Feb 21 2011
By
Dana | Filled under:
windows news
Comparison: Free Antivirus (2009)
Free Antivirus is a consolidated phenomenon. Those who were once primitive and craft programs have become, over the years, on robust tools capable of competing with the most complete antivirus payment. But what is the best free antivirus of 2009 ? The answer is not simple.
In this comparison the three major face-AVG, AntiVir and avast! – Two newcomers and Panda Security Essentials Microsoft Cloud. It was not easy to find a winner, because the quality of each of these products is remarkable. However, looking through a magnifying glass, we believe that differentiating between each of them is not only feasible but also useful.
Opponents
They are the best of the best in terms of free antivirus. Hundreds of millions of users rely on them to keep their computers safe against the overwhelming variety of malware that swarms over the Internet. Let me present:
AVG Anti-Virus Free 9, beautiful but slow
AVGAVG was one of the first Free antivirus gain popularity. Product of the Czech house Grisoft (now AVG Technologies), began in 1998. Now, its 80 million users guarantee the strength and quality of a known virus has renewed every year. The version analyzed is AVG Free 9.0 , the free, equipped with antivirus, antispyware, scan blogs and e-mail scanner.
Traditionally, complaints to the virus have had to do with speed, AVG problem which has sought to solve through analysis optimizer that runs after installing the antivirus. Version 8.x was embroiled in controversy earlier this year, when he spotted the user32.dll file system as harmful.
Avira AntiVir 9, antivirus kart
AviraThe German AntiVir, with over twenty years of history and a hundred million users, is another king of the free antivirus. Has a reputation for fast and light, but also dull. It is the only one of the comparison that has not been translated into Spanish in its free version. In addition, no analysis of email and web shield.
For a long time, AntiVir was known for annoying ads showing in updating the database of signatures, which version 9 has not remedied. The feeling you have when you run it is to be driving a powerful antivirus engine with little bodywork, so few that are options.
avast! Home 4.8, complete protection
AvastA native of the Czech Republic (like AVG), the famous avast! was born in 1988. They use more than 100 million people worldwide, and its engine has been used in other products such as G-DATA, which combines together the BitDefender. A lack of version 5.0 , which promises a new user interface and more sophisticated protection, we analyzed the 4.8, last representative of a very strong arm.
Avast! impacts us your dashboard, similar to an audio player, perhaps one of the least usable of the comparison. Moving beyond appearances, however, a number of modules we find hard to beat. Six shields protect all possible paths virus from IM and P2P programs to the local network and Outlook mail.
Microsoft Security Essentials, surprise
MSEAfter repeated failures , the latest being OneCare, Microsoft never expected to try again. But it has been: Microsoft Security Essentials is the latest venture of the Redmond giant in the field of computer security.
Those who thought meeting a mediocre product had to backpedal, it transpires MSE quality from every pore . Integration with Windows is perfect, and antivirus protection is complemented by the anti-spyware already present in the unknown appreciated and Defender, which fully replaces MSE. The reaction of the great houses, such as Symantec, has been very virulent, and no wonder: MSE users are growing every day.
Panda Cloud, the collective intelligence
CloudInstead of updating as any other antivirus, Panda Cloud samples analyzed through a collective network of information: a virus in the cloud . To be effective, Panda Cloud requires a permanent Internet connection, a dependency that is its Achilles heel.
The ease of use is paramount Cloud Panda and response times to new threats. On the other side of the equation are the lack of options and the little information that gives the user, but that does not seem to be a serious problem for most users. Furthermore, its intuitive interface is liked by many.
And the winner is … avast!
For the breadth of protection, speed and low false positive rate, avast! stands as the winner of this comparison. avast! stands out above all by the amount of available modules. And how important is the standard detection and control of alternative pathways, such as chat or web mail.
Closely followed by Microsoft Security Essentials, which offers the best user interface and the most effective malware removal and debris. No wonder that Symantec has hit hard MSE: the quality is enough to worry the home production of commercial antivirus. His point less favorable is the lack of options when handling infected files.
Rate of false positives / false alarms Tasas de falsos positivos The false positive rates of Avira and avast! are lowest (see AV-Comparatives)
In third place is Avira, a racing car racing without a body. Its engine is very fast, light and very effective, but poor control, the false positive rate, quite high, is attached to the cut function of the free version and the lack of translation in Spanish.
Fourth and fifth are for AVG and Panda Cloud respectively. AVG, despite its attractive appearance, is still a dinosaur in terms of speed of scanning. Panda Cloud, on the other hand, has severe limitations: its speed and detection capacity are high, but the memory consumption is also very high during the analysis. The need for a permanent connection is another notable limitation.
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