As our clients know I research security products continually to help our clients stay one step ahead of infections.  This past year we’ve recommended Kaspersky as the number one security package on the market.   Many have claimed that Norton, Mcafee and even AVG were the best out there, yet we were consistently seeing computers come in for repair “protected” by these antivirus/security software packages, only to be heavily infected.  The worst part?  The software had no idea what was going on.

AV Comparatives just released their newest security software report and who was rated Product of the Year for 2011?  You guessed it.  Kaspersky Internet Security.  Kaspersky and F-Secure (another malware solution we’ve spoken about as being a top solution) cleaned up.  AVG didn’t take a single award.  Surprisingly Symantec (Norton) won an award as taking the fewest resources and even in malware removal…but to be fair, Symantec has made huge steps in improvement this year.  In some individual tests over the year they have actually rated quite well, a dramatic departure from previous years.

For those who don’t know, AV Comparatives is considered the industry’s leading unbiased security software ratings.  Their reports can be dry and technical, but when you demand the best resource, they’re it.  Now, I know you probably don’t have the time or the where-with-all to read through dull reports like that.  That’s ok!  That’s our job and we’re here to help you.  Let me give you a quick summary:

Product of the Year 2011

• Kaspersky Internet Security

 

Top Rated Products

• Avira
• Bitdefender
• ESET
• F-Secure
• Kaspersky

 

Winners in individual categories:

On-Demand Malware Detection:

• F-Secure
• Avira
• Bitdefender

 

Proactive On-Demand Detection:

• Avira
• Kaspersky

 

False Positives:

• McAfee (interestingly enough, they didn’t rate for actually detecting anything either)
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• F-Secure

 

On-Demand Scanning Speed:

• Avast
• K7
• Trend Micro

 

Overall Low System Impact Performance:

• ESET, Symantec
• K7
• Avira

 

Malware Removal:

• Bitdefender
• PC Tools
• Kaspersky, Symantec

 

Whole Product Dynamic Detection:

• Bitdefender
• F-Secure
• G Data

 

How did AVG score?  Mediocre.  In the course of the year they barerly rated, either refusing to be tested or hovering between Standard and Advanced (which in AV Comparative ratings is the equivalent of mediocre to decent).  They only scored well on performance testing, which is a rating of how much they strain the computer when they’re running.  How about Symantec?  They actually did better than AVG, with an averge score of Advanced (or decent).  Mcafee?  The same as Symantec.

Here’s the best part of all.  Our recommend free solution all year has been Microsoft Security Essentials.  How did they rank?  Better than Mcafee, AVG, Sophos, PC Tools and Trend Micro..all of which are paid solutions.

When it comes to computer repair in Barrie, trust us to help you make sense of IT all and to help guide you through the confusion of bias, personal opinions, bad advice, conflicting information and a multitude of products and services competing for your dollar.  “We’re here to help!”