10 Best Antivirus Programs

We have identified the 10 Best Antivirus programs from the vast list of antivirus software. We have compared them based on various factors like Scan speed, support, updation of virus definition files etc. and arrived at this list.This will give you a birds eye view on the latest and greatest offerings available in the antivirus market.

Before we dive into the names below, let us try to find out what are the common characteristics of the best antivirus programs.

Antivirus programs are meant to make our computer life secure. Today's internet world, we go often to internet and visit websites. We send and receive emails. We chat with our friends and colleagues. In all these occasions computer viruses can appear and infect our computer.

Computer threats in the form of Virus, Trojans, Key loggers and Worms are increasing on a day to day basis. Some form of viruses can cause annoying pop ups whereas the more deadly items can even alter, delete or steal your personal data.

Having Antivirus software installed into your Windows PC or laptop is one of the essential things to protect your computer. Even with the latest release of Microsoft Windows 7 which has a lot of security built in; Microsoft strongly recommends having antivirus software installed.

Let’s look at some of the characteristics of a good antivirus program.

• Automatic up date of the virus definition files.

Virus definition files are the heart of the Antivirus Solution. All the information about the computer viruses, Trojans, malware, spyware etc and its respective solution is available in this database. Antivirus Scanning Engine utilizes this information for identifying and resolving the threats found on your PC. Automatic up date make sure that as soon as your PC is connected to the net, it will check and download the latest definition files from the antivirus provider’s web site.

• Extensive support and knowledge base database.

Support is one of the important aspects of most of the computer software. Antivirus is not an exception to this. There should be someone to help you out if you run into issues. If the company is providing you extensive documentation and offers you support through email, chat and phone this is a definite plus.

• Easy to use Interface with various scanning options and scheduled scanning.

Learning curve for using the program should be a breeze. Apart from this, a good antivirus program will give various scanning options. Say for example we would like to scan only Microsoft Office files. Or something like excluding the option of PDF files. This is beneficial since this will reduce the burden on your computer processing power. Scheduler helps you to scan your PC when it is idle.

BitDefender provides protection for all your internet related tasks. This takes very less processing power of your PC so you will not even realize that the antivirus is processing your files and data. This antivirus program identifies the viruses on the fly and locks them down. All in all, BitDefender can provide very good security without putting stress on your computer's memory or CPU.

Let us look at some of the nice quality features of Bitdefender now. It has the following benefits.

• World class protection against viruses and Spyware.
• Real time scanning of Instant Messaging, Web and email traffic.
• Extreme protection for credit card shopping from bogus web sites.
• Encryption of Instant Messaging traffic to protect your privacy.
• Provides protection to your Wi-Fi network by way of Wi-Fi Monitor.
• In built parent control option provides reports to the parents of their children’s online activity.
• Anti spam module prevents spam mails reaching your inbox.
• Easy to navigate knowledgebase for common virus issues & solutions.
• Technical support through Email, Chat & Phone.
• Very active support forum.

Norton Internet Security is an application suite consisting of Antivirus, Firewall and with a very good Spyware detection plug-in integrated inside. This product is from Symantec Corporation who is one of the pioneers in the antivirus technology segment.

Let’s look at some of the facilities offered by Norton internet security.

• Maximum protection from Spyware, Trojan horses, viruses & worms.
• Hacker proof by way of two way firewall.
• Intelligent pulse updating of virus definition files.
• Unique Multi layered coverage against latest online computer threats.
• Parental control provides security and monitoring of your kids online computer activity.
• Secures you from Phishing attacks.
• Diagnose and fixes the common issues by way of Autofix technology.
• Technical Support available through email, chat & Phone.
• Provides Wi-Fi security and actively monitors your home wireless network.
• Warns you about unsecured web sites in the search results

McAfee provides one of the most comprehensive defense mechanism against malicious viruses, computer worms and Trojans. McAfee security labs are constantly on the research against the emerging trends against online threats and resolve them from their grass root level. McAfee products are known to be reputed for securing the computer and their latest offering McAfee Total Protection 2010 is a perfect example for the same.

You can see some of the characteristics of McAfee Total Protection 2010 below.

• Greater security against Spyware, Viruses, Trojans, Worms & keyloggers.
• Quick Scan option efficiently scans the most common vulnerable parts of your computer.
• Network Manager Option allows you to scan your Home network from one single PC.
• Anti Phishing filter warns you against scam and corny sites.
• Shredder facility allows you to completely erase your confidential data.
• Automatically identify your PC/Laptop performance levels and helps you to optimize the same.
• Anti spam filter eliminates Phishing and spam emails from reaching your inbox.
• Greater protection for your kids with the advanced parental control.
• Intrusion detection system alerts you when someone is trying to get into your wireless home network.
• Exhaustive Knowledge base articles with all forms of customer support.

Trend Micro has over two decades of experience in total IT security. Those who started using computers in the 90’s will remember them as the manufacturers of PC-Cillin one of the award winning products at that time. Trend Micro Internet Security Pro is their latest and greatest offering.

Some of the features of Trend micro Internet security pro are below.

• Prevention from keyloggers, rootkits, viruses, worms and Trojans.
• Blocks unauthorized application changes.
• Restrict your kids from accessing in appropriate web sites.
• Data security even if your computer is stolen.
• Improves your PC performances by eliminating the unwanted temporary files.
• User can obtain a complete PC Security snapshot
• Save your personal data online securely.
• Visual warning to unsafe websites and block them with one click.
• Ultimate spam prevention technology keeps your inbox clean.
• World wide technical support assistance.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 provides good protection to your laptops and desktops. It is hassle free to install and take care of the latest online computer threats. KIS 2010 coming out of Kaspersky Lab who has more than 12 years experience in dealing with the Internet threats.

Here are some of the features of Kaspersky Internet Security.

• Provides protection from Viruses, hacking attempts, spam and phishing attacks.
• Regular definition files updates to prevent the latest online threats.
• Unique Sandbox mode which helps in testing the suspicious application programs.
• Two-way firewall isolates you from compromising your system security.
• Secure Wi-Fi connections to provide optimum protection over the public connection spots  like airport.
• Emails are scanned on the fly to detect and remove mail viruses.
• Provides virtual keyboard to prevent against key logger attacks.
• Safe folder provided for storing your private files.
• Different link color coding system for alerting against suspicious web sites.
• Improved parent control for great control on your kid's web browsing experience.

Panda Security has more than 20 years experience dealing with computer security. Panda products come with the latest and best computer protection technologies. Their technical support is one of the best. You can have complete peace of mind if you choose to go with their products.

Panda Global Protection 2010 offers the following benefits for you.

• Improved Anti malware engine automatically detects and removes all types of computer infections.
• Panda USB Vaccine protects your USB drives from virus infection.
• Low Memory consumption for the scanning process.
• Wireless Monitor identifies and eliminates attack on your wireless network.
• 5 GB Online backup of your sensitive files.
• Improves your PC performance by removing the unwanted temporary files from your hard disk.
• Maximum security for Online banking transactions.
• Anti Phishing module identifies and removes the scam and spam emails and thus offers greater security.
• Safe chatting with Yahoo, MSN, & AOL.
• Restrict access to inappropriate websites using parental control.

ESET provides one of the fastest and effective antivirus solutions with built in spyware and malware protection. Eset received awards from some of the reputed authorities like Forbes Magazine for their efficient virus removal tools. ESET NOD32 Antivirus is their flagship product.

Check out the ESET NOD32 Key points below.

• Provides you a shield against the key loggers, viruses, spyware, and computer worms.
• Proactive emerging threat detection technology and emergency patch release keep you away from the newly emerging online threats.
• Scans and cleans protective web pages and emails so your inbox and internet chats are always safe.
• Diagnose and recover your system if it is slow using the built in SysInspector and SysRescue modules.
• Isolates it from the other computer applications and prevent viruses from stopping or altering the antivirus protection.
• Drip feeding of virus definition files which ensures that your computer will not be slow with antivirus updates.
• Technical Support assistance through email, chat and telephone available.

F-Secure Internet Security 2010 comes from F-Secure Corporation who are a global leader in providing computer security solutions. Let’s have a look at some of its key strengths.

• Better security against all kinds of internet threats.
• High speed and Light weight application.
• Anti phishing protection against malicious websites.
• Safe browsing for your children using the advanced parental control feature.
• Advanced personal firewall keeps the hackers at bay.
• Insulates you from spam mails and keeps your inbox clutter free.
• Supports more than 20 Languages.

Webroot has a wide range of computer security solutions. Most of their products receive awards from respected third parties like PC Magazine. Webroot security products allow the customers to keep their digital files safe and secure.

Webroot has the following features.

• Automatically protects against all forms of computer threats.
• Isolates your PC from hacking attempts.
• Remotely access your crucial files from any part of the world.
• Secure backup of private data locally and online.
• Completely eliminates the traces of unwanted files.
• Automatic cleaning technology cleans up temporary files.
• Wide range of Technical Support.

AVG has one of the most advanced and comprehensive security technology against the latest computer security threats. They identify the emerging threats by employing some of the best R&D experts and proactively brings out the solutions. Their latest offering AVG Internet Security has the following features.

• Award winning antivirus technology.
• Safe and secure web browsing and chat experience.
• Secure transfer of digital files and images over the Instant Messaging.
• Safer email from spammer and scammers.
• High speed scanning engine for better scanning experience.
• Identity theft prevention technology for safe banking and shopping experience.
• Worldwide expert technical support available round the clock.

Compared to the normal applications and software, antivirus is something of a heavy weight application. Strength of antivirus software lies in the effectiveness in providing the virus and malware protection to our computers. In order to fulfill this task, virus definition files should be updated regularly with the newly arising computer viruses, Trojans and online threats. This involves cost of hiring people for development and support who are specialized in the computer security area.

You can find out a lot of free antivirus programs available in the internet. However, free programs may not be able to provide the kind of support and updated knowledge base database compared to a commercial version. Apart from this, many of them require the user intervention for updating the definition files. If you forget to update your definition files, your antivirus will be out dated. An outdated antivirus is as good as a computer without having any protection at all.

However, if you are really strapped for cash, install at least one of the free programs. It is better to have some computer protection rather than nothing.

Wish you a Safe and Secure Browsing experience.