Anti-virus software

Anti-virus software comparison chart for 2024

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Anti-virus software explained

Computer viruses can be picked up from many different sources, including emails, websites and social media.

Effective anti-virus software will monitor all these areas and more, to prevent infection.

Most viruses target computers running Microsoft Windows, but you should choose anti-virus software carefully no matter what kind of computer you have.

The best anti-virus software keep you protected from a wide range of threats. Some of the dangers you'll be protected from include:

• Viruses. Often installed onto your computer without you realizing it, some may display strange messages, but others are likely to be much more harmful.
• Spyware. You are unlikely to know these malicious programs are even present on your computer, but they send your private data to hackers online.
• Keyloggers. A keylogger can record every keystroke made on your computer, including sensitive information such as login credentials and debit/credit card numbers, which the attacker can then potentially exploit for malicious purposes such as identity theft or financial fraud.
• Trojans. Also known as a Trojan horse, it is a type of malware that masks itself as a legitimate program but contains malicious code. Once a Trojan has infected a device, it can steal data, damage files, or even give a hacker remote access.
• Ransomware. Encrypts the data on your computer and demands a ransom for the decryption key, rendering the data inaccessible until payment is made.
• Worms. Copies itself and spreads from computer to computer over a network or by various means of communication without human intervention. Unlike viruses, a computer worm does not attach itself to the host file or program to spread. Worms are self-replicating programs.

Dealing with viruses

Anti-virus software monitors your computer for suspicious files and programs. Most packages compare what’s on your computer to a regularly-updated list of viruses. The best will also watch for unusual activity that could be a virus.

If it discovers a problem, anti-virus software will put affected files into quarantine, where they can’t cause harm. You may then be able to remove the virus without destroying the files it is attached to.

Because new viruses are discovered every day, it’s important you choose anti-virus software that downloads updated information about viruses (also called ‘virus definitions’) regularly over the internet.

What to look for in anti-virus software

Does it catch viruses effectively?

One of the most important aspects of any anti-virus program is its ability to detect and prevent virus attacks before they happen. If an infection does occur, the program should be able to contain, remove, and possibly repair any infected files. And, of course, all of this should be done without slowing down your system too much.

It should be able to detect known and zero-day viruses and effectively remove all virus traces from your computer. At the same time, it shouldn't flag any legitimate software as malware, referred to as false positives. And, of course, the program should run smoothly and not slow down your computer or interfere with your daily activities.

Will it slow down your PC?

The biggest complaint that users have about anti-virus software is its potential to degrade the overall performance of the computer. However, an efficiently designed scanner shouldn't have any noticeable impact on your computer and should be able to scan files and folders without causing slow down.

How any layers of virus detection does it have?

Effective anti-virus will use a number of different strategies to prevent and detect malware. Signature based detection is the most common, but heuristic based detection is also used by the top anti-virus developers.

Are the updates frequent?

In terms of updates, your anti-virus should give you the ability to set a scheduled automatic update as well as allow manual updates to ensure you always have the latest virus definitions installed. Some of the better security software vendors will also push updates to their anti-virus programs as new threats are identified.

How does it perform in the independent security lab tests?

The most reliable way to gauge the effectiveness of any anti-virus program is to look for its certifications. These are awarded through independent testing and research organizations. These research companies regularly compare different software titles for speed, system impact and on-demand/on-access scanning performance.

Since certification testing is paid for by the vendor, it is important to remember that a lack of certification doesn't necessarily mean that the software has failed testing. It may mean that the developers never submitted the program for assessment. For example, in the case of a small new company, they may not have the budget to accommodate testing costs. Despite this caveat, certification remains one of the few ways to accurately measure how well anti-virus software works.

There are several established and respected anti-virus security testing organizations. They are:

• AV-Comparatives
• AV-Test
• MRG Effitas
• SE Labs

Anti-virus software carrying a seal of approval from these test organizations will undoubtedly do the job efficiently.

What extras do they provide?

Do they unnecessarily inflate the price of the program?

How easy it to use?

It should be both easy to understand and operate whether you are a complete novice or seasoned expert. Walkthroughs, alerts and warnings should be straight forward and clear in their direction.

Do they provide help & support?

Help and support are critical components in choosing an anti-virus program or full security system. Most companies will offer standard support such as FAQs or online manuals and some will have active user forums. However, these may not always answer the questions you have. Tougher problems may require telephone and/or email support which could incur additional fees. Apart from the limitations in features, one of the main differences between paid and free anti-virus tools is often the inclusion of technical support.

FAQs

Q. What is a computer virus?

A. A virus is a malicious program that can easily spread to other computers through various means such as network connections, website downloads, or email attachments.

Q. What harm can a virus do?

A. Once a virus has been able to gain access to your computer, it can cause chaos in numerous ways. It may delete or corrupt all of your files, impede the operating system, causing freezes and crashes or even disable your security software, leaving you exposed to possible future attacks.

Q. Why do people create viruses?

A. Virus creators have a variety of motivations behind their actions. Sadly, today's most prevalent group uses viruses to capture personal data, financial information, and passwords for identity theft and fraud. There are still many cyber-vandals out there whose intent is solely to cause disruption and frustration for the user by making your computer unfunctional. One example is a DOS, 'Denial of Service' attack, which can be incredibly disruptive to websites.

Q. How did my computer become infected?

A. Though many infections occur from visiting compromised or hacked websites, the most common method of infection is through email attachments, often sent from people you know who are unaware that their computer is infected. Something as benign as a funny image, audio/video file and even a greeting card could actually be carrying a computer virus waiting to infect your system.

Q. How can I prevent a virus attack?

A. In addition to installing anti-virus software, there are some steps you can take to help protect yourself from infection such as:

1. It's always important to be cautious when it comes to opening emails or attachments, especially if they're from someone you don't know. Even if you think you know the sender, it's best to double-check with them before opening any attachments to make sure they're legitimate.
2. Keep your computer updated with the most recent operating system and software security patches.
3. Try to avoid using administrator privileges on your computer unless absolutely necessary.
4. Configure office software such as Microsoft Excel or Word to block macros from running automatically. This is because some viruses can spread through infected macro-enabled documents.

The old adage that 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' certainly applies to dealing with viruses.

Q. Are the established anti-virus companies the best ones to use?

A. Not necessarily. Unknown companies have been known to create excellent anti-virus products. However, established brands such as Norton, Kaspersky and McAfee have been around for a long time and with good reason. Their developers are experts in security threats and their knowledge translates into solid anti-virus scanners.

Q. Do I have to uninstall the existing anti-virus program before installing a new one?

A. Yes. Before you install any new antivirus software, make sure to uninstall the old one and then restart your computer. That way, you can ensure that any remnants of the old program is gone and you're ready to go with the new one.

Q. Why don't you review all anti-virus software on the market?

A. While there are a lot of antivirus titles out there, we’ve chosen to focus on the best ones that we think provide not only the best scanning capabilities, but also the best value for money.

Jargon explained

Heuristic scanning

This scanning technique involves carefully examining suspected malware files piece by piece and identifying unique sequences that distinguish them from standard programs. By using heuristic scanning, you can quickly detect and remove potential threats. Unlike conventional signature-based scanning, where known malware signatures are matched against files, heuristic scanning uses a set of rules and algorithms to detect previously unknown or "zero-day" threats.

False positives

False positives can be disruptive and frustrating for users and organizations. Legitimate files may end up being quarantined, deleted, or blocked, which can have a massive impact on the functionality of various applications and systems. If users are constantly bombarded with false positive alerts, they may end up ignoring or turning off their antivirus, leading to a significant compromise in their overall security.

False negatives

False negatives occur when a potentially harmful file or program, is mistakenly classified as safe or not harmful by the antivirus software, leading to its undetected presence on the system. False negatives can be a real problem since they can allow malicious files or programs to go undetected, potentially causing harm to our systems.

On access scan

Checks files and programs as they are loaded, accessed or opened to identify potential security threats.

On demand scan

Also called a manual scan, this is when the scan is started by the user, not by the software. This is the opposite of a planned or automated scan.

Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP)

A Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) is a type of software that may not be malicious but is generally considered unwanted by the user. PUPs often come bundled with other software. They can include browser toolbars, adware, and other programs that may display pop-up ads or change your browser settings without your consent.

Quarantine

Anti-virus quarantine works in much the same way as hospitals quarantine patients with infectious diseases, the program will isolate a potential threat and place it into a secure folder that is not easily accessible to other parts of the system.

Within the quarantine dialog of most anti-virus software, users can examine a log that identifies what file was initially infected and are given the option to either permanently delete the suspicious file or to reinstate it in the event of a false positive.

Signature scanning

This scanning technique involves the use of a database filled with unique patterns or identifiers that are derived from the code or behavior of known malware. These patterns are like digital fingerprints and can be used to identify different viruses. During a scan, the anti-virus software will compare the files, programs, or data on your computer or network against its database of virus signatures to see if there are any matches. This is a highly efficient approach of pinpointing and eliminating potential threats before they can cause any harm.

Virus signature

A virus signature is a unique identifier or pattern used by anti-virus software to recognize and detect specific types or groups known as a 'family' of malware. Researchers extract distinctive features or characteristics from the malicious code whenever they discover a new virus. These characteristics, which could be code snippets, text strings, file attributes, patterns of behavior, or other distinguishing features specific to that type of malware, are then used to generate a virus signature which then serves as a point of reference for the anti-virus software to match against files on the user's computer to detect potential viruses.

Zero day virus

This is a type of virus that takes advantage of a security flaw or vulnerability in software that the anti-virus software developers are unaware of. The term "zero-day" refers to the fact that the developers have "zero days" to address the issue. Zero-day viruses are particularly dangerous because they can infect systems and spread rapidly before security experts or vendors even become aware of the vulnerability. Unfortunately, users and organizations are often left vulnerable until the software vendor releases a patch or security update to fix the issue.