Kaspersky and Microsoft Security essentials (MSE) are two giants of the antivirus software industry. They provide rock-solid protection against viruses, Trojans, worms and spyware. And they constantly fight to protect your PC from the latest malware threats without sacrificing your system resources.

But there are some major differences between Kaspersky antivirus and MSE and these relate to their features, effectiveness, performance, technical support and total online security.

One obvious difference is that Microsoft Security essentials isn’t really an antivirus software program like Kaspersky antivirus and others. It doesn’t have some of the common features we’ve now come to expect in an antivirus program such as a gamer mode, laptop mode, URL adviser etc. However, Microsoft has designed it to fight similar threats like viruses, spyware, Trojans, worms, keyloggers; and it does it well.

Effectiveness

Kaspersky and MSE have both been tested by leading test labs like ICSA, Virus Bulletin and West Coast labs. These tests reveal how these two programs perform against threats like viruses, Trojans and other malware (malicious software).And they’ve both been extensively tested on Windows XP, 7 and Vista.

As a Microsoft product, you would naturally expect MSE to have the best scores in removing viruses on all Windows operating systems. The results we’ve seen are fairly impressive and it scored highly in usability, repair and protection in the AV-Test.

Kaspersky antivirus, on the other hand, is a truly impressive program and results show that only BitDefender trumps it in effectiveness. It has scored 100% on the AV-Test protection test on Windows 7. And its other results are impressive and it has received the coveted VB100 award from Virus Bulletin.

Features

Kaspersky antivirus comes packed with features. One of his new impressive features is the virtual keyboard which lets you import sensitive information like your credit card and password by clicking on the digital keyboard with your mouse. So it blocks attempts by key loggers and keystroke recognition software from stealing your personal information.

MSE has a feature that integrates with Internet Explorer so it can immediately scan any downloads. Kaspersky has many other features and we recommended it if you’re also looking to protect your laptop as you use it on the road. It also provides a 3-user licence for the price of one, to protect up to 3 PCs in your home or business.

Summary

Microsoft Security essentials is a free program and that’s one advantage it has over Kaspersky antivirus. But Kaspersky is clearly the better program and if you’re serious about securing your PC from all forms of malware and hacker threats, then we recommend you pick this software. It has also won the most awards along with BitDefender and has over 120 companies using its scanning engine in their products.

One apparent difference between Norton and Microsoft Security Essentials is cost.MSE is free and is part of the Microsoft family of security programs which also includes Windows Defender. You can download it for free on the Microsoft website or on various prominent download sites like CNET and Softpedia.

Norton, on the other hand, is by no means free. It is one of the longest running security programs in the industry and is manufactured by Symantec. You will find many reviews of Norton online and many places to purchase it too. Unfortunately, it’s not one of the cheapest programmes and is actually one of the most expensive.

The are many other differences between Norton and MSE.And one of the crucial ones is that Norton has a family of products and Microsoft Security essentials is only a standalone program. With Norton you can choose to download the antivirus software, Internet security, firewall, Mac version, premium security or antispam software. And each one of these is designed to protect your PC from specific threats that are found both online and off-line.

MSE is designed to protect against viruses, spyware and other evil malware threats. And it provides protection for both your home and business PCs. Norton has a host of products that protect your PC from viruses, Trojans, spyware, worms, rootkits, hackers, phishing attacks and much more. And it has the firewall to block threats which MSE doesn’t.

So here are some factors to look at before you choose between Norton and Microsoft Security essentials:

Performance

Norton and MSE have both been tested by the leading test labs. AV- test tested MSE on Windows 7 and it earned a 15 out of 18 score. It scored 4 out of 6 in the protection category, 4.5 out of 6 in Repair and 5.5 out of 6 in Usability. But MSE did not pass the Windows XP test. And this shows that it is unsuitable for older operating systems.

Norton was tested by AV test on both Windows 7 and XP. And the results range from average to good and outperformed Microsoft Security essentials. It was particularly impressive on the AV-test protection score for Windows 7 and had an 83% success rate. Norton has also been tested and approved by West Coast labs, but no results appear for MSE under West Coast Labs.

Installation

Installing Norton is simple and quick. And like many other top paid suites, the installation process takes less than 60 seconds to complete. MSE is a lot slower to install and takes around 4 min on average. After which you will need to tweak and configure features which will take up more time to complete.

Compatibility

MSE only works with Windows operating systems and not Mac or other systems. Norton has a Mac version of its antivirus software and it’s equally as effective as the Windows version. The one advantage with using MSE is that it’s a Microsoft product and you’ll have very few conflict issues if any. But Norton has been known not to play nicely with other software programs and causes conflict at times.

Summary

There are many other differences between Norton Antivirus and Microsoft Security essentials. But we recommend Norton over MSE because it provides more features and has the ability to protect you from the newest threats. MSE is a relatively new product and many of its features and tools are still not as strong as those found in Norton.

AVG Antivirus and Avast have been around for years providing top protection for millions of users.

They have some of the most downloaded antivirus programs in the industry. And they provide advanced protection and simple use that won’t be taxing for inexperienced users.

But AVG and Avast have some major differences in both level of protection and features.

For starters, AVG Antivirus has been approved and certified by more third-party testers than Avast, but the leading testers Virus Bulletin, West Coast Labs and AV-Comparatives have certified both of them.

 AVG has two new outstanding features that improve its performance. The Social Networking Protection and LinkScanner boost it with proactive web protection, cloud antivirus and a security network.

The Social Networking Protection is an innovative tool that scans in real-time all links shared on social network sites Facebook and MySpace. So you’ll be protected from phishing scams and scammers looking to steal your personal data.

Avast also has some nice features like WebRep that provides proactive link scanning with colour-coded security reputation ratings on search engine results.

Removing Viruses and Spyware

AVG Antivirus is a perfectly adequate antivirus software program with good virus and spyware detection and removal rates.

Recent tests by AV-Comparatives, Virus Bulletin and other third-party testers show that it’s one of the most effective antivirus scanners with only a few performing better.

But AVG still struggles with overprotecting, and flags safe files incorrectly as malware.

AVG’s strength comes from the multiple layers and advanced technology they utilise. And the core scanning engine is superb, and is also backed up by proactive heuristic detection, cloud security and AVG Protection Network.

Avast is an effective antivirus program and has been certified by Virus Bulletin with a VB100%, meaning that it caught 100 percent of in-the-wild viruses. And they also found Avast’s proactive and reactive scanners to be very effective with top scores to prove it.

But Avast is missing some important features like antiphishing which you can find in other antivirus software programs.

New Features

Avast has many good features and has added many more this year.

One such feature is the Sandbox which keeps risky applications in a sterile environment. It allows your browser to run in a virtual environment where Avast can keep tabs on the file behaviour.

AVG Antivirus is loaded with more features than Avast and many of them are more effective. It even includes a PC optimiser utility which scans your computer and locates registry errors, junk files, file errors and broken shortcuts. And you can fix these errors once for free.

Summary

Overall, AVG and Avast are two impressive antivirus security programs with robust features and broad scope of protection.

Visit AVG Antivirus or Avast Antivirus to download your software.

Webroot Antivirus and Trend Micro have many features and tools. And you can download both programs for a low price that covers you for the year.

After you download the software of your choice, you’ll go through a simple process of installation and implementation. And you’ll then be able to perform a quick scan to clean your PC of any malware (malicious software) threats.

Webroot’s installation process introduces WARN (Webroot Automated Research Network), a proactive network approach that allows Webroot, with your permission, to gather anonymous information that helps keep it on top of new threats.

Webroot Antivirus doesn’t require a restart after installation, but it recommends a full scan immediately after you install, which you can decline to perform if you so choose.

Installing Trend Micro Antivirus is a very simple task and only takes a minute to complete. And the software is designed to work efficiently and effectively, and it does this for the most part.

One major benefit with Trend Micro is its cloud security that helps keep it lean and mean.  And since several processes are run online in the cloud, the software doesn’t consume as much computer resources.

Removing Viruses and Spyware

Trend Micro has focused on speed and not adding new features and tools in this year’s version.

It’s not missing any crucial features, but it’s lacking some advanced tools that are needed to fight viruses, spyware and other malware threats.

Trend Micro Antivirus is an effective solution combining traditional signature-based security with real-time protection. Its new cloud-based component improves its level of protection and overall potency.

And Trend Micro has been tested and approved by West Coast Labs as an effective program for antivirus, anti-spyware and anti-Trojan protection.

Webroot Antivirus & Spy Sweeper is the most impressive security program at spyware detection and removal. And it has earned several recent Virus Bulletin VB100% awards that certify that it’s completely capable of protecting from 100 percent of known in-the-wild viruses.

Overall, Webroot is more effective than Trend Micro at virus and spyware detection and removal.

New Features

Webroot Antivirus has added many new features recently and one of these is the popular Spy Sweeper.

It provides added security from spyware and malware threats. And it also stops other annoying and dangerous programs like pop-ups, adware and rootkits.

Another good feature is the gamer mode, which you turn on with the click of a button. And this feature allows you to enjoy videos, games and presentations in full-screen mode without annoying interruptions.

Trend Micro has the Trend Protect feature which is a browser plug-in tool that gives you warnings and security ratings while you use search engines like Google. It’s similar to McAfee LinkScanner and Norton SafeWeb and is a great tool for proactively protecting you while you surf the web.

But Trend Micro is still behind a bit and is missing a handful of features that you can find in Webroot and others.

Summary

Overall, Webroot is a better performing antivirus security solution than Trend Micro and it has been approved by many testing bodies.

Visit Webroot Antivirus or Trend Micro to download your software.

Webroot and Panda are two impressive antivirus household names with some of the highest downloads in the industry.

They both include many new features this year, so if you’re upgrading you’ll certainly notice a difference in the protection level.

Webroot combines antivirus protection from Sophos with the best spyware removal program, Spy Sweeper, to provide an effective arsenal against malware (malicious software).

Webroot is missing some nice features too though, like a laptop mode and link scanner. And you will find these features in other antivirus programs like Panda.

Panda is a few antivirus products behind Webroot in total protection. And this is mainly due to its detection and removal rates which aren’t up to par.

Panda has many good features though, and some of them are a gaming mode, home network manager, virtual keyboard and secure virtual browser. So you won’t experience many problems providing protection for all avenues on your PC.

Panda is certainly a very good antivirus security program and has some compelling features that make it worth considering.

Removing Viruses and Spyware

Webroot Antivirus with Spy Sweeper is the best program for spyware removal. The Spy Sweeper component provides an impressively high level of protection from spyware threats.

And the antivirus element is one of the most effective against viruses and other malware threats.

Webroot has 13 protective shields that cover your network, web browsing, Windows, start up programs, email and more.

The web browser shield for example keeps you safe online, blocking from internet explorer hijacks, exploits and tracking cookies.

So Webroot doesn’t disappoint when it comes to virus and spyware detection and removal and we’ve found it to be better than Panda.

Panda is an effective program too and has received checkmark certification from West Coast Labs for virus, malware and spyware protection. And recent tests by AV-Comparatives were positive as well, but it caught Panda overprotecting and labelling safe files as malware when they’re safe.

Scope of Protection

Panda has the tools to protect your computer from a wide scope of malware threats, hackers, phishing scams, rootkits and keyloggers.

This wide range of protection is made possible by incorporating traditional virus signatures and proactive heuristic detection with an integrated personal firewall.

Panda has also made a push with cloud security and therefore improved its overall protection.

Webroot protects you from several threats and keeps your computer completely safe. It includes proactive technology to find malware before it even reaches your computer.

Summary

Webroot Antivirus with Spy Sweeper is certainly a better security program than Panda. And it continues to show results in tests that beat many other antivirus security programs

Visit Webroot Antivirus or Panda Antivirus to download your software.

Trend Micro has been inching closer and closer into the list of leading antivirus security programs. And it has overtaken top programs like McAfee and Avast in overall protection.

Despite this, Trend Micro still lags behind many antivirus security programs like BitDefender and Kaspersky, and lesser known programs like G-Data. This is because it’s missing some nice features and tools that you can find in other antivirus programs.

Two missing features are a laptop battery saving mode and a gamer mode.

These aren’t truly essential features and most users can do without them. But it will come as a disappointment to avid PC gamers and those looking to save their laptop battery as they use it “on the road”.

McAfee is a big name in the computer security software industry and this is despite falling behind Trend Micro and others this year.

As a household name, McAfee has protected millions of PCs over the years from some of the most dangerous malware (malicious software) threats.

Removing Viruses and Spyware

McAfee Antivirus has been approved by third-party testers such as West Coast Labs, Virus Bulletin and AV-Comparatives for its protection capabilities.

It continues to receive high marks during tests and shows solid detection and removal rates of viruses and spyware.

But McAfee still struggles with overprotecting and inaccurately flags safe files as malware. These false positives are annoying and can cause huge problems, as was the case in April 2010 when it falsely flagged a crucial Windows file as malware and caused problems for many Windows XP users.

Trend Micro is an effective antivirus solution, and combines traditional signature-based security with real-time protection from virus and spyware threats.

It has been tested and certified by West Coast Labs as a very effective solution for antivirus, antispyware and anti-Trojan protection.

Trend Micro has proven to be more effective than McAfee at virus and spyware detection and removal.

Scope of Protection

Trend Micro’s foray into cloud security is impressive and helps it to provide extra protection for your PC.

It improves detection and resource usage by running most of the security processes online. So it detects threats before they make it to your PC. And since most of it is hosted online, you don’t have to waste your hard drive space.

McAfee Antivirus Plus protects you from a wide variety of threats such as hackers, phishing cams, dialers, spyware, malicious scripts and more.

And it’s one of the few security programs that include a complete two-way firewall.

Summary

McAfee is a bit subpar compared to some antivirus security solutions including Trend Micro. So overall, we’ve found Trend Micro to be a better choice and has more features and tools to shield your PC.

Visit Trend Micro Antivirus or McAfee Antivirus to download your software.

AVG offers many a compelling feature that shields your PC from all forms of malware (malicious software) threats. It is one of the best antivirus programs in the industry and offers a great solution with simple use.

AVG has one of the most downloaded free antivirus solutions, but for added protection, it’s worth paying for the full version.

Unfortunately, AVG antivirus is not one of the fastest antivirus programs and it overprotects at times, causing false positives.

McAfee too has struggled with false positives, inaccurately flagging safe files as malware. And in 2010, it flagged a crucial Windows file (svchost.exe) as malware and caused serious problems for many of their users.

But Mcafee has included many new features like Idle Timer which performs scans and updates when you’re not working and stops when you resume.

McAfee is still one of the biggest names in computer security but it has fallen behind slightly these last few years.

Removing Viruses and Spyware

AVG Antivirus is an effective antivirus scanner but it’s not one of the fastest in the market.

Its detection rates are average, but recent tests by AV-Comparatives, Virus Bulletin and other testers show that it’s one of the most effective antivirus scanners and has pretty good overall performance.

The strength of AVG comes from the multiple layers and advanced technology they utilise.

Its core scanning engine is great and is also backed up by proactive heuristic detection, AVG Protection Network and Cloud security.

AVG also collects anonymous data from its entire community to detect new threats.

McAfee has also been approved by third-party testers West Coast Labs, Virus Bulletin and AV-Comparatives. They’ve found McAfee to be up to the task of protecting your PC. And the antivirus solution continues to show good results in detection and removal during tests.

Scope of Protection

McAfee Antivirus is a complete security solution protecting you from a scope of threats like viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware.

It’s also equipped to protect you from hackers, phishing scams, dialers, rootkits, keyloggers and many other threats.

AVG Antivirus also has a full arsenal of resources to protect your computer from all angles. It uses advanced shields like the AVG Online Shield which includes security from viruses, worms, spyware and many other threats.

Summary

AVG is an impressive antivirus security solution and is more effective than McAfee Antivirus. AVG has a robust set of features making it one of the best antivirus solutions.

Visit AVG Antivirus or McAfee Antivirus to make a purchase or for more info.

Webroot and AVG are two very impressive antivirus security programs with millions of users who continue to trust them for their security.

They both have security programs that shield every avenue on your PC and this comes in the form of firewalls, antivirus, antispyware, anti-malware, and anti-spam protection.

Webroot have the best antivirus/antispyware combo in the industry. Their Webroot Antivirus & Spy Sweeper program is one of the best around and is the most effective at protection from spyware.

However, Webroot antivirus is still missing some nice features like a laptop mode and link scanner. And if these features are crucial to your needs, then we recommend you look elsewhere for protection.

AVG Antivirus, on the other hand, does have the Linkscanner feature and it provides a small colour-coded security icon next to every search result on Google, Yahoo! or Bing. These icons are displayed in real-time and let you know if a website is safe (green), dangerous (red) or should be approached with caution (orange).

AVG also has the new Social Networking Protection feature that scans in real-time all links shared on Facebook and MySpace.

But AVG has problems of its own. And one of them is it’s not one of the fastest scanning engines. And the software overprotects at times, causing false positives.

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Removing Viruses and Spyware

Viruses and spyware are the biggest malware threats facing internet users. There’re many types of these malware threats and hundreds are released each week, ranging from the annoying to the extremely deleterious.

Fortunately, Webroot and AVG Antivirus have a history of providing effective protection from these two leading threats.

Webroot Antivirus & Spy Sweeper is composed of two security features: antivirus and antispyware protection.

The antivirus protection is powered by security experts Sophos and the antispyware component is managed by Webroot’s own Spy Sweeper. Together, they’ve earned it a top place among leading antivirus security programs. And Webroot has been approved and certified by leading test centres, Virus Bulletin, West Coast Labs and ICSA.

AVG Antivirus is perfectly adequate software and is certainly effective. It has also been approved by AV-Comparatives, Virus Bulletin and others and they show that it’s one of the most effective antivirus scanners. The one area it struggles is in overprotecting and flagging safe files incorrectly (false positives).

Summary

We’ve found AVG and Webroot equally effective at providing protection from malware threats.

They have many of the same features and some missing one’s too, but we approve both programs for Home and Business use.

Visit AVG Antivirus or Webroot Antivirus to make a purchase or for more info.

Avast and Panda are two leading antivirus and internet security programs. And although they may not be the best security programs in the industry, they certainly have some impressive features and tools.

Panda, for example, has the USB Vaccine feature. It’s a utility that allows you to “vaccinate” your computer of malware threats that take advantage of the Autorun technology and are able to infect your PC the instant an external USB drive is connected.

And Panda also has the TruPrevent Technology 2.0 feature that uses behavioural analysis of files to detect malware-like activity and stop them before they infect your PC.

But Panda Antivirus is missing some advanced features that are present in other antivirus applications.

Avast has received better reviews from expert reviewers and customers. And that’s because it includes more robust features and some of these include reputation-based linking, a virtual desktop and automatic sandbox browsing.

But like Panda, Avast too is missing some features. And one of these crucial features is antiphishing that you can find in other antivirus software programs.

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Removing Viruses and Spyware

Avast Antivirus Pro is certainly an effective security program and one of the best in the industry.

Virus Bulletin has certified and approved it for its effectiveness with a VB100% certificate that states that it caught 100% of in-the-wild viruses.

Virus Bulletin also found its proactive and reactive scanners to be most effective, with impressive scores to prove it.

AV-Comparatives have also approved Avast as a top-notch antivirus program. It has a high virus detection rate and one of the best spyware and virus detection and removal rates. AV-Comparatives have awarded it an Advanced A+ rating which says it’s one of the best overall solutions.

Panda has earned checkmark certification from West Coast Labs for its protection from viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware and other malware threats.

It has also met the requirements for ICSA certification and recent tests by AV-Comparatives were positive as well. But it caught the software overprotecting and a high false positive count (it identifies files as malware when they’re actually safe).

We’ve found Avast to be more effective than Panda at spyware and virus detection and removal.

And it has shown better results during tests, with more third party testing bodies approving it.

Summary

Overall, Avast has shown better results than Panda, and its full version provides even more protection with a firewall to keep out hackers, scammers and all phishing scams.

Panda has some great features which are easy to tweak and use.

There are of course better options to Avast and Panda and for many users it would be better to go with the alternatives. However, they are both impressive and will provide all the protection you need.

Visit Avast Antivirus or Panda Antivirus to make a purchase or for more info.

Once upon a time, Mcafee was a leading antivirus and internet security program. But with the advent of new security programs like Webroot and others, Mcafee has quickly fallen from its vantage point.

While Mcafee Antivirus has some impressive and unique features like Idle Timer, Virtual Technician, File Shredder and SiteAdvisor that are hard to ignore, it is still a bit subpar compared to the top antivirus programs.

Webroot Antivirus, on the other hand, is missing some nice features like a laptop mode and link scanner. But it’s the best antivirus/antispyware combo package in the industry and has the impressive Spy Sweeper program.

Removing Viruses and Spyware

Webroot Antivirus with Spy Sweeper revolves around 13 protective shields that cover all areas on your PC including web browsing, Windows, startup programs, email and more.

And with these features your computer will be fully protected from viruses and spyware and other threats like hackers and phishing scams.

Webroot’s spyware removal software is the most powerful we’ve seen in our reviews.

The antivirus element is also up to par and has earned several recent Virus Bulletin VB100 awards. These certify that it’s capable of protecting 100 percent of known in-the-wild viruses.

Webroot is also approved and certified by West Coast Labs and ICSA as an effective desktop antivirus, antispyware, antimalware, anti-Trojan software program.

Mcafee has also been certified by all the major organisations including AV-Comparatives, West Coast Labs and Virus Bulletin. It continues to receive high marks on tests and shows solid malware detection and removal rates.

But Mcafee struggles with overprotecting and inaccurately reporting safe files as malware. These false positives are annoying and can cause huge problems as seen in 2010 when Mcafee flagged a crucial Windows file as malware and caused a disaster for many of its users.

Scope of Protection

Webroot is a very comprehensive program that protects from several sources and several layers.

It monitors and detects all forms of malicious software files and many unwanted programs like adware, dialers, cookies and keyloggers. And it ends all running processes that are a threat and removes the associated registry entries.

Mcafee is a complete antivirus program that protects your computer from viruses, worms and Trojans. It’s also equipped to detect and protect you from hackers, dialers, phishing scams and many more.

Mcafee includes a two-way firewall which blocks all the threats above and keeps them far from your PC.

Summary

Overall, Webroot is a good antivirus/antispyware program and has proven to be more effective than Mcafee in all areas.

Mcafee has fallen behind because it is missing many crucial features and needs to do more to improve its software.

Visit Webroot or Mcafee to make a purchase or for more info.