Compare Anti-malware Software

What We Test:

Malware and Adware Protection Every anti-malware program is tested for malware / adware removal and threat prevention power.

Resource Impact How fast are the programs? What effect do they have on your PC's performance? We find out.

Technical Support Tech support accessibility and performance are rated (and we uncover any hidden costs.)

	Winner! #1	Rankings #2	#3	#4	#5	#6	#7	#8	#9	#10
	ByteFence Anti-Malware Read Review Visit Site	ESET Antivirus Review Visit Site	Reason Core Security Review Visit Site	Kaspersky Anti-Virus Review Visit Site	F-Secure Anti-Virus Review Visit Site	AVG Anti-Virus Review Visit Site	Avast Pro Antivirus Review Visit Site	Bitdefender Antivirus Plus Review Visit Site	Malwarebytes Anti-Malware‎ Review Visit Site	Avira Antivirus Review Visit Site
Adware Detection
	100%	92%	100%	96%	92%	94%	91%	92%	92%	89%
Malware Detection
	99%	99%	99%	98%	99%	97%	96%	99%	95%	97%
PUP Detection
	100%	89%	100%	87%	86%	85%	86%	81%	91%	82%
Features
Quick Scans ?
Full Scans ?
Custom Scans
Real-time Protection
Adware Protection ?
PUP Protection ?
Browser Protection
Scheduled Scans
Whitelist ?
Quarantine ?
Low Resources ?
Side-by-Side AVs ?
Cloud Scanning
Internal Signatures
Immediate Updates
Email Support
Online Support
Telephone Support
Supported Configurations
Windows 10
Windows 8
Windows 7
Windows Vista
Windows XP

 

“ByteFence – Best Anti-malware Software of 2015”

 

Anti-malware Software Review

You don’t have to go out looking for trouble online anymore; trouble is always looking for you. These days, the internet is littered with malware programmed to automatically seek out weaknesses in your computer. The best antimalware software prevents the installation of malware efficiently and effectively – and if some gets through, eliminates it. Even if you are the only one who uses your personal computer or laptop, anti-malware software is still necessary for dependable, vigorous internet security. It includes the same fundamental security features found in internet security suites without the extra elements, such as parental controls. Computer malware can be picked up from many sources, including emails, websites and files from friends. Good anti-virus software will monitor all these areas and more, to prevent infection at the source. Most viruses target computers running Microsoft Windows, but you should choose anti-virus software carefully no matter what kind of computer you have. It could save your files and help you avoid having to reload your computer from scratch.

If you’re looking for non-intrusive internet safeguards, antimalware software is the ideal solution. The best malware protection software defends your computer from all manner of malware threats, such as viruses, Trojans, spyware, rootkits, keyloggers, adware, spyware and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).

If you are searching for anti-malware software that you can install and forget about, consider choosing ByteFence Anti-Malware or Reason Core Security. For world-leading offline and online malware protection, look to ESET NOD32. For a reliable shield with low-resource malware scanning, consider F-Secure Anti-Virus. If adware and PUPs are a problem we highly recommend Reason Core Security or MalwareBytes as well as ByteFence, our overall choice.

What We Look for in a Top Anti-malware Product

To be counted among the best anti-malware software, an application must perform two functions well: detect malware and remove it. If the antimalware software cannot perform those two tasks, any other features provide little value. We looked for antimalware software that doesn’t hit system performance hard and that has the proven ability to recognize and eradicate malware. We also compared the feature set and the technical support provided by the software developer. The best antimalware software has minimal impact on system speed so it won’t slow down your work or play and it’s not loaded down with features you may not need. These applications can protect your PC from malicious attacks from downloaded files, emails, misleading links and infected external drives.

Adware, Malware and PUP Detections

Effective anti-malware will use a number of different strategies to prevent and detect malware. Signature based detection is the most common, but heuristic-based detection is also used by the top anti-malware developers. The bottom line is that anti-virus software should protect you against viruses, worms and Trojans and if it can also protect you against spyware and rootkits even better. Anti-malware software cannot remove malware that it cannot detect. We gathered numerous effectiveness scores to evaluate which product has the most dependable performance in detecting malware. The performance tests incorporate not only known threats, but also newly emergent threats and suspiciously behaving scripts. The best anti-malware software doesn’t miss much, but it also does not cry wolf, producing a significant number of false-positive results.

Certifications

The most reliable way to gauge the effectiveness of any anti-malware program is to look for its certifications. These are awarded through independent testing and research organizations. These research companies regularly compare different software titles for speed, system impact and on-demand/on-access scanning performance.
Since certification testing is paid for by the vendor, it is important to remember that a lack of certification doesn’t necessarily mean that the software has failed testing. It may mean that the developers never submitted the program for assessment. For example, in the case of a small new company, they may not have the budget to accommodate testing costs. Despite this caveat, certification remains one of the few ways to accurately measure how well anti-malware software works.

Performance

Anti-malware software must do more than block malware that’s already been flagged as dangerous and listed as malicious in the software provider’s threat database. It must also detect and block fresh threats too new to be in the database. Furthermore, it must identify and neutralize threats that manage to sneak by the filters and begin to behave maliciously. Performance is the most important consideration. In order to represent performance objectively, we refer to data from independent software test labs, which exposes dozens of competing antivirus software products to tens of millions of actual and potential threats. In tests that employ hundreds of workstations networked to dozens of servers, we report how well various security software products protect and repair damage.

Features

When looking for features, you want to look at what the software can do in addition to how well it performs as discussed above. Anti-malware software with a variety of scans gives you many perspectives to help you find problems. The best antimalware software also prompts you to create rescue discs to protect your data, allows you to safely run an infected computer and explains which malware infection was found so you know the appropriate course of action. Preemptive security functions such as virtual browsers and white lists reduce the chance of infection by creating a buffer against attacks.

Help and Support

We evaluated the type of customer assistance and technical support the manufacturers provide. The best anti-malware software providers offer telephone, chat and email support, as well as user manuals and online documentation. Many also provide virus and threat information, user forums and the ability to submit suspicious files for assessment.