Todays Antivirus reviews

Best Free Antivirus:

So - the latest in the seek for a good AV, no - there will never be one that is always perfect.

Here is my list, slightly skewed by CNETs reviews (click links to see reviews):

1. Avast 5
2. MS Security Essentials
3. AVG Free
4. Avira Antivir
5. Panda Cloud Antivirus

Sorry, you wont see any mention of Norton or his scottish cousin McAffee here, this review is for fast efficient products, and whats more all of them are free and I was not specifically looking for free, it just happened as a "bi-product"!!!

1. I tried the latest Avast the other day and it has been pretty good at keeping a problem customer clean for the last month, I am not impressed by its overhead, but its worlds above Norton type products. So far I can't 100% vouch for it as I do not have a wide client base using it.

2. Microsoft's new Security Essentials came out last year, at first its engine was not very efficient, but with recent updates I would put it at 99.9%, performance is great, their active scanner has very low overhead, probably the lowest of all. I have a very wide client base that has been using this for over 6 months, and so far only 1 has been infected.

3. Cant say I have been happy with recent versions of AVG, they seem to be getting more and more bulky in the resource area. However they still

3. Cant say I have been happy with recent versions of AVG, they seem to be getting more and more bulky in the resource area. However they still have a good knack for detection. I have been using AVG widely since 7.5, but last years version caused me to look elseware (pun- yes) for faster software.

4. Avira - I cant say I know much about her, other than lots of discussion read here and there that its a great product, CNET reviews it to do moderately well.

5. Panda Cloud Antivirus unfortunately was a disappointment in the detection department, but I think as more users get onboard and development progresses it has the potential to far surpass all these other products. Its resource usage is the lowest I have seen, and its pure simplicity is wonderful: "I detect viruses" - what else do you want it to do - "I constantly nag you and slow down your computer"?