How do normal people go about picking an antivirus for their computer? Honestly, I’m not really sure. I’ve never really done it before. I’ve just been using AVG Free since I’ve had a computer. But now I’m working in IT and the problem has risen. We are looking to upgrade to a new antivirus and I need to help figure out what the best one is.
My first thought was, “How do you go about judging an antivirus program? A person can’t go by what is said about the software on it’s company’s website. According to it’s owner, every antivirus is the best antivirus.” I needed something better. I looked for two things: reviews from real people and unbiased benchmark tests.
Instead of downloading and trying every single antivirus and trying to test them myself, I was able to find a couple different unbiased sites that have done tests on them already. Which ones block the most viruses, which ones take up the most resources and of course, price. I also did as much digging as I could to find real reviews and IT professionals’ opinions on which products were the best. Here’s what I found.
This probably isn’t the best way to organize the spreadsheet but this is what I came up with. Here is a spreadsheet with scores of whether a website said something good or bad about a product and then a link to that page. Out of the antivirus programs I searched for, it would appear that Kaspersky has some of the best reviews and performance of all of the programs. In a close second and third are ESET and Avira.
I currently have the Kaspersky, ESET and Avira trials downloaded and I am playing with them. At first glance, Kaspersky’s interface looked a bit more modern and nicer to me as well as going through the initial scan quicker than ESET but Avira’s is very nice as well. They do contain almost the exact same set of features so a person isn’t really missing much by choosing one over the other. Kaspersky also wins the price battle for the business version, coming in at $40 for a one PC license over ESET’s $60. But Avira takes the consumer price war with a feature packed free version.
At this point in time, I will more than likely be putting in my vote for Kaspersky as our new antivirus but I don’t think any of them are a bad choice. I think the most important thing in an antivirus is that it works for you. I know many people have different preferences when it comes to what they want in an antivirus program. They want it to look different, give them more or less notifications or have more or less features.
Go for the trial and free demos. Try a program out before you buy it. Always look at reviews from real people and un-biased sources. Don’t look at reviews on the company’s website. Also ask your friends what they use and if they like it and would recommend it.
What antivirus do you use? Was it on my list? What do you like about it and why do you keep using it? Please leave your comments and any other questions below or tweet me @DevonSchreiner.
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