[EnTerr]

Quote

Can't comment on MSE's performance, but it was excluded from this story since this comparison focused on security suites exclusively.

Seriously? Saying this is like writing article named "Internet Browsers Showdown! 9 browser suites empirically tested" and NOT including IE (Internet Explorer) - and then to say "oh, it was included from the story because it is not a suite... it comes as part of Windows, it is not a 'suite' per se". See also: huh?!

[KNRover]

I'm surprised that nobody has yet mentioned that this review did not include Avast! I have just the FREE Avast AV, not the suite, but the suite includes the same AV. I've used it for 4-5 years, and have installed it on the PCs and laptops of the people for whom I provide tech support. Neither I nor any of the others have encountered any virus infections. I can understand that PCW could not test every suite on the planet, but if they wanted to include the most popular ones, Avast has to be one of them (it is far and away the #1 security suite download on CNET).

Makes one wonder about PCW's process of deciding what to test.

[b9f8]

Quote

Hey, how come the free anti-virus by Microsoft is not even mentioned in the article?

All chronic and manageable security issues are a ca$h cow for our 'protectors'.
We, and our children, are being manipulated for profit and control.
We are not taken seriously, our input is ignored, because we consume
provider time and profits, with our concerns and eventual lawsuits.
The less we know, for sure, the less threat we are to our authorities.
Our total ignorance is made obvious, by our obedient compliance.

Google will become Gobble, no harm in that. (;-)}

[BearPup]

I too must caution againstt McAfee, both for the problems it causes and their lack of support - they talk a good game, but that's all it is, pure talk.

I will also object to leaving out Avast which is one of the most widely used suites / stand alone products - it's conspicuous by its absence.And whilest I personally use Avast with excellent results (no virus attacks in all my years of using them), its usage by such a large installed base argues for its inclusion.

I'm afraid the article loses credibility. You usually do better than this people. Please redo and include those you excluded, regardless of the outcome.

[meclif]

Wow, what a disservice to the readers that don't know any better. How about the FREE stuff (all mentioned in comments above) that in my opinion (20+ years as an IT pro, yes it's how I make a living) are far better than these "for profit" suites. Norton? Seriously? Here is an idea: Let's see an article that presents results based on user feedback only.

[ShulaKantoryi9g]

Quote

Hey, how come the free anti-virus by Microsoft is not even mentioned in the article? Is that because it is small, fast, reliable and free and thus leaves little for all the other guys to make money? As a reminder, this is "Microsoft Security Essentials" (MSE) for all previous versions of Windows - and in Windows 8 it is renamed to "Windows Defender" (but still covers viruses - read more at http://en.wikipedia....rity_Essentials )

[BillSamuel]

Your results miss one key attribute. What is the rate of false positives? False positives are a serious problem in security software, and you seem to have ignored that problem.

[dennisjf1]

What I hate, is that you can only pick one secturity sute,
I had McAfee Internet Security last year, then I run a scan wth Microsofts free one and found problems that McAfee had missed, I have used all the big name brands, one big name brand that I am not going to name, I had problems with for two years, till I finally got ride of them and the problem went too, Try Microsoft Security Essentials Prerelease for free, look around try the free stuff to make up your owen full internet security sute

[Airpilot]

I'm surprised that none of the free AV suites were included in the showdown. Even if they proved to not be as good as the for-profit suites, it would be nice to know that.

Also, I've been using ESET 6.0.308.0, which is highly rated by other evaluation sources, and works well for me. Why not even a mention of this fine suite? Makes me wonder what else was missed...

Airpilot

[Airpilot]

Quote

Hey, how come the free anti-virus by Microsoft is not even mentioned in the article? Is that because it is small, fast, reliable and free and thus leaves little for all the other guys to make money? As a reminder, this is "Microsoft Security Essentials" (MSE) for all previous versions of Windows - and in Windows 8 it is renamed to "Windows Defender" (but still covers viruses - read more at http://en.wikipedia....rity_Essentials )

FYI, it is also renamed Windows Defender in Windows 7. I agree - why wasn't it tested?

[Airpilot]

Quote

i was unable to find the other 4 browsers by typing go.pcworld.com/AV2013suites in the "universal box" of my chrome browser. It kept giving me 404s. I also could not get to the article on www.pcworld.com/AV2013suites. I still have my java disabled after the recent security problems. What gives??

It breaks for me, too. This link works:
http://www.pcworld.c...49/article.html

PC World has failed in this AV Showdown on several levels...

[turk1159]

. . and no mention of ESET Endpoint Antivirus? I use it, I love it. It's lightweight and fast. And it found and got rid of lots of crap that my previous AV product (Symantec) didn't find. I even use it on my Android phone. That's what I like, thorough testing and reporting. (

[coyote4]

Security suites might be easiest, but are any the best choice? The last time I saw firewalls tested, the best one was the free Comodo firewall. So since then I've been primarily interested in tests comparing antivirus products, to determine which antivirus to pair with Comodo.

Shouldn't your suite tests mention that this is the best thing to do rather than using a suite (which is basically antivirus plus an inferior firewall)?

It would also be great if the top antivirus contenders paired with Comodo (or whichever firewall[s] currently test best) were included in your tests of security suites.

Currently I'm running Norton AntiVirus with Comodo; all features of both are compatible.

[umwilit]

I run MSE with Threatfire as a backup and have had know problems!

[cesmart4125]

Quote

I too must caution againstt McAfee, both for the problems it causes and their lack of support - they talk a good game, but that's all it is, pure talk. I will also object to leaving out Avast which is one of the most widely used suites / stand alone products - it's conspicuous by its absence.And whilest I personally use Avast with excellent results (no virus attacks in all my years of using them), its usage by such a large installed base argues for its inclusion. I'm afraid the article loses credibility. You usually do better than this people. Please redo and include those you excluded, regardless of the outcome.

[electrogadget]

Another contender that has high marks, but is missing from this report, is <b>Webroot</b>. Although it is relatively new, it rocks! I have been using them for 9 months, replaced Symantec and my boot time was cut in half, and it caught threats that Symantec never did. I switched out my companies Symantec with Webroot, even did it for some other companies, and everyone is happier. Love the web-based Enterprise console for management, as they host the console (no server standup on my side), and therefore they manage in-house and remote users the same way, in one pane of glass.

[mtcoder]

wow not a single mention of Vipre one of the best for price options around. Which if you want can include added protection by adding the libraries from mcaffee, bitdefender, and kasperksy.

What they also left out was how bad Norton nerfed half their users when they did an update recently that caused tons of false positives to the point of even removing some key system files.

Sorry but PCWorld just becoming long written advertisement articles. They pay, and PCWorld writes some article about how wonderful they are. Starting to think I should just skip reading the site anymore, it's becoming really blatant anymore.

[ald4r1s]

SpyShelter Firewall + Bitdefender = maximum protection.

I personally recommend this duo