Antivirus software comparison from av-comparitives.

[usacvlr]

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/comparatives.html

Notice that mccrapfee and norton bloatware are towards the low end of the results.

 

[nonchalant]

Looks like Eset NOD32 continues to out do the others.

Hardly.

I see 7 of the 16 trialled with higher scores than Nod32.

 

[nonchalant]

What report were you reading?

I read this one ....

Linking directly to the tests/reports PDF's is a direct contravention of the sites policy. I'd remove that link asap.

Im referring to both the on-demand and retrospective/pro-active tests. You are simply referring to the summary.

And when you say NOD32 'out-does' the competition in what respect are you referring? Your obviously not referring to 'detection rate'. Nod32 faired only average in both tests.

If your referring to speed/overall I can see from the report Nod32 scored a high result, however for me 'detection rate' is more important than speed of scanning etc. As the report says. In my opinion, a fast antivirus isnt very good if it misses half the viruses for example.

Also, the 'on-demand' tests is much more indicative of a good AV than the 'retrospective/pro-active' tests.

 

[14049752]

Linking directly to the tests/reports PDF's is a direct contravention of the sites policy. I'd remove that link asap.

So....why'd you post another link in your comment?

 

[nonchalant]

So....why'd you post another link in your comment?

Doh.

..

 

[Jory]

They're all snake oil. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again. Even with my cynical view of anti-malware packages I still assumed detection rates would be higher than that on average. The sad thing is a portion of those files were probably flagged on basic heuristics that give false positives for tons of legitimate stuff. Another thing to consider is those are just the detection rates. Their ability to stop/remove is probably a much lower percentage of their already pathetic detection rates.

Personally I think selling any anti-malware solution is a mistake. You're putting your reputation on the line for what amounts to pocket change in the grand scheme of things. You're betting event X will happen and solution Y will stop/remove it. Between the cost in money and system resources I don't think it's a good bet looking at the numbers. It's selling short-lived piece of mind.

 

[usacvlr]

avira is in the lead
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse/report20.pdf

What report were you reading?

I read this one http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse/summary2008.pdf

 

[usacvlr]

Yeah personally I don't sell antivirus software for that reason and because of the resource issue. When a system leaves here it leaves FAST. The only thing I might preinstall is malwarebytes and although it's got a lower d Normally I just put the installers on the cust's desktop so they can decide and see the performance difference.

They're all snake oil. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again. Even with my cynical view of anti-malware packages I still assumed detection rates would be higher than that on average. The sad thing is a portion of those files were probably flagged on basic heuristics that give false positives for tons of legitimate stuff. Another thing to consider is those are just the detection rates. Their ability to stop/remove is probably a much lower percentage of their already pathetic detection rates.

Personally I think selling any anti-malware solution is a mistake. You're putting your reputation on the line for what amounts to pocket change in the grand scheme of things. You're betting event X will happen and solution Y will stop/remove it. Between the cost in money and system resources I don't think it's a good bet looking at the numbers. It's selling short-lived piece of mind.

 

[nonchalant]

I'd go for 'detection rate' over a 'summary' or someone elses recommendation anyday.

When you consider an AV's detection rate is say 96%, and consider there are over 1 million known viruses (some say its closer to 2 million) that means it misses or fails to detect at least 40,000 viruses. And we all know what damage just 1 virus can do..

 

[Fireddog]

I would consider that a great bit of info.. But we are in soon to be February 2009. The last data was done in 2008 november. I mean Av software is only as good as the last update that they recieve as far as definitions. Plus the ability of the software TO prevent.

Also the point made about just cleaning out malware on a machine and not giving a good recommendation to the client. .. Are your clients brain dead?
I have never had one client after I charged them for a malware removal NOt ask me what they should have to protect themselves After I left.
Unless the clients you have are the most naive people in history that is not going to happen.

It is why I have tested various products over the years. I want software that is fast to update. Scans fast and scans wisely plus when combined with a good anti-malware product that doesnt' interfere with each other will give the client the best protection I can recommend.

Or I can just Shove a pc out the door and tell them Wish ya luck and not care and expect that they are so naive that they will come back to me because I REALLY cared for their well being when they get infected all over again.

How can you do that to your clients and actually sleep well?

 

[usacvlr]

A doctor can cure a guy(or girl) of an std but he can't tell them how to live their life. Same goes for computer bugs. I generally make a recommendation but it is their behavior that will protect them in the end. Don't open executable email attachments and don't download crap that you don't understand or know what it is. Likewise don't browse your pr0n with IE lol

 

[Fireddog]

That is a terrible comparison to use. First off if a Doctor was actually in the tech of condoms.. and actually was hired to put them on.. I could see your statement being logical. But that is not the case.

This is more like the cop who investigates the house breakin and notices that the doors are simple locks that with an easy kick breaks down and doesn't recommend that they reinforce them as well as invest in an alarm system because the victim resides in a high crime area.

At least if you actually made the effort to actually set them up with a decent av system and they failed to use it properly I could see what your saying. But to just shove the pc out the door and leave an uninstalled non preventive product on their pc is irresponsible.

 

[MSgherzi]

Also the point made about just cleaning out malware on a machine and not giving a good recommendation to the client. .. Are your clients brain dead?
I have never had one client after I charged them for a malware removal NOt ask me what they should have to protect themselves After I left.
Unless the clients you have are the most naive people in history that is not going to happen.

Or I can just Shove a pc out the door and tell them Wish ya luck and not care and expect that they are so naive that they will come back to me because I REALLY cared for their well being when they get infected all over again.

How can you do that to your clients and actually sleep well?

I agree. I personally have never had a client not ask me what anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc. that they should use. I currently recommend AVG simply because of it's detection rate, though, I haven't looked at the tests posted here just yet. It's starting to become bloatware so I'm beginning to look elsewhere. That being said, I don't think it's right to simply throw a PC at someone without installing a minimum of something to protect them, regardless of what it is.

I do believe that the actions of a user are very important as well. As technicians, repair men, or what ever you want to call yourself, you not only are obligated to teach them how to modify their actions in order to be safe, but to provide the BEST protection possible. That includes installing, at the minimum, a decent anti-virus, anti-spyware/malware, enabling at least Windows Firewall (if it's a Windows OS machine), and installing and showing them how to use Firefox.

PC Repair technicians or what ever you call yourself are getting a bad name for practices of the opposite of this because honestly once I've taught my clients how to act online, what to download, what not to download, and install some simple software that I've taught them how to use, I've never ever up to this time had any of them come back and tell me that they got re-infected all over again. In conclusion, we have a responsibility to not just take the client's money and run away, but to do a good job and share our knowledge to help them for the future.

 

[Fireddog]

Its what separates us from that local mom and pop shop that has kids working their barely out of h.s. who really haven't been trained at all think they know what they are doing and just offer the free stuff and call it a day.

Its a huge difference when you have a professional work with someone who really does the research really cares about his/her clients and actually goes that extra step to ensure they are taken care off.

Just doing a system wipe and patching a pc back to service pack 3 and saying you did your job . which alot of shops just love to do.. also doesn't say much for those supposed professionals.

I expect more from my peers because I expect more from myself.

 

[usacvlr]

A computer is brought in for an infection and it is cleaned. Our responsiblity ends at the door. We have no control over what they do with their computer. I will not be responsible for other people's behavior. I will advise them on what to use but I generally do not install av software unless they specifically ask especially in a tune up situation because av software WILL degrade your performance.

 

[purple_minion]

A doctor can cure a guy(or girl) of an std but he can't tell them how to live their life. Same goes for computer bugs. I generally make a recommendation but it is their behavior that will protect them in the end. Don't open executable email attachments and don't download crap that you don't understand or know what it is. Likewise don't browse your pr0n with IE lol

Why isn't this a good comparision? I have a sore throat, I go to the doctor. He takes a look at it and asks some questions, etc. Find out a lot of strep is going around, he says if you take this medicine and take it all, stay in bed, etc. you should feel better. He prescribes some meds, he doesn't give them to me. If I have kids in the house I can ask how to help lower their/our risk at getting whatever is going around and he can advise us to wash our hands, don't go to friends homes if they are sick, call into work so as to no spread it, stay out of public areas, etc. But it's up to us and our personal responsibility to do what we want, and if that includes following this advice to reduce our risk. Now some people might not do all this because they don't care or need to work due to money problems, or what have you. Others don't like being sick and going to the doctor all the time so they listen. Still others go to the doctor and get the meds and then stop taking them once they feel better creating SUPER GERMS that are resistant to these medications and screw everyone else they pass it on to (think tuberculosis). If people treated every cold/std/etc. as AIDS or bird flu there would probably be a lot less people sick as they would do whatever they can to stop it (though the spread of AIDS and all that would show that some people don't care.) I have told many people don't let your kids or yourself on limewire/P2P and all that not only because of the virus potential but also the legal one, yet how many of them stop this?

Or think of it this way, AV products are like airport security, you can check everyone over and over but some of those horrible terrorists still make it through to lit there shoes on fire. You can catch some of them but not all of them. While you're now looking for the guy with the platform shoes the guy with the thermite hairgel is getting onboard.

 

[Fireddog]

Usa your the shop I love to take clients from. Because that attitude because it is an attitude that you believe in that says .. "Hey I did my job."

those are the guys I take their clients from extremely easily. It doesn't take much for me to show the client how a true professional cares for them as supposed to just cares for the minimum. I had a co-worker who did like you do.
They did the bare minimum. Then after there was a rotation in position and I took over... our business went up by 120%.

All because I was willing to do the right thing by my clients not just the bare minimum. But you keep believing you are doing the right thing and eventually it will show in the long run for you.

 

[MSgherzi]

Usa your the shop I love to take clients from. Because that attitude because it is an attitude that you believe in that says .. "Hey I did my job."

those are the guys I take their clients from extremely easily.

I echo this statement completely. While you can't control what they do after your job, you can pretty darn well make sure they do the right things after wards with just a minimal education. I've taken many clients away from others because they did something stupid and didn't warn them of what was right and wrong online and thus once I showed them, they not only stayed safe after wards 100% of the time so far, but have continued to come back to me or recommend others to me which has increased my business dramatically because I took just a little bit of time and made sure I didn't run with their money and do a half job, but made them a happier and safer computer user.

Even if you decide not to install an av program, install something LIGHT. There's no excuse for not installing absolutely nothing nowadays with people who use Windows and simply open up attachments from anyone. Either take a little bit of time to educate or put on a very light and simple AV program. There's no need to leave customers hanging in the dark like that. No wonder the computer repair services have such a bad reputation nowadays.

 

[gunslinger]

Unless the customer specifically tells me they don't want protection on their system I'll install a decent AV program, Spywareblaster, and turn on the Windows firewall. If they have kids I recommend Firefox as their default browser.

I will try to educate them if they seem interested in learning. If they come in a second or third time with the same problems I don't bother.

 

[TimeCode]

Unless the customer specifically tells me they don't want protection on their system I'll install a decent AV program, Spywareblaster, and turn on the Windows firewall. If they have kids I recommend Firefox as their default browser.

I will try to educate them if they seem interested in learning. If they come in a second or third time with the same problems I don't bother.

I agree. And the reason that I sell AV software is because you can (Legally) install Free software (Avira, AVG) on home PCs NOT used for business. So I install a free one for home clients and Avira Premium ($28) on business PCs. They respect me for:

1. trying to keep their systems clean
2. being honest with the licensing
3. the program being cheaper than McAfee or Norton

And I've never had anyone tell me that they didn't want at least the free AV.