Items tagged with Antivirus
In the quest to quell all the malware that persists in the world, you need a good antimalware solution, but one is not just as good as the next. In a new report, Dennis Technology Labs compared 9 of the top anti-malware products from various companies to see which handled the onslaught the best. Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 topped the list, boasting 100% “Legitimate Accuracy” and 99% “Total Accuracy”, while ESET Smart Security 7 wasn’t far behind with 100% and 98% respectively, and third place went to Norton Internet Security with 97% and 97%. Bringing up the rear in ugly fashion was Microsoft Security Essentials and McAfee Internet Security. Microsoft’s...
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You can debate all day long how much of a threat malware truly poses to Google's Android platform, but if you want to err on the side of caution, there are antivirus solutions available to you. The most popular appears to be AVG's free AV app, which just leapfrogged over 100 million downloads on Google Play. That's an impressive achievement and one that puts the app in the same company as WhatsApp, Skype, Twitter, and others that fall into the 100-500 million downloads club. Even more impressive than making it into the 100-500 million downloads category is being the only the AV app represented in that particular tier. Clearly Android users feel security is necessary on their smartphone and tablet...
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You probably carry with you or have at home a USB thumb drive filled with malware removal tools and other security software. After all, once word gets out that you know a thing or two about computers, the requests from family and friends to fix their PCs come fast and furious, and a self-assembled toolkit can make these repair jobs easier and less time consuming. Security firm Malwarebytes has taken this idea and built what it calls a USB-based "Techbench," which is essentially a professional grade anti-malware USB stick. You plug the Techbench into an infected PC and it will get busy automatically detecting and removing spyware, Trojans, worms, and other forms of malware, Malwarebytes says....
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One of the reasons to considering upgrading to Windows 8 is the improved security Microsoft baked into its latest operating system. This is especially true if you pair the touch-friendly OS with an antivirus or Internet security suite program, a point that's underscored by the latest results published by AV-Test.org, an independent testing firm located in Germany. For the first time, AV-Test examined antivirus protection in Windows 8, testing more than two dozen programs, including Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender 4.0 engine. Remarkably, all 26 programs put under the microscope were awarded the AV-Test certificate when used with Windows 8. That doesn't mean all AV programs performed the...
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A new survey reveals that around 3 percent of all computer users surf naked on the web, which is to say they choose not to protect their PC with any security software at all, as opposed to literally surfing naked (a statistic we care not to know, thank you very much). That means the vast majority are rocking some form of antivirus protection, and most pay for their security software, according to an Internet survey conducted by AV-Comparatives. Out of the 4,715 computers users from around the world who anonymously participated in the survey, 39.6 percent said they's running a paid Internet security suite solution, and another 15.6 percent run plain antivirus software that's not free. That means...
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The antivirus market is enormous, responsible for billions in revenue each year. That being the case, it'd be easy to believe that current offerings are quite good, but not so claims a report (PDF) by security company iMPERVA. This report states a couple of alarming facts, including one that shows that less than 5% of newly-crafted viruses are picked up by scanners right away. For most antivirus solutions, it could take upwards of 4 weeks before a virus is even added to a detection file. For software that promises to keep you safe, this is a disappointing statistic. It's all the more disappointing when you realize that $4.5 billion is spent by consumers each year on virus protection, whereas...
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Malware scanner VirusTotal announced today that it's been purchased by Google for an undisclosed sum. Apparently Google's been a long-time partner of the online scanning service, and now the two have tied the knot in antivirus matrimony. If you've never used VirusTotal before, go ahead and bookmark the website. VirusTotal is an awesome (and free!) resource that checks files for viruses, but the differentiating feature here is that it taps into 44 different antivirus scan engines. The only caveat is that files you upload can't be larger than 32MB, though perhaps that will change if Google decides to flex its vast resources. "VirusTotal will continue to operate independently, maintaining our partnerships...
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Security firm Symantec is busy cleaning up a bit of egg on its face after pushing out a signature update that decided not to play nice with some Windows XP machines. Symantec disclosed the problem on its website, saying that the SNAFU only affected machines running a combination of Windows XP, the latest version of its SONAR technology, and certain third party software. "The root cause of the issue was an incompatibility due to a three way interaction between some third party software that implements a file system driver using kernel stack based file objects – typical of encryption drivers, the SONAR signature and the Windows XP Cache manager. The SONAR signature update caused new file...
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Anyone who's been playing with PCs for awhile has probably heard of AVAST Software, makers of the self-titled and popular free antivirus software heralding from the Czech Republic. AVAST is generally considered one of the 'good guys' in the fight against malware, and given the company's track record, it's no surprise that it's avast! Free Antivirus collected yet another VB100 award from Virus Bulletin, an independent testing laboratory that holds AV applications accountable to their claims. The freebie security software scored a perfect 100 percent in Virus Bulletin's 'Reactive and Proactive' (RAP) malware sample, and did so without recording any annoying false positives. "Detection rates were...
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Contrary to what some Mac fanatics might tell you, their platform of choice isn't inherently immune to viruses, spyware, and other forms of malware. Malicious software certainly isn't anywhere near as prominent on Macs as they are in Windows, but like Bob Dylan said, the times, they are a changin'. Thanks in no small part to the wildly popular iPad and iPhone segments, more and more users are now considering a Mac, and it's quickly becoming viable for malware writers to focus their attention on a platform that has long been ignored. Luckily for Mac users, antivirus vendors are stepping up. One of them is Avira, which today announced the release of Avira Free Mac Security software. It's free for...
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Microsoft did its Windows customers a solid when it released its Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) antivirus software as a free download. That in and of itself is nothing to write home about, but the program is actually good -- very good -- at detecting and neutralizing security threats, both in real-time and after they've already occurred. Reviews of MSE are typically positive, and that's not lost on Windows users. According to a report published by OPSWAT, a software development company based in San Francisco, MSE is fast becoming one of the most popular antivirus programs out there. In terms of worldwide market share, MSE is the third most popular antivirus program with a 10.08 percent share,...
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Security software maker Avast sike'd out scores of Steam users over the weekend when its antivirus program identified the gaming platform as being infected with a Trojan virus. Gamers flocked to Steam's forums in the wee hours of the morning last night trying to figure if the warning was a false positive, which is exactly what it turned out to be. "There was a very brief false positive issue which was corrected in 1.5 hours," a spokesperson for Avast told The Register. False positives are an annoying, albeit largely necessary side-effect of keeping malware at bay. Typically, however, virus scanners are pretty good about not identifying safe and popular programs like Steam as potential viruses,...
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Microsoft is looking to wrangle a handful of guinea pigs adventurous users to help test the next version of its 'Microsoft Security Essentials' (MSE) antivirus software. Beta registration for the next-generation build of MSE is currently open, and Microsoft said it will be selecting a "limited" number of people who will be notified when it's available for download. According to Microsoft, the new build will sport a simplified user interface in place of the existing one that's already fairly easy to use. It will also feature a new and improved protection engine with "enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities," enhanced performance to minimize the program's impact on your system, and enhanced...
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The spunky folks over at Webroot are firing on all cylinders in the creativity department, and we have to admit, what they're doing is both intriguing and comical. The company just unveiled its new SecureAnywhere line of antivirus Internet security software, and unlike traditional AV applications, SecureAnywhere puts almost all its chips in the cloud. According to Webroot, the actual program only takes up 6MB of space on your hard drive, doesn't use much RAM, and typically finishes scanning entire hard drives in under two minutes. Most other security software taps into the cloud to supplement local signature-based scanning, whereas Webroot is taking the exact opposite approach. That's the part...
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If there's one thing none of us want, it's a computer virus. There are plenty of antivirus options available; one of the newest options is Avast Pro Antivirus 6.0 which was recently announced by Globalshareware.com. This new version comes with an improved antivirus and anti-spyware engine. With version 6.0, you'll get real time anti-root kit protection, a mail shield, and a safe zone designed specifically for times where you'll be conducting sensitive transactions such as secure online banking. To help protect you, Avast Pro Antivirus 6.0 uses a sandbox to run potentially dangerous programs in a safe virtual environment. There's also a boot-time scanner that scans your system before the OS is...
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Listen up tightwads, if you view paying for antivirus software only slightly more appealing than shoving bamboo under your fingernails, then we have good news for you. ClamAV recently announced the public beta for ClamAV 3.0 for Windows, which the company says "includes full integration of the ClamAV engine into the Immunet Protect product." As Yahoo News points out, "corporate users on a budget" may want to take a look. It won't cost them a cent, and the cloud-based Immunet Protect integration offers a bit of additional protection. Some of the main features of ClamAV 3.0 include: ClamAV 0.96.5 libraries for real-time scanning and offline scanning, Customizable signatures support and signature...
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If you're an AVG user having trouble booting into Windows 7, you have our condolences. Perhaps it might come as a small consolation that you're not alone, and chances are you did nothing wrong. The culprit, AVG says, is that the latest virus database -- 271.1.1/3292 (432/3292) -- released earlier this week is bricking systems with a STOP code. AVG has since pulled the update, but that doesn't do you any good if you've already installed it. In that case, AVG recommends booting into Safe Mode and running System Restore to a point in time prior to the update. Barring that, AVG says to do the following: Find a working computer and create an AVG Rescue CD, if you didn't already, and use it to boot...
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Security firm F-Secure is warning that a malicious program spoofing Microsoft's free Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus program is being distributed via drive-by download as either hotfix.exe or mstsc.exe. "Not only does this fake took steal Microsoft's brand, it also features a bizarre matrix display of 32 antivirus products, offering to locate you a tool that would be capable of fixing your machine as 'Microsoft Security Essentials' can't clean the malware it found," F-Secure said. "In reality, this is all fake, and the tool has not found an infection in the fail it claims." Seen this screen lately? If so, you have a fake AV running amok on your system. The tricky install then tells users...
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If you've surfed the Internet for any length of time, chances are good that you've seen a browser window pop up with a warning that your computer is in DANGER from a whole slew of evil viruses. Such windows, if clicked on, often perform an utterly fake virus scan during which they invariably "detect" infected/contaminated files. Users are then prompted to purchase a registered copy of Antivirus 2010 in order to protect themselves. Certain versions of the program will intercept and hijack online searches, disable or refuse to install real antimalware software, and may even block users from accessing web portals that are known to contain removal tools. These are the sorts of blocks AntiVirus 2009...
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You have to be more careful than ever when it comes to sticking things into little holes. Get your mind out of the gutter, we're obviously talking about plugging electronic gadgets into USB ports, this being HotHardware and not Hot_____ (fill in the blank). That's the word from PandaLabs, which claims that 25 percent of new worms wiggling into the wild are specifically designed to spread through USB storage devices, where they can then copy themselves to a whole host of mobile hardware, like cell phones, DVDs, MP3 players, and more. "At present, much of the malware in circulation has been designed to distribute through these devices," explains Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs. "Not...
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Some signaled the death knell of security firms like Symantec and McAfee after Microsoft released its free Microsoft Security Essentials product. That hasn't been the case, however, and Intel sure doesn't feel that way, or it wouldn't have bought security giant McAfee for $7.68 billion, as it did on Thursday. The deal is all-cash, and amounts to $48 per share. While Intel is definitely a hardware company, it has been building more security into its products with, for example, its vPro series for business. With the addition of McAfee, it would seem that Intel wants to build more security directly into its hardware releases, in the firmware or BIOS. That was made clear in a follow-up conference...
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If you've read any of our recent mobile reviews, you'd know that we're no fans of pre-installed security/anti-virus software. Too often, these suits are nagging, and they generally bog down a system that would otherwise run far faster. We have no issues with these applications being bundled on a disc, but having them on the HDD right out of the box is a less-than-great experience. Despite arguments to the contrary or otherwise, many corporate PCs have some sort of security suite installed. Generally, we see this as a good idea--a virus getting around the office could seriously mess up productivity, so it makes sense to protect an office full of PCs from one rouge worm. McAfee is a pretty well-known...
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