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BitDefender's Malware Detection: Top-Notch

March 2006

This low-cost antivirus tool performed the best in our heuristics tests and caught the widest range of malware. more

Edited by Narasu Rebbapragada


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Rank	Antivirus software		Comments
1 Best Buy COMPARE	BitDefender 9 Standard
		• Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $30	PCW Rating: 92 Superior Inexpensive product received excellent scores in our performance tests, although its scan speed was sluggish. Full Review \| Test Report
2 COMPARE	McAfee VirusScan 2006
		• Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Full Specs • Check latest prices	PCW Rating: 87 Very Good Relatively good heuristics help VirusScan provide solid protection. Phone support costs $3 per minute. Full Review \| Test Report
3 COMPARE	Kaspersky Lab Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0
		• Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Full Specs • Check latest prices	PCW Rating: 85 Very Good Program had the fastest response to new malware outbreaks. Interface is clean but not exceptional. Full Review \| Test Report
4 COMPARE	F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006
		• Performance: Superior • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Full Specs • Check latest prices	PCW Rating: 83 Very Good Solid performer responded quickly in tests and provides best breaking news on malware outbreaks. Full Review \| Test Report
5 COMPARE	Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2006
		• Performance: Good • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $40 • Full Specs • Check latest prices	PCW Rating: 80 Very Good Veteren utility offers solid threat detection and a nice interface. Phone support costs $30 per incident. Full Review \| Test Report
6 COMPARE	Panda Software Panda Titanium 2006 Antivirus + Antispyware
		• Performance: Very Good • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Very Good • Price when ranked: $50 • Check latest prices	PCW Rating: 79 Good This former Best Buy performed well, but not exceptionally, in our newest nonspyware tests. Full Review \| Test Report
7 COMPARE	AntiVir Personal Edition Classic 6.32
		• Performance: Good • Ease of Use: Good • Features: Fair • Price when ranked: Free	PCW Rating: 78 Good AntiVir performed the best of the free programs, although it failed to clean several old macro viruses. Full Review \| Test Report
8 COMPARE	Alwil Software Avast Home Edition 4.6
		• Performance: Fair • Ease of Use: Very Good • Features: Good • Price when ranked: Free	PCW Rating: 77 Good Free product has a slick media-player-style interface that hides some features. Scan speed was slow in tests. Full Review \| Test Report
9 COMPARE	Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security Security 2006
		• Performance: Fair • Ease of Use: Superior • Features: Good • Price when ranked: $50 • Check latest prices	PCW Rating: 77 Good Former Best Buy performed poorly in heuristics and zoo tests but has the best interface of the bunch. Full Review \| Test Report
10 COMPARE	Grisoft AVG Free Edition 7.1
		• Performance: Fair • Ease of Use: Fair • Features: Fair • Price when ranked: Free	PCW Rating: 73 Good Free program has subpar heuristics and one of the clunkier interfaces among the products we tested. Full Review \| Test Report

Want a side-by-side comparison of two or more of the products on this chart? Simply click the Compare box under each product's ranking and then press this button.

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