Windows

Kaspersky Can Protect Itself

By EAN ⋅ September 20, 2007 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

But Will It Do The Same For Your Computer?

I feel like a new antivirus pops up every week. They’re like firewall and web browsers - there’s just too damn many of them. Unfortunately, the problem is that most of them are garbage. Complete and utter wastes of resources. These crappy antiviruses crash, don’t protect your computer, and install a variety of process hogging junk on your system in the name of security.

Now, I’ve seen countless reviews over the years that judge antiviruses on all sorts of criteria. From memory usage to email scanning. I didn’t think that any stone had been left unturned. But then I came across this study about product self protection from the Anti Malware Test Lab. Needless to say, I’m fascinated by the results.

The study was based on how well each antivirus could hold its own against viruses and other malware modifying its code in some way under Windows XP SP2. And who was the winner, Kaspersky of course - and with a 97% secure rating at that. Impressive, but I’ve always heard (and experienced) positive things from the Russian security specialists, so no surprise there.

What I was surprised to find in the study was how well Symantec (71%), ZoneAlarm (58%), and McAfee (45%) fared. I have hated all three for some time now. They’ve been buggy, processor hogging, RAM using annoyances. But apparently they can protect themselves pretty well.

On the flip side of the coin, two antiviruses that I have heard very good things about, Avast (33%) and PC-Cillin (42%), scored poorly on the tests. That’s a real shame, because I know a lot of people who swear by those two programs.

Despite the depth of the study, I’m not sure that too much weight should be thrown behind it. Sure, it’s nice to have an antivirus that can protect itself - but isn’t the whole purpose for the antivirus to protect the computer as a whole? While keeping itself secure is of the utmost importance, what good is a program that can secure itself but doesn’t actually catch any known viruses on your computer, turns up too many false positives, or renders your computer unusable?

Click here to read the whole article at the Anti-Malware Test Lab.