WHICH ANTI-VIRUS SHOULD I BUY?

I’ve searched long and hard for the best anti-virus / anti-malware software and whilst there is no perfect solution, I am happy to recommend a particular product that I have installed on many client system to great effect and of course I use it myself to protect my own systems.

My recommendations are based on independent testing and my own personal experience of removing infections from client computers. That second reason is why I cannot recommend any McAfee products – I remove more malware infections from McAfee than any other AV application. Admittedly much of this is down to its popularity, but in my view it is not a particularly effective system. You will see this product and other products I wouldn’t recommend pushed by major PC magazines and their associated sites. However if you look at the major test labs you’ll see they don’t fair so well.

WHY I RECOMMEND KASPERSKY INTERNET SECURITY

KIS consists of a very strong anti-virus & anti-malware engine, a strong firewall, a host intrusion protection system (HIPS), website filtering and sandboxing technology. Working as a unit these technologies provide very good protection against known and unknown threats.

Please visit: http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/kaspersky_internet_security to see the full range of features. Please note that KIS is a more fully featured product than Kaspersky AV which although an excellent product only offers the anti-virus elements.

WHY NOT JUST USE A BASIC ANTI-VIRUS (AV) APPLICATION OR FREE APPLICATION?

A simple antivirus product is simply not adequate to protect Windows against modern attacks. Normal AV software relies on knowing about viruses in advance and is playing catch-up with the virus writers who, by definition, are one step ahead. Therefore it is important to have other protection in addition to signature based AV. KIS offers several other proven technologies mentioned above.

Attacks which are not yet known about by the AV companies are called “zero-day” malwares or exploits. These are arguably the biggest threat. KIS scores very well indeed against these sorts of attacks as can be seen here: http://www.anti-malware-test.com/?q=taxonomy/term/25

Whilst there are free antivirus applications which can arguably compare with KIS’s AV element, as of the time of writing there is no single, free alternative to KIS that provides all the elements of protection to the same standard that I know of.

PROVEN BY RESPECTED TEST ORGANISATIONS:

Kaspersky consistently scores very highly with the established, independent test laboratories such as:

These labs test products with a large sample of attacks and are far more reliable than consumer and magazine sites whose test methods often leave a lot to be desired.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I remove a lot of infections from computers and therefore see from personal experience that certain big-name products let a lot of viruses, Trojans and other malwares past. In my experience Kaspersky has proven itself to be the best product I’ve been able to find so far. I would only recommend a product that I would use myself and after much research I chose KIS to protect my personal and work machines.

DOES KIS PROTECTED AGAINST ALL MALWARE?

No. Malware writers are constantly finding new weaknesses to attack and some will inevitably get through. All the average user can do is to use the best security products they can find and be careful about their use of the web. MobileTechie, Kaspersky nor any other company on the planet can make any cast-iron guarantees about the security of your computer.

ARE THERE ANY DOWNSIDES TO USING KIS?

Possibly yes. Any security application that monitors and potentially blocks network traffic has the potential to interfere with network applications. Also, KIS’s other protection features have the potential to interfere with other applications in a variety of ways. Unfortunately this is unavoidable with any such security application. If you suspect KIS is interfering with a program then use its Pause Protection feature to test this theory. If you need help then please feel free to contact me.

KIS IS EXPENSIVE – CAN I GET IT CHEAPER?

Yes it is pricey but good things usually are. Yes you can get it cheaper. If you are in the Berkshire/Hampshire/Surrey area and use MobileTechie’s services we can install KIS at a SUBSTSTANTIAL discount.

Mobile Techie is a computer repair and support call-out service offering first-class assistance to home and business users in Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire. Please visit our main site for details: MobileTechie