Top 10 antivirus programs: description, main tasks, advantages and disadvantages

Today, as never before, anti-virus software is not only the most demanded in the security system of any "operating system", but also one of its main components. And if earlier the user had a very limited, modest choice, now such programs can be found very much. But if you look at the list of "Top 10 antiviruses", you can see that not all of them are equivalent in terms of functionality. Consider the most popular packages. In this case, the analysis will include both paid and shareware (antivirus for 30 days), and freely distributed applications. But first things first.

Top 10 antivirus programs for Windows: testing criteria

Before you begin to compile a rating, you should perhaps familiarize yourself with the main criteria that are used in most cases when testing such software.

Naturally, to consider all known packages is simply impossible. However, among all software products designed to protect the computer system in the broadest sense, it is possible to highlight the most popular ones. At the same time, we take into account the official ratings of independent laboratories, and feedback from users who use this or that software product in practice. In addition, mobile programs will not be discussed, we will stop on stationary systems.

As for carrying out the basic tests, as a rule, they include several main aspects:

• Availability of paid and free versions and restrictions related to functionality;
• Speed of full-time scanning;
• Quick identification of potential threats and the possibility of their removal or isolation in quarantine with the help of built-in algorithms;
• Frequency of updating the anti-virus database;
• Self-protection and reliability;
• false alarm;
• Load on system resources;
• Availability of additional features.

As you can see from the list above, checking the operation of the anti-virus software allows you to determine the strengths and weaknesses of a product. Next, I will consider the most popular software packages included in the Top 10 antivirus programs, as well as give their main characteristics, of course, taking into account the opinions of people who use them in their daily work.

Kaspersky Lab software products

First of all, let's look at the program modules developed by Kaspersky Lab, which are extremely popular in the post-Soviet space.

Here you can not single out any one program, because among them you can find a regular scanner Kaspersky Antivirus, and modules like Internet Security, and portable utilities such as Virus Removal Tool, and even boot disks for damaged systems Rescue Disc.

Immediately it is worth noting two main disadvantages: first, judging by the reviews, almost all programs, with rare exceptions, are paid or shareware, and secondly, the system requirements are unjustifiably overstated, which makes it impossible to use them in relatively weak configurations . Naturally, this frightens off many ordinary users, although the activation keys of Kaspersky Antivirus or Internet Security can easily be found on the World Wide Web.

On the other hand, the activation situation can be corrected in another way. For example, Kaspersky keys can be generated using special applications like Key Manager. True, this approach is, to put it mildly, illegal, nevertheless, as an output, it is used by many users.

The speed of work on modern machines is in the average range (for some reason, more and more heavy-weight versions are being created for new configurations), but the constantly updated databases, the uniqueness of technologies for detecting and removing known viruses and potentially dangerous programs are at their best. Not surprisingly, the Kapersky Laboratory today is the leader among security software developers.

And two more words about the recovery disk. It is unique in its own way, since it loads a scanner with a graphical interface even before the start of Windows itself, allowing you to remove threats even from RAM.

The same goes for the portable utility Virus Removal Tool, which can track any threat on the infected terminal. With him can be compared except that a similar utility from Dr. Web.

Protection from Dr. Web

We also have one of the strongest representatives in the field of security - the most famous "Doctor Web", who was at the source of the creation of all antivirus software from time immemorial.

Among a huge number of programs, you can also find standard scanners, and protection tools for Internet surfing, and portable utilities, and recovery discs. You can not enumerate everything.

The main factor in favor of the software of this developer can be called high speed, instant detection of threats with the possibility of either complete removal or isolation, as well as a moderate load on the system as a whole. In general, from the point of view of the majority of users, this is a kind of light version of Kaspersky. Nevertheless, something interesting is still there. In particular, this is Dr. Web Katana. It is believed that this is a software product of a new generation. It is focused on the use of "sand" technologies, that is, placing a threat in the "cloud" or "sandbox" (as you wish, so that's what it's called) for analysis before it enters the system. However, if you understand, there is no special innovation here, because such a technique was used even in the free antivirus Panda. In addition, according to many users, Dr. Web Katana is a kind of Security Space with the same technologies. However, speaking in general, any software of this developer is quite stable and powerful. Not surprisingly, many users prefer this kind of packages.

ESET Programs

Speaking of the Top 10 antiviruses, one can not help mentioning one more brightest representative of this area - the company ESET, which became famous for such a famous product as NOD32. A little later, the light appeared and the module ESET Smart Security.

If we consider these programs, we can note an interesting point. To activate the full functionality of any package, you can do two things. On the one hand, it is the acquisition of an official license. On the other hand, you can install a trial antivirus for free, but activate it every 30 days. With the activation is also an interesting situation.

As absolutely all users point out, for ESET Smart Security (or for a regular antivirus) on the official site it was possible to find freely distributed keys in the form of a username and password. Until recently, only these data could be used. Now the process is somewhat complicated: first you need a login and password on a special site, convert it to a license number, and only then enter it into the registration field already in the program itself. However, if you do not pay attention to such trifles, you can note that this antivirus is one of the best. Pros marked by users:

• Updating of virus signature bases is performed several times a day,
• The definition of threats at the highest level,
• There are no conflicts with the components of the system (firewall),
• The package has the strongest self-defense,
• There are no false alarms, etc.

Separately, it should be noted that the load on the system is minimal, and the use of the Anti-Terror module allows even to protect data from theft or misuse for selfish purposes.

AVG Antivirus

AVG Antivirus is a paid software designed to provide comprehensive security of computer systems (there is also a free truncated version). And although today this package is no longer among the top five, nevertheless it demonstrates a fairly high speed and stability.

In principle, it is ideal for home use, because, in addition to the speed of work, has a convenient Russified interface and more or less stable behavior. However, as some users point out, sometimes it is able to miss threats. And this applies not to viruses as such, but rather to spyware or adware "junk", called Malware and Adware. The proprietary module of the program, though widely advertised, nevertheless, according to the users, looks somewhat unfinished. And an additional firewall is often able to cause conflicts with the "native" firewall Windows, if both modules are in the active state.

Avira Package

Avira is another member of the antivirus family. Basically from the majority of similar packages it does not differ. However, if you read about it user reviews, you can find quite interesting posts.

Many people in no way recommend to use the free version, because some modules in it are simply missing. To ensure reliable protection, you will have to purchase a paid product. But such an antivirus is suitable for the 8th and 10th versions, in which the system itself uses a lot of resources, and the package uses them at the lowest level. In principle, Avira is best suited, for example, for budget laptops and weak computers. On the network installation, however, and there can be no question.

Panda Cloud cloud service

Free antivirus Panda at one time became almost a revolution in the field of antivirus technologies. Using the so-called "sandbox" to send suspicious content to the analysis before its penetration into the system made this application especially popular among users of all levels.

And it is with the "sandbox" that this antivirus is associated today. Yes, indeed, such a technology, unlike other programs, allows you not to throw a threat into the system. For example, any virus first retains its body on a hard drive or in memory, and only then begins its activity. Here, the matter does not reach preservation. At first the suspicious file is sent to the cloud service, where it is tested, and only then it can be saved in the system. True, according to eyewitnesses, alas, this can take quite a lot of time and unreasonably heavily loads the system. On the other hand, here you should ask yourself, what is more important: safety or increased testing time? However, for modern computer configurations with an Internet connection speed of 100 Mbps or higher, it can be used without problems. By the way, our own protection is provided through the "cloud", which sometimes causes criticism.

Avast Pro Antivirus Scanner

Now a few words about one more bright representatives of anti-virus programs. It is quite popular with many users, however, despite the presence of the same "sandbox", antispyware, network scanner, firewall and virtual cabinet, unfortunately, Avast Pro Antivirus in the main performance, functionality and reliability clearly loses to such grants as software products "Kaspersky Lab" or applications that use Bitdefender technologies, although it demonstrates high scanning speed and low resource consumption.

Users in this product attracts mainly that the free version of the package is the most functional and does not differ much from paid software. In addition, this antivirus works on all versions of Windows, including the "top ten", and it behaves well even on obsolete machines.

Packages 360 Security

Before us, probably one of the fastest antiviruses of our time - 360 Security, developed by Chinese experts. In general, all products labeled "360" are characterized by an enviable speed of operation (the same Internet browser 360 Safety Browser).

Despite the main purpose, the program has additional modules to fix the vulnerabilities of the operating system and its optimization. But neither the speed of work nor free distribution is in any comparison with false alarms. In the list of programs that have the highest indicators for this criterion, this software takes one of the first places. As many experts believe, conflicts arise at the system level due to additional optimizers, whose operation intersects with the tasks of the OS itself.

Software products based on Bitdefender technologies

Another "old man" among the most famous defenders of "operating systems" is Bitdefender. Unfortunately, in 2015, he lost the first place to the products of Kaspersky Lab, nevertheless, in the antivirus fashion, if one may so express it, is one of the legislators of the style.

If you look a little more closely, you can notice that many modern programs (the same 360 Security package) in different variations are made on the basis of these technologies. Despite the rich functional base, here too there are shortcomings. First, the Russian antivirus (russified) Bitdefender you will not find, because it does not exist in nature at all. Secondly, despite the use of the latest technological developments in terms of system protection, alas, it shows too high a number of false positives (by the way, according to experts, this is typical for the whole group of programs created on the basis of Bitdefender). The presence of additional components-optimizers and own firewalls in general, affects the behavior of such anti-viruses not for the better. But in the speed of work this application can not refuse. In addition, peer-to-peer P2P networks are used for verification, but there is no real-time e-mail checking, which many do not like.

Anti-virus from Microsoft

Another application, which is distinguished by an enviable operation with or without cause, is Microsoft's own product called Security Essentials.

In Top-10 antiviruses, this package is included, apparently only because it is designed exclusively for Windows-based systems, and therefore does not cause absolutely no conflicts at the system level. Besides, who, as not specialists from Microsoft, know all the security holes and the vulnerability of their own operating systems. By the way, interesting is the fact that the original builds of Windows 7 and Windows 8 in the basic configuration had MSE, but then for some reason this set was abandoned. However, it is for Windows that it can become the simplest solution in terms of protection, although you can not count on the special functionality.

McAfee Application

As for this application, it looks interesting enough. The greatest popularity, however, it has earned in the field of application on mobile devices with all kinds of locks, nevertheless on stationary computers this antivirus behaves no worse.

The program has low-level support for P2P networks when sharing files with Instant Messenger, and also offers 2-level protection, in which the main role is assigned to the WormStopper and ScriptStopper modules. But in general, according to consumers, the functional set is at an average level, and the program itself is focused more on identifying spyware, computer worms and Trojans and preventing the penetration of executable scripts or malicious codes into the system.

Combined antivirus and optimizer

Naturally, only the most popular programs included in the Top 10 antivirus programs were considered here. If we talk about the rest of the software such a plan, we can note some packages containing antivirus modules in their sets.

For the most part, these are antispyware and anti-advertisement utilities, as well as system optimizers. Among them, if you rely on feedback, the brightest representatives can be called Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Advanced SystemCare Ultimate.

What to prefer?

Naturally, all antiviruses have certain similarities and differences. What to install? Here it is necessary to proceed from the needs and the level of protection provided. Typically, corporate customers should purchase something more powerful with the option of network installation (Kaspersky, Dr.Web, ESET). As for home use, here the user chooses what he needs (if you want, you can even find an antivirus for a year - without registration or purchase). But, if you look at user feedback, it's better to install Panda Cloud, even though there is some additional load on the system and time of checking in the "sandbox". But it is here that there is a complete guarantee that the threat will not penetrate the system in any way. However, everyone is free to choose what he wants. If it does not make activation difficult, please: ESET products work fine in home systems. But to use optimizers with anti-virus modules as the main means of protection is highly undesirable. Well, to say which program takes first place, too, can not: how many users, so many opinions.