PC Advisor: Group test: what's the best security software?

Nine 2009 internet security suites compared

PC Advisor staff
March 21, 2009

A run-of-the-mill internet security suite will protect your PC from most web threats, but that simply isn't good enough for discerning users. In our ultimate security group test, PC Advisor and independent lab AV-Test assess nine of the best suites.

2009 security suites: what's the best security software?

With attacks on your PC increasing in frequency and sophistication, it's more vital than ever that you use effective security software. The best protection, as our tests of the latest all-in-one suites show, can thwart the nastiest viruses, spy- and adware and phishing schemes.

In the early days of computer malware, you could get by without antivirus software simply by surfing carefully. Today's crooks love nothing more than to discover a nasty zero-day security flaw, for which there's no defence, then infiltrate otherwise benign and popular websites with hidden, malicious programming designed to attack that flaw. While relatively uncommon, such tactics can ensnare even the most cautious surfer. Today, you need protection.

PC Advisor got respected independent testing lab AV-Test.org to put nine comprehensive internet-security suites through the ringer. Its researchers poked and prodded, surfed and scanned, until one of the contenders - Norton Internet Security 2009 - came out on top.

Symantec's suite did an excellent job, starting with an overall malware-detection rate just short of 99 percent. It has an attractive and well laid-out interface, and its automatic updates send new malware signatures to your PC every few minutes.

More internet security product reviews

The designers also incorporated cloud computing, with on-the-spot online checks to supplement local scans. Yet another feature compares new programs on your PC against a database of known apps, a step meant to improve the suite's performance by preventing it from scanning safe programs.

Harnessing the immediacy of the internet is a trend this year. The F-Secure, McAfee and Panda packages all use online checks to detect new malware more quickly, without waiting for a scheduled signature update.

Although Norton deserves its top spot, it isn't for everyone. Norton can't perform backups, for instance, while four other suites here can. And while its detection rate is very good, it isn't the best - Avira wins that accolade. It's also pretty pricey.

2009 security suites: how we test

To evaluate the suites, PC Advisor partnered with AV-Test. This independent testing laboratory pits each suite against its ‘zoo'
of 654,914 backdoor apps, bots, worms, Trojan horses and password stealers, as well as 46,246 adware samples. Each suite was allowed to connect to the internet to use online checks, where available. Tests also determined each suite's ability to clean up malware infections.

Each suite had to detect and remove active and inactive rootkits - stealth malware that hides criminal software on your PC. Heuristic and behaviour-detection tests determined how well a suite could spot malware for which it didn't yet have a signature.

The heuristic tests used two- and four-week-old signature files to simulate encounters with new malware, while the behaviour tests examined how well a suite can identify malware based solely on the way it acts. AV-Test also assessed scan speed, both on demand (scans initiated manually or on a schedule) and on access (scans of files as the PC opens or accesses them).

More internet security product reviews

We then assessed design and interfaces: determining how well each suite handled alerts and phishing blocks, whether default settings were appropriate and how easy it was for advanced users to change them.

For security apps, performance and effectiveness are more important than aesthetics. As a result, our scoring depended largely on each suite's malware-detection and disinfection rates, along with the scan speed. We also considered price, support and features in the final rankings. Unless otherwise stated, prices given are for a one-year, single-user licence.

2009 security suites: in-depth reviews

* Avira Premium Security Suite 8.2 review
* BitDefender Internet Security 2009 review RECOMMENDED
* F-Secure Internet Security 2009 review
* Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 review
* McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009 review
* Panda Internet Security 2009 review
* Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 review BEST BUY!
* Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009 review
* Webroot Internet Security Essentials review

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ZDNet Reviews: Internet Security & Firewall

Find The Right Internet security and firewall

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Virus Bulletin: AV-Test release latest results

Major test of suite products completed

Independent testing body AV-Test.org has released the results of a major comparative of suite products, with many vendors' 2009 editions included in the results. The test covers a range of metrics, including detection rates over various types of malware including adware and spyware, false positive rates, scanning speed, proactive detection, and response times to outbreaks.

In terms of pure detection rates in on-demand scanning, a beta version of GDATA's AVK 2009 topped the charts for both 'malware' (measured against 1,164,662 samples) and 'ad- and spyware' (94,291 samples), with Avira's Premium Security Suite 2008 a close runner-up in the former category and F-Secure 2009 placing second in the latter. Secure Computing's Webwasher gateway product, based on the Avira engine with some in-house heuristics, came third in both categories.

Other areas analysed were scored on a five-point scale from very good to very poor. 'Proactive' protection included scanning of files discovered after the freezing of products, and executing unrecognised malware to test behavioural protection. Products rating 'good' or better in every category include Avira's premium suite (the popular free version has less complete spyware detection), AVK 2009, F-Secure's 2009 suite, Symantec's Norton I.S. 2009 (still in beta) and Sophos's Security Suite 2.5. All products taking part in the test managed to achieve a 'good' or better in at least one category.

The test also included keeping a record of the number of updates released over a four-week period. Of course, these numbers on their own cannot be used to measure the quality of the products involved, but were recorded out of interest. The most interesting data to emerge from this measurement was that the 2009 version of Norton topped the table with an impressive 6,202 incremental micro-updates, issued several times per hour, while Kaspersky came a distant second with a mere 696. Half of the 34 products tested had fewer than 100, including those from McAfee (21) and Trend Micro (30).

A summary of the major areas tested is printed below; hover over the product names to see full version information.

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Internet Security Suites: Software Review

Viruses, Spyware and Hackers!!!

There's no place like home - unless it has been infiltrated by Internet security threats. You can protect all aspects of your home computer with one program - an Internet Security Suite.

Why Internet Security Software?

We would never go on vacation and leave the doors to our homes unlocked and open. Yet many people leave an open door to their computers where harmful viruses, malicious spyware and internet predators can come in uninvited. These threats not only jeopardize our computers, but also our personal information and families.

Internet security suites integrate antivirus, firewall and antispyware software, parental controls and other protective features to:

* Protect your personal information. Crooks are becoming more creative and using technology. A security suite has antispyware software, anti-phishing protection and a firewall to guard senstive data.

* Protect your computer. Viruses can render your computer useless. Antivirus software continually screens your computer, email attachments and other files.

* Protect your family. Parental controls filter unacceptable web content and keep your children out of reach of online predators.

In this site, you'll find internet security articles and comprehensive reviews of internet security software that will help you make an informed decision on which software is right for you. At TopTenREVIEWS, we do the research so you don't have to.

What to Look for in an Internet Security Suite

Internet security suites combine the essential software to safeguard your computer against internet dangers.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate internet security suites.

* Firewall - A firewall is your desktop's first line of defense and should protect your computer and personal information and monitor ports and a wireless network.

* Antivirus - Virus threats are constantly evolving. A security suite should continually scan your computer and files for harmful viruses and be updated regularly so it can detect new viruses.

* Antispyware - Spyware comes in all shapes and sizes. The antispyware function of the security software should defend against adware, keyloggers, trojans and more.

* Other Security/Features - Top-ranking suites have additional security and features including anti-phishing, email and IM scanning and parental controls.
* Ease of Use - The best security programs are designed so everyone can use the software regardless of their knowledge of computers.

* Ease of Installation/Setup - Security suites should be simple to install and set up, not cause application errors or bog down programs.

* Help/Support - It is important that the manufacturers of security software provide help and support through FAQs, a user manual or a tutorial. They should also provide customer service by phone, email or online chat.

Read the review on TopTenREVIEWS #1 ranked product BitDefender Internet Security Suite to illustrate just what a comprehensive and reliable internet security suite is all about.

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