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ConsumerReports.org

 
September 2006
Ratings Antivirus

 

BitDefender Standard
Alwil Avast! Antivirus
  BitDefender Alwil


Availbility Most products at stores through October 2006.
Within types, in performance order.  indicate Quick Picks. Products with equal scores are listed alphabetically.
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Poor
Quick picks Product Price Annual fee Overall score Test results Features
 

 











BitDefender Standard

$30 $20
87.
• •   •

Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Antivirus

30 20
85.
•   • •

Kaspersky Labs Anti-Virus Personal

50 35
82.
•   • •
 

Norton Antivirus

40 30
80.
• • • •
 

Norton Antivirus for Macintosh

50 15
80.
• •   •
 

McAfee ViruScan

40 35
77.
• • • •
 

Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security

50 25
75.
•   • •

Alwil Avast! Antivirus

Free None
68.
  • •  
 

F-Secure Anti-Virus

40 40
66.
•     •
 

Panda Software Titanium AV

40 50
64.
  • • •
 

CA/eTrust EZ Antivirus

30 20
57.
•     •
 

PC Tools AntiVirus

30 20
41.
•      
Available only by download.  Boxed price; download price is $10 more.


Guide to the Ratings

Overall score is based primarily on detection, plus the other test results. Detection is how well the product detects new viruses without falsely identifying benign files as viruses. Features indicates how many useful features are included. Ease of use indicates how easy the product is to use. Speed is how quickly the product scans a typical hard drive. Scheduled scan means you can set up automatic scans. IM scan shows whether the product scans instant messages. Firewall indicates whether there are features to block hackers. Also in suite means that the same, or similar, software is available in the manufacturer’s security software suite. Price is for the retail, boxed version; downloads are usually available. Annual fee is for protection after the first year.