivirus guarantee 100% protection against malware? Unfortunately no. Latest events with massive attacks on the computers of private users and entire organizations speak of imperfection existing system, but this does not mean that we should sit back and ignore defense. To protect yourself as much as possible, you must not only install reliable antivirus, but also constantly update it, because the databases are constantly updated with new viruses.
Everyone has heard and knows about Avasta, even those who are not very computer literate. Free, easy to learn and configure, effective- these key features ensured the antivirus huge success and popularity. In independent tests of specialized laboratories Avast Free Antivirus shows results that are very close to the leaders among paid antivirus programs: recognizing 99% of threats in Windows 7/8 and 97% in Windows 10. When setting up, you must register by specifying email to use the program for free for a year, then free license can be extended.
pros:
- simple and clear interface, even a beginner can figure it out;
- really effective protection from viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, analysis of potential threats;
- a huge number of additional protection tools, so you can customize the program completely for yourself;
- scanning of files accessed by the user, scanning during download, scanning of browser extensions and add-ons, web protection - the user remains safe on all fronts;
- presence of a gaming mode. When running resource-intensive games, the antivirus can stop some non-critical diagnostic modes so as not to load resources;
- protection when connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks;
- built-in password manager;
- Frequent updates.
Among the disadvantages:
Welcome everyone to the next episode! Almost every computer user knows perfectly well that any computer, tablet, laptop or other device needs high-quality protection.
Every day thousands of ways to infect remote PCs appear on the Internet, new viruses and simply dangerous programs are written to steal data or disable a computer. Therefore, there is a need to protect yourself from such misfortunes. Which antivirus is best for your comprehensive protection personal computers? Which antivirus is better than others, we will try to find out about this and many other issues from our article today...
The average user can protect himself from 99% of threats, but to do this he must have good, comprehensive protection installed. There remains 1%, which can include planned and special attacks on a specific server or computer - if carried out competently and purposefully, such dangerous actions can bypass almost any ordinary protection and antivirus program.
But, fortunately for us, ordinary citizens are practically not exposed to such danger, since serious hacking programs and viruses are written under specific goals And regular user The PC is of little interest to truly serious organizations.
Therefore, it will be enough to simply install good antivirus and customize its operation specifically to your computer use conditions. Believe me, this will be good, reliable and practically guaranteed protection against various internet problems, viruses and leftist attacks.
Which antivirus is better - how to choose the right protection?
There are several recognized leaders in the antivirus software market, among which you can make your choice. But at the same time, of course, it is IMPORTANT for you to remember that only one antivirus must be installed and configured correctly on your PC. If there are 2 or more of them, then not only will the computer slow down mercilessly, but it will also not receive proper protection. Well, the defender programs, in turn, will conflict with each other and even their collaboration will not work. In addition, now many antivirus programs, even at the installation stage on the PC, look to see if there is another antivirus and offer to remove it.
After you have enabled the firewall, you need to select antivirus software. It will be difficult to advise something really specific here, but it is still possible. The fact is that every antivirus manufacturer claims that its program is the best and copes with problems that competitors cannot overcome.
In fact, most of these programs are about the same. Some specialize in protection against viruses. Some are on computer protection in a network sense. Others are on protection against malware and third party applications, who behave suspiciously and send something somewhere without your knowledge. In a word, the choice is great and I will list only the most common antivirus programs for 2016. And which antivirus is better, in my opinion, we will now find out.
They, in turn, can be divided into free, shareware and paid. Carefully study the selected antivirus for additional functions and bonuses that can be purchased - sometimes there are really interesting offers. But in most cases, a home PC can be protected with at least a simple and free antivirus, which will regularly update its database of viruses and Internet dangers, monitor the computer and prevent it from starting suspicious files. For most families this will be more than enough.
Free antivirus programs for your home PC
So, I’ll start my list of recommendations with free antivirus programs. They are accessible, quite simple and understandable even to an inexperienced user. Such software belongs to the “install and forget” section, so if you don’t want to understand the settings and, especially, pay, then you should pay attention to the following programs:
Avast! Free Antivirus is an extremely popular program at the moment, which is completely free and designed for widespread use on a wide variety of PCs. First of all, I would say that it is good in the sense that it can work completely without additional settings, but for those interested I can offer wide choose various options. Supports various popular functions such as file quarantine, detects viruses and malware, and can scan your computer different ways, there is a special game mode and much more. Requires a small registration once after installation;
Avira Free Antivirus is another popular home antivirus that offers effective results with few resources. It can constantly monitor the system or turn on occasionally, checking the entire HDD for the presence of malware. Quite simple, equipped with an update assistant system, can work automatically and prevent the installation of fraudulent applications on the PC. Very often I hear users ask me which antivirus is better from the two listed above. I answer you that they both have proven themselves satisfactorily at a specific level of protection for personal computers.
Microsoft Security Essentials – not a bad program from the official Windows manufacturer. It works easily, does not load the system, has minimal but necessary functions- does not allow obvious viruses to pass through, is regularly updated, can scan the computer on specified days or hours, and works almost unnoticed by the user. Good application, which, when paired with a firewall, can protect a computer quite well at entry-level and intermediate levels;
It is also worth mentioning such free antiviruses as 360 Total Security, AVG, Comodo, Panda and other programs that have limited but quite sufficient basic functionality. However, they do not provide 100% level protection, and they also do not have the so-called “fool protection”, but as a small protective addition for a home PC, this is quite okay.
So, it should also be noted that all of these antivirus programs presented above can be found on the official website.
Paid antivirus programs - which antivirus is the best?
Paid antivirus programs for PC protection include several of the most popular products. We will not recommend the remaining, less common ones, since they have almost the same functions as their free counterparts. But the old and well-known paid anti-virus software, real dinosaurs of their class, are really good and if you are concerned about the problem of computer security at a serious level, then I recommend considering the following anti-virus products:
Kaspersky is one of the best paid antiviruses. There are also free version, but full functionality is only available after an annual subscription. It provides full functionality, has a lot of functions and capabilities, and can be configured as flexibly as possible in this antivirus software. The cost is relatively small, but renewal must be issued annually. There are profitable packages - when purchasing a subscription for a year, the second key comes as a gift and similar interesting offers;
Dr.Web, aka Doctor Web - good program, which provides comprehensive PC protection. Like Kaspersky, it is available in different versions, has a trial period, includes all kinds of scanners and monitoring systems. It is updated promptly and has proven itself to be the best. The subscription is also issued for a year, but the price is already cheaper than for Kaspersky. I wrote about Doctor Web in
In terms of efficiency and richness of settings, it is slightly less than the first antivirus on the list, but also a very, very good option;
ESET NOD32, aka Nod 32- a good antivirus with rich settings. Quite old and popular, it can be used to solve a wide range of problems. Allows you not only to effectively catch viruses, but also to perform various actions on computer control and monitoring of a comprehensive type. Feature - it practically does not slow down the computer, it works unnoticed and easily. However, in the recent past I had to give it up because one of the significant shortcomings of this antivirus there was an inability to perform the check system files for the presence of malware. As a result, my computer was infected with a Trojan, which I had to remove thanks to Dr.Web. Although today the developers have probably already taken care of this flaw.
So, to sum up today’s issue – “Which antivirus is better” I can say with confidence that the best, reliable and comprehensive protection for the entire computer are antivirus programs from the “Paid” range. In addition, I note that I have installed all of the above anti-virus programs (both paid and free) on many computers. And it is paid antiviruses that, according to statistics, provide comprehensive computer protection that is an order of magnitude higher than free ones. I also bring to your attention a short video: Which antivirus is best to install on your computer?
Thus, you can see that the choice of antivirus software is quite wide and you can choose something optimal for your own needs without any problems. Which computer protection programs do you prefer most, dear users?
PCMag tested all the popular solutions in the free antivirus category during 2016. This rating allows you to choose the best free antivirus for Windows protection computer
Antivirus vendors typically pay for the opportunity to participate in testing because lab reports help improve products. The number of laboratories that include a particular product primarily indicates its importance. In any case, to test an antivirus, two conditions must be met: the laboratory must consider the product important enough, and the development company must be satisfied with the cost of participation. Laboratories are not required to test free products, but many vendors include full protection V free solutions, adding advanced features to paid products.
PCMag's own amateur tests
Except thorough analysis lab test results, PCMag performs its own amateur program-blocking testing of antivirus products. Every antivirus encounters a set of malware different types, after which the product’s reaction to the threat is recorded. Typically, an antivirus removes most samples at once and detects several more instances of malware when it tries to launch. Based on the test results, the product can receive from 0 to 10 points for blocking, depending on how thoroughly it protects the system from test threats.
The test collection has been in use for months, so the malware blocking test does not provide any indication of an antivirus's ability to detect the latest threats. A separate test attempts to download malware from online sources no more than a day old, provided by the MRG-Effitas laboratory. The testing process notes whether the product blocked access to a network location, cleared the malware payload during download, or ignored the threat. Avira Free Antivirus received the highest score in this test, followed by McAfee and Symantec in the final table.
Useful features
Each antivirus product in the collection scans files on access to prevent potential malware from running, and also scans the system on demand or on a set schedule. Blocking access to malicious links - great way avoid trouble. Many products extend protection to prevent you from visiting fraudulent or phishing sites that try to steal your credentials. Some solutions assign ratings to results search results, flagging suspicious and dangerous links.
Behavioral detection is featured in some products in the collection. On the one hand, this component can detect malware, which are unknown threats. On the other side, behavioral analysis may lead to false positives for reliable programs.
One in a simple way for maximum computer protection is to install security updates for Windows OS, browsers and other popular programs. Windows 10 made updates mandatory for consumers, but remains a large number of gaps in popular applications and plugins. Vulnerability scanning in the form of missed updates is a feature often found in commercial antivirus products. However, some free antiviruses have similar functionality.
Who was not included in the rating
This article contains information only about free antivirus solutions that have received at least a “good” rating from PCMag reviews. Among those products that were not included in this rating- Windows Defender, which was given 2.5 stars. Microsoft participates in tests of all monitored antivirus laboratories, but only as basic protection. If the product cannot surpass a basic level of protection, he is not worth attention.
Avast Free Antivirus 2016 scores highly in independent lab tests and PCMag's own tests, especially in its anti-phishing test. Additional functions, in particular new manager passwords and innovative router security check make the product excellent choice for free protection.
Last AVG version AntiVirus Free scores high in tests from independent laboratories, and also performed well in its own amateur tests. AVG remains PCMag's Editors' Choice in the free antivirus category.
Although Panda Free Antivirus is not superior to the best commercial solutions; many paid antiviruses are inferior in effectiveness. The product remains PCMag's Editors' Choice in the free antivirus software category.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition(2014) remains undetectable on your system until a threat is detected. Tiny main window and auto mode excellent work suitable for users who value simplicity, efficiency and unobtrusiveness.
ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall 2016 combines powerful antivirus protection from Kaspersky with a high-quality firewall. The product is an excellent choice for users who do not wish to install a complex solution.