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Antivirus
Review: Winner?
Norton AntiVirus 2004
November 25, 2003
In the anti-virus arena, Norton AntiVirus 2004
surpasses McAfee
VirusScan 8.0 for its simpler and more thorough setup procedure, the ability to report on your virus infection history, and a stronger record on independent virus lab testing. But VirusScan—which deserves honorable mention—has moved within spitting distance of
Norton AntiVirus 2004. We found McAfee easier than nav when it came to scheduling scans and updates.
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McAfee
VirusScan 8.0
November 25, 2003
By Jay Munro
McAfee
VirusScan 8.0 matches the features found in Norton AntiVirus 2004
by including both inbound and outbound e-mail scanning, worm protection, and
spyware/adware detection. Its new silent updating and simple scan scheduling are actually easier for novice users than Norton's. The subscription version lets you submit an unknown virus to McAfee's labs with just one click. But Norton still bests McAfee in reporting on your virus history and in independent virus labs' testing results.
If you're upgrading, you may be surprised that firewall software is no longer included with
VirusScan. But McAfee offers bundled specials at prices comparable with the single AV product. The subscription version is cheaper than the boxed version, but your subscription copy stops working if you don't renew yearly.
With its new, simpler, non-threatening interface, VirusScan puts two icons on the desktop: Scan for Viruses, which brings up locations to scan and a few options, or the more comprehensive McAfee Security Center. Connecting with McAfee's site, Security Center gets alerts and advisories, shows your "security index" graphically, and gives access to basic and advanced configurations. McAfee
VirusScan 8.0 is set for maximum protection and automatic updates by default.
Better late than never, McAfee adds POP3 (inbound) and SMTP (outbound) e-mail virus scanning, and its WormStopper feature can block unidentified worms from sending e-mails from your system. When worm behavior is detected, such as sending more than five e-mails within 30 seconds, VirusScan asks whether you want to block them. Since VirusScan alerts you on every message exceeding a set limit of addressees, you'll want to disable this feature before sending your next BBQ invitations.
Like
Norton AntiVirus 2004, VirusScan scans for non-virus spyware,
adware, and dialers. On our tests, we found that it did find and delete some of the
mal-ware we installed, but you'll probably want to back it up with anti-spyware software.
McAfee
VirusScan 8.0 and McAfee Security Center are easy to use, easy to install (either from disc or as a download), and provide good default protection.
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Norton AntiVirus 2004
November 25, 2003
By Jay Munro
With
Norton AntiVirus 2004
(NAV), Symantec adds new touches to a familiar face, keeping NAV atop our A-list. It can now scan your system for installation-stopping viruses before installation, instead of using the old DOS boot CD and a slow command line scanner. It also prescans at setup and scans within ZIP and other archive files by default.
Keeping up with the times, NAV now finds and removes spyware, adware, and dialers. Also new is protection for instant message–borne threats in Yahoo! Messenger, MSN/ Windows Messenger, and AIM. NAV performs automatic updates by default, and you get a
system-wide warning when your virus pattern files are out of date.
Installation now includes a product-activation scheme that the company hopes will keep illegal copying of its software under control. This requires you to connect with a server at Symantec to get an activation code to use
NAV. Activation is anonymous, and registration is not required. You can reinstall as many times as you like on the same machine, and you have the flexibility to upgrade to a newer machine without buying a new copy.
Spyware, adware, and dialers, while not technically viruses, are threats to your privacy and finances. Like McAfee
VirusScan 8.0, NAV now scans and removes these threats. In our testing, NAV found most of our
adware, though it missed some spyware and dialers and had difficulty removing others. Symantec claims that NAV will stop incoming spyware and
adware received via instant messaging or e-mail but not from Web sites.
This version of NAV has improved default settings. The installation wizard walks you through the options, which include automatic updates, a full initial system scan, weekly system scans, and real-time scanning of compressed files. The status screen shows green, yellow, or red icons to indicate your protection level. In previous versions, if you let your updates lag, only the Update icon turns yellow or red. In NAV 2004, if you bypass an update, the program displays yellow and red icons across the board, indicating that auto-protection is out of gas.
With a 6.4 percent slowdown, NAV came in last on our performance degradation tests, though the hit wasn't significantly worse than VirusScan's 5.9 percent. We think this minor performance impact is a good trade-off for the protection you get. As with
VirusScan, NAV has conservative defaults that provide excellent protection. With better defaults and easy updates,
Norton AntiVirus 2004
once again gets our Editors' Choice nod.
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