Pros

• BitDefender has one of the best chat encryption and rootkit detection features
• Has an easy-to-use interface that is fully customizable
• Has new features like Quick Scan Technology and a custom dashboard

Cons

• BitDefender is a little heavy on resources and can cause PC slowdown at times.

Selecting an effective antivirus program can be a daunting task due to the myriad of choices that are available. An antivirus program should be able to shield your PC against viruses, spyware, Trojans, worms, malware and new threats that are always emerging.

There are a number of criteria to evaluate before selecting an efficient antivirus program such as ease of use, effectiveness, scope of protection, updates, support and ease of installation.

BitDefender has proved to be one of the leading antivirus programs in these features.It has a fast scanning engine that sweeps your PC to remove all threats.And it does this without affecting other programs on your PC.

Its new Search Advisor feature ensures your PC is protected as you surf the internet. It’s built into your browser and monitors websites as you access web pages through the search engines. With SEO poisoning and other threats, even the top results in Goolge could be dangerous. Search Advisor provides ticks next to each search result telling you that a page is safe to visit or not. Simply hover over the icon, and you’ll receive more details about the threat level.

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2. NORTON ANTIVIRUS 2012

Norton antivirus is the most popular antivirus software in the market and is manufactured by Symantec. It provides a robust list of features and a whole new approach to online security. It is one of the best antivirus programs around and has been pioneering the software market from the start.
It does an excellent job of balancing system resources with its new set of features and provides a great overall user experience.
On the other hand, Norton antivirus has many critics who have disparaged it about software bloat and overzealous resource usage. But last year’s version turned that around and offered a speedy solution with a focus on effective resource management.

Pros
• With proper updates and scans, it keeps a computer virtually virus-free and safe from any network attacker
• Because it is a well established program with industry ties, it enjoys strong support and constant virus updates
• The advantage of having a paid antivirus program id that the manufacturer has a deep interest in improving it and staff who are on hand to assist.
Cons
• The monthly subscription fee is steep. Many computers come with a free 30 day trial, but the service is discontinued after this period. Many free antivirus programs come with similar features, hence users seek free alternatives.
• One major complaint about Norton antivirus is that it requires a large amount of resources and can make your PC sluggish.
• Known for starting system scans at very impromptu times as it runs 100% of the time.
• Completely uninstalling Norton antivirus can be impossible and it’s not uncommon for traces to remain in the system registry.

3. KASPERSKY ANTIVIRUS 2012

Kaspersky antivirus offers real-time protection from viruses, trojans, bots, worms and spyware. It has an easy interface which can be understood by a novice and is quite simple to use.
It doesn’t just remove viruses, but also keeps an eye on potential security threats and also protects from key loggers, dialers, adware, malicious scripts and more.
Kaspersky antivirus has traditionally been geared toward the expert user with its advanced tools and utilities which are still available in this new version; but it is now showing more of a consumer-level approach. The new version provides solid security and should be ideal for beginners and experts too.
The gamer mode ensures uninterrupted game play from annoying random popups or security updates; and can be deployed during gaming sessions.
It also shows your computer’s security status with a colour-coded traffic light which is clearly visible.
It offers a 3-user license option (for 1 year) which is very cost effective for all home computers

Pros
• It provides regular hourly updates for continual security and to make sure that updates aren’t so big that they take forever to load.
• It has the ability to revert to a previously working database if the most recent caused any problems.
• With a sleek interface which is easy on the eye and well polished, kaspersky is well designed and easy to control even for beginners.
• The new version has some extra included utilities: like the ability to create a rescue disk; use a virtual keyboard; erase activity history; analyse browser security and troubleshoot windows.
Cons
• Installation takes 5 clicks in total and the initial scan time is long
• Of all the antivirus programs we reviewed, Kaspersky was the most expensive at about £39, but it included a 3 user license as a bonus.

4. AVG ANTIVIRUS 2012

AVG is one of the most popular antivirus solutions. It offers great protection that delivers advanced security and simplicity. The interface is very easy to use and like last year’s version it is streamlined and easy to work with.
Unlike many other antivirus programs, AVG offers a free unlimited version which offers complete protection for viruses, malware, spyware, worms and other threats.
A new outstanding feature is Identity Theft protection in cooperation with Identity Guard to help you recover and restore your identity. It also scans outbound emails to ensure your email does not affect other PCs

Pros
• Easy to install
• Works silently in the background
• frequent automatic updates
• Includes antispyware tool, email protection and web browsing filter
Cons
• One of the slowest antivirus programs with slow scanning speeds
• it lacks a status bar in the scanning screen
• Doesn’t include all the features of the Professional version
• Detection rates aren’t as impressive as some of the other antivirus programs
• Nagging registration window
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