Trying to figure out which antivirus software to use is a difficult one. Yesterday, we covered two of the most popular antivirus programs on the market. Today, we’ll briefly review three additional antivirus software packages and tomorrow we’ll visit some recommendations.
Programs
● PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 – PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 by Trend Micro includes much more than an antivirus program. It includes a firewall program as well as anti-spyware scanning. The antivirus program may be a little difficult to install for some, but has a pretty intuitive user interface. This means that you shouldn’t have to worry about understanding what the program is telling your or directing you to do.
PC-cillin does a pretty nice job at catching viruses before they can cause damage to your system. The other parts of the security suite (i.e., the firewall and anti-spyware scan) are not on the same level as the virus scanner, however. If you’re looking for a complete suite and not just a good antivirus program, PC-cillin may not be the best choice for you. Trend Micro’s customer service is a little better than the customer service offered with McAfee VirusScan and Norton Antivirus. You at least get a toll-free number to call if you can’t find help via their Web site.
● AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall Edition – Grisoft now offers their antivirus program, AVG Anti-Virus, with a built-in firewall. While you can purchase AVG Antivirus Professional, the AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall Edition package offers similar coverage, plus a firewall for just a few more dollars. Both products offer more comprehensive antivirus coverage than their free version, Free AVG, which I reviewed earlier in the week.
AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall Edition will catch most viruses that sneak on your computer. Regular updates help keep your system clean, as long as you scan your system at least weekly. At times the interface may seem crude and difficult to understand, but this only really becomes an issue when you go looking for deeper information than the scan results give you such as seeing what types of threats your computer has recently experienced, unbeknownst to you.
● Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 – The Kaspersky Lab is often touted as the know-it-all of computer virus detection companies. Their antivirus software, Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0, also acts as a know-it-all and doesn’t mind letting you know. This program is designed for more experienced users, but really users of all levels can use the program. The initial installation is more difficult than it needs to be and will require some reading on your part to make sure everything is installed correctly. Once running, most of the default settings don’t need to be touched if you are a less-experienced user, but can easily be changed if you want to tweak the settings.
Virus detection is on par with other antivirus programs and you shouldn’t have to worry that much is getting by the virus scanner. Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 lets you know when it detects a virus, but sometimes used odd language to do so—the program is trying to show it’s virus know-how and can be intimidating to less-experienced users.
Recommendations
Tomorrow, I’ll give my recommendations about which antivirus product to use.