Re: Virus Scan.. what is best to install ?


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Posted by MikeC on Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 4:54PM :

In Reply to: Virus Scan.. what is best to install ? posted by Ken Sterrett on Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 10:40AM :

Back in December I spent a couple of weeks testing various antivirus solutions. As a consultant and network engineer I like to keep up on what really works the best for my customers and client so I can make recommendations that work as they should.

I used a combination of 75 viruses/trojans/malwares that were on a hacker CD that I have as well as some that are readily available on the Internet (after all, you need to be protected from more than just viruses). I used a fresh ghost image of Windows 2000 on an IBM IntelliStation Pro, 1G processor, 1G RAM, 36G SCSI HDD before each test. The machine was set up with the OS, Office 2000, and a few other software packages to simulate a home/business environment. Each antivirus software was downloaded/installed and the definitions were updated to the most current version. Each package was also "tweaked" to achieve what should be a maximum level of protection. Here is what I found:

Forget the free antivirus software. You are lucky to get a 40% detection rate. Not good enough under any circumstances. Grisoft failed miserably.

Norton/Symantec products:
Expect a detection rate in the low to mid 90 percentile. Both of these products use a huge amount of resources and make a significant impact on the system.

McAfee products:
Expect a detection rate in the low 90 percentile. Since the company sold off the McAfee division there seems to be some trouble getting things together.

Kaspersky products:
100% detection rate, very low system resource use. Easy to configure.

Panda products:
100% detection rate, very low system resource use. Daily definition updates on the Internet. Monitors the system at the TCP/IP level and does a superior job at detecting and eliminating threats.

Sophos products:
Detection in the low 70 percentile. I was dissapointed in this product since it is supposed to be an enterprise class product.

There were a number of other products that I tested that ranged from the mid-80's to the low 90's. The only products that worked 100% of the time were Panda antivirus and Kaspersky antivirus. I was impressed enough with both products that I now run them exclusively on my systems at home (all 8 computers). I have no vested interest in the results other than protection for my clients and friends.

So-if you want "the best" protection, consider Kaspersky or Panda. If you want "good" protection, then Norton/Symantec or McAfee. If you don't care much, then use the free stuff.



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