Avira AntiVir Personal: Great Malware Protection

Avira AntiVir Personal ranked second in our late 2010 roundup of free antivirus products. AntiVir did a great job at detecting and blocking malware.
AntiVir Personal is nearly identical to its paid counterpart, AntiVir Premium 2010: Both have nearly identical interfaces and installation processes, so the real difference between them is the feature set.
The Status tab gives a basic overview of whether you're protected and up-to-date, though it doesn't really give too much detail. Most buttons are not labeled, and the button icons are not always immediately detectable, so you'll have find them for a tooltip describing what they do. Avira is a German import, and some of the wording in dialog boxes feels awkwardly translated. The overall feeling I got from AntiVir Personal's interface is that, while it's serviceable, it feels geared toward more advanced PC users.
Avira put up very good scores for malware detection. AntiVir Personal detected 99 percent of malware samples in scanner-based detection tests that predominantly rely on malware signature files, which was one of the better showings in this test among the free antivirus products we tested. And in the blocking of actual, real-world malware attacks, AntiVir personal completely blocked 80 percent of attacks, which puts it slightly above the average of the products we tested. It partially blocked an additional 5 percent of attacks.
Avira also but up decent scores for malware cleanup. It detected all infections on the test system, and was successful in removing all active components of an attack 70 percent of the time (right around average), and removed all malware components 30 percent of the time (also about average).
On the negative side, AntiVir Personal, along with Comodo's free Internet Security Premium, had the most false positives--six--of the free antivirus products we looked at. As a percentage, this number is still low--it was .004 percent of files scanned, and they were all non-operating-system files, but any false positive can be a hassle. That said, only one free product we tested--Avast Free Antivirus--achieved a perfect false positive score.
AntiVir Personal's scan speeds were impressive as well--it completed an on-demand scan of 4.5GB of data in 87 seconds, the best finish of the free antivirus products we looked at. Its on-access scans were also quite fast: It finished the test in 4 minutes, 7 seconds, well below the average time of 2 minutes, 50 seconds. The on-access scan is a good indicator of how quickly an antivirus program will be able to scan files for malware as they're opened or saved to disk. In addition, AntiVir Personal's impact on overall system performance was low, and it added a mere 2.5 seconds to system startup in our tests--the average product added over 4 seconds to startup time.
AntiVir Personal, like Avira's other products, has been a strong contender in the past, and this latest version continues that trend. But we'd like to see Avira make some improvements to its user interface.

Symantec launches beta of Norton 360 5.0

Symantec opened the public beta of Norton 360 5.0, the latest version of the company's end-to-end security suite. This beta builds upon the updated versions of Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security, and improves the usability and performance in the backup and tune-up features exclusive to Norton 360, revamps the online backup user experience, and integrates with Norton's free online tools.

New Features
The revamped UI in Norton 360 puts all of the different tools: Antivirus protection, online backup, Identity protection, Norton Safe Web, Norton Online Family, automatic PC tune-up and the global threat protection map are all displayed on the main screen, and settings/security controls for each are organized underneath.
Norton 360 5.0 now includes resource management for third-party apps on your PC. Norton 360 can immediately alert you, if a particular piece of software you have installed is using a lot of system resources. If alerts aren't your thing, you can check out resource logs to compare third party app behavior.
As with any security package, performance remains a paramount issue. Symantec says it is working to improve backup and restore performance, reduce system impact, and increase valuable communication with users in Norton 360. PC Tuneups, one of the most popular features of 360 are also faster, the company told us.
Additionally, the Bootable Recovery Tool Wizard, Norton's malware removal tool to get inoperable systems up and running again, can now be booted from USB or CD/DVD.

F-Secure Internet Security 2011

F-Secure has launched a new product F-Secure Internet Security 2011. They have released a Public Preview so that you can experience the new look of new version. This preview version is currently available only in English and gives you the opportunity to look what the successor of F-secure Internet Security 2010 has to offer in context with performance improvements, security and new features.
F-Secure Internet Security 2011 comes with a separate menu called Online Safety which consist of parental and Browsing Protection. From here, you can configure parental controls for different user accounts.
Another new and interesting feature is for those who access internet via UMTS access card / stick on Netbook or notebook on the go which detect your mobile internet connectivity. With this new feature, you can select whether to download new updates to the security suite on the mobile phone connection or not.

Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2011

Trend Micro's Titanium initiative aims to offers consumers maximum security with minimal aggravation. When you download Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2011you immediately how different it looks from the 2010 model.
Features:
SPAM-BLOCKER
Detects and blocks annoying and dangerous junk email and image spams. The real-time spam detection provides immediate protection from outbreaks.

REAL-TIME UPDATES
Safeguard your computer from the latest on-line threats today and in the future. Titanium Maximum Security leverages Trend Micro%27s Smart Protection NetworkT plus real-time antivirus scanning to provide always-on-guard protection keeping you safe from latest, ever-evolving malware threats.

PARENTAL CONTROLS
Protect your children from inappropriate websites, limit their time on the Internet, and see detailed reports about what they do online, without having to look over their shoulders.

DATA THEFT PREVENTION
Prevent hackers and spyware from stealing credit card numbers, passwords, email addresses, and other sensitive data.


TREND MICRO VAULT
A password protected folder that can safeguard your sensitive files. If your computer is lost or stolen, you can remotely lock this vault to keep these files safe.

SECURE ERASE
Deleting a file just removes the directory information used to find it, but not the actual data. Secure Erase overwrites deleted files with random data, so that the contents can%27t be retrieved.

SYSTEM TUNER
Recover disk space, make Microsoft Windows start faster, clean out your instant messaging history, and optimize your computer%27s performance. Schedule automatic tune-ups to keep your PC running smoothly.

LIGHT ON SYSTEM RESOURCES
Titanium is powered by Trend Micro Smart Protection NetworkT which gathers and analysis threat data, blocking viruses and other malware BEFORE they can reach your PC. Because the processing is done "in the cloud", Titanium uses less of your PC%27s memory and disk space, so it won%27t slow you down.

DETAILED SECURITY REPORTS
Easy to read graphic reports provide you with all the details about the threats that attack your computer. You can drill down into detailed logs with just one click.

FREE TOOLS
The Titanium Maximum Tool Centre displays a page of shortcuts so you can easily access and manage features such as Parental Controls, System Tuner, Secure Erase and more. From the Tool Center you can turn features ON or OFF for a solution tailored to your individual internet security needs.

Norton Releases 2011 Security Products

Norton announced its 2011 versions of its Norton Internet Security suite and Norton Antivirus software, a new application--Norton Power Eraser--that is produced to remove the increasingly common fake antivirus malware.
New features for Norton's 2011 product lineup include new "reputation-based" detection technology, bolstered behavioral malware detection (detecting malware based on how it acts on your PC), and new system performance monitoring tools.
Norton Power Eraser is a new freebie tool designed to identify so-called fake antivirus malware--malware that looks like garden variety antivirus software and tried to coerce you into paying for "full" versions of the software that do nothing at all.
Another new tool is Norton's Bootable Recovery Tool, a tool of last resort for when your PC is so hosed by malware that it won't start up, or your antivirus software won't even work properly. The Bootable Recovery Tool is a free download, but you need to enter a Norton product key in order to use it.
As for detection, the company declares that the new Norton products lead the security pack. We'll be the final judge of that, though, when we have a chance to thoroughly test the new Norton products. To see how Norton Internet Security 2010 performed, be sure to check out our review from earlier this year.
The new Norton products are available for purchase now from Norton.com; Norton Internet Security 2011 costs $70 (for use on 3 PCs), and Norton Antivirus 2010 costs $40.

Lavasoft Releases Dual-Engine Ad-Aware Total Security

Lavasoft has just announced the release of new versions for its award-winning, Ad-Aware suite. Several modifications are to be mentioned as the company no longer treads the previous path.
Ad-Aware protection bunch comes in three different flavors, with the freebie leading the way, closely followed by the two paid editions. This time around, the freebie includes full antivirus protection: “Here at Lavasoft, it’s part of our founding principle that all computer users must have the power to protect themselves online. By continuing to offer the Ad-Aware Free version and now adding anti-virus protection, we are ensuring that our users throughout the world have a one-stop product that delivers core malware protection: anti-spyware, anti-virus and anti-rootkit,” says Johnny Widerlund, Senior Technologies Director at Lavasoft.
The Plus version has been replaced by a different suite, Ad-Aware Total Security, a complete set of tools bent on offering your system not just the best security against malware.
For increased protection against malware, Lavasoft select GData as their technology partner for Ad-Aware Total Security. Thus, the tool relies on two antivirus engines, which can work in tandem or separately. Among highlights of the bundle are easy-to-configure personal firewall, rootkit removal system, anti-spam protection, webmail protection, as well as protection against phishing attacks. Ad-Aware Total Security includes special features including parental control, backup and system tuning functions.
Ad-Aware Total Security also offers a comfortable file shredder designed to securely remove your data, in a manner that prevents its recovery. A simple drag and drop of the item on the file shredder desktop icon is enough to get rid of it.
The prices set by Lavasoft for the two products are $29.95 for a one-year single user subscription for Ad-Aware Pro, while Ad-Aware Total Security sells for $49.95. The difference between the two is pretty steep, the Ad-Aware Total Security representing a new turn in Lavasoft’s security products.

Kaspersky Lab Predicts Malware Epidemics

Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions, has successfully patented technology in the USA that allocates the potential scale of malware epidemics to be accurately predicted in order to prevent them from spreading.
"The patented technology works by examining statistical data about threats received from a global monitoring network.
Emerging epidemics can be recognized by the number of incidents occurring during a specific period in one location or another. It makes it possible to pinpoint the source of an epidemic and forecast its likely propagation pattern.
Protective measures can then be implemented by countries in the path of the epidemic. This slows the proliferation rate considerably and offers effective damage limitation, according to chief intellectual property counsel Kaspersky Lab.
The technology has a number of advantages over other similar systems, including the ability to trace the source of the threat, generate protective measure and simulate the spread of an epidemic, she said.
Today's malware has the capacity to spread in millions of computers infected in an instant as an epidemic sweeps across the Internet. This can take down huge swathes of infrastructure, bringing information highways to a standstill and leaving systems vulnerable to data leakage which in turn opens the door to large scale fraud. Detecting malware on computer that is infected during an epidemic has little or no effect. What is needed is a reliable method for estimating the potential scale and direction of an epidemic, an early warning system, and that is exactly what the new technology developed by Kaspersky Lab's Yury Mashevsky, Yury Namestnikov, Nikolay Denishchenko and Pavel Zelensky, is capable of doing. The technology was granted Patent No. 7743419 by the US Patent and Trademark Office on 22 June, 2010.
Kaspersky Lab currently has more than 50 patent applications pending in the USA, Russia, China and Europe. These relate to a unique information security technologies developed by the Company's personnel.