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Virus alert

CNET 2007 antivirus performance test scores

CNET Labs compares the performance of antivirus apps.

By Robert Vamosi (October 26, 2006)

For the first time in nearly two years, we have an Editors' Choice winner for antivirus protection. Of the products we've tested and reviewed thus far, we think Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 offers the best value and performance. Norton AntiVirus 2007 improved some over last year, but McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007, despite adding a firewall, failed to move up. New this year is Eset NOD32, an excellent application, but one that's best suited for more advanced users. Look for additional reviews for CA Anti-virus 2007 and BitDefender 10 within the next few weeks.

How we test
Testing done by CNET Labs focuses on how a given antivirus scan affects the performance of a few real-world tasks. For example, in the Apple iTunes 6.0.1 test, we time how long it takes to convert 19 WAV files to 192Kbps MP3 files. To see how a given antivirus app performs when stopping malicious code, we recommend viewing the latest test results published by independent antivirus testing organizations AV-comparatives and Checkvir.com.

iTunes 6 deep-scanning performance
In seconds (shorter bars indicate faster performance)

iTunes 6

Test system

162

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6

174

NOD32 2.5

194

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

196

CA Anti-Virus 2007

206

Norton AntiVirus 2007

208

BitDefender 10

234

AVG AV Pro 7.5

296

Sorenson Squeeze 4 deep-scanning peformance
In seconds (shorter bars indicate faster performance)

Sorenson Squeeze 4

Test system

241

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6

250

NOD32 2.5

283

Norton AntiVirus 2007

317

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

329

AVG AV Pro 7.5

334

CA Anti-Virus 2007

335

BitDefender 10

348

Scan speed
In seconds (shorter bars indicate faster performance)

NOD32 2.5

101

BitDefender 10

102

CA Anti-Virus 2007

112

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

116

Norton AntiVirus 2007

117

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6

160

AVG AV Pro 7.5

290

Boot speed
In seconds (shorter bars indicate faster performance)

Test system

NOD32 2.5

AVG AV Pro 7.5

Kasperksy Antivirus 6

CA Anti-Virus 2007

Norton AntiVirus 2007

BitDefender 10

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

Read the CNET editor's take

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6

Norton AntiVirus 2007

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

NOD32 2.5

BitDefender Antivirus 10

Avast Antivirus 4.7 Home Edition

CA Antivirus 2007

AVG Anti-Virus 7.5 Professional Single Edition

More resources:

Security Center

Windows resource center

Software

	Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 is light and fast and consistently wins detection awards against the competition; it's worthy of our Editors' Choice designation. 8.0 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	Norton AntiVirus 2007 By rewriting much of the code, Symantec made Norton AntiVirus 2007 faster and lighter than its 2006 version, but a few glitches here and there keep us from granting it our Editors' Choice award. 7.5 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007 Despite a face-lift, the redesigned McAfee VirusScan Plus continues to consume system resources and leaves its customer support lacking. 6.8 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	NOD32 2.5 If you want a fast, flexible antivirus product that an advanced user can tweak to perfection, NOD32's an excellent choice. But if you're more of a set-it-and-forget-it novice, look elsewhere. 7.3 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	BitDefender Antivirus 10 BitDefender Antivirus 10 is a solid antivirus and antispyware solution, offering two-year subscriptions for the price of one elsewhere; however, it could be faster, offer built-in help, and uninstall better. 6.8 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	Avast Antivirus 4.7 Home Edition Avast Antivirus 4.7 Home edition works fairly well for a free antivirus protection. 6.5 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	CA Antivirus 2007 CA Antivirus 2007 provides a good antivirus engine, adequately protecting your desktop from basic malicious viruses and worms. But the application has a few interface glitches and provides less-than-optimal technical support. 6.4 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices
	AVG Anti-Virus 7.5 Professional Single Edition AVG Anti-Virus 7.5 Professional Single Edition is a pretty good, no-frills virus scanner. But you'll need to purchase antispyware software for complete malware protection. 6.0 out of 10 CNET editor's take Check prices

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