Best Antivirus for 2011

There are numerous different antivirus software out there, some free,  some paid. You’re looking for the best possible software because you know that once your computer gets infected with a virus, it’s not going to be easy to remove. So you’ve looked it up on a search engine. That’s most probably why you have landed here.

There are many reviews and recommendations of antivirus software, but who can you trust to provide an unbiased  opinion about the antivirus software that you wish to purchase? Who would you trust to give a good recommendation? I have three candidates:

1. Microsoft Windows

Microsoft is the company behind Windows, and who else knows better the internal workings of Windows if not Microsoft themselves? Surely Microsoft are aware of the short comings of their own operating system and will know where to plug the holes to prevent virus attacks. Microsoft are constantly releasing updates to increase the security of their Windows operating system so be reminded to update your windows often. If you think they are the best candidate to be in charge of keeping viruses out, you should get Microsoft’s own antivirus software, called Microsoft Security Essentials.



This software is free from Microsoft. Being Microsoft’s own software, this antivirus application can integrate easily with the existing security function of Windows, such as the firewall. The latest function is also the inclusion of a heuristic scanning engine. This means that this software does not need to have the latest update to detect the newest virus, it can predict if a you received a file with a virus based on the behaviour of the file that you received.

If you trust Microsoft, get this antivirus, remember to update your Windows and this antivirus, then for sure you’ll stay virus clean. [download]

2. America’s The Tech Guy, Leo Laporte

Leo Laporte is famously known as The Tech Guy in the United States. What he does for a living is runs his own radio station and talks about tech all the time. He has been doing tech talks since 1990. People from all over the world would call into his radio show to ask for help, advice or recommendations about tech. Most of his shows can be downloaded via podcast from his website.  Leo Laporte recommends Eset NOD32 on his website:

If you’re a Windows user you need an Anti-Virus. I do not recommend the current top sellers: Norton Anti-virus or McAfee. They’re bloated and less effective than others. Check any anti-virus before you buy by visiting the independent Virus Bulletin. Any anti-virus you choose should also be certified by the ICSA Labs (all the big commercial products are).

• The best commercial anti-virus is NOD32 from Eset. It’s relatively inexpensive and has a 100% effective rating from the Virus Bulletin. [Disclaimer: ESET is a sponsor of the radio show, but I use it myself and would sincerely recommend it even if they weren’t.

[source]

So, NOD32 is paid software, but according to Leo, other paid anti-virus programs like Norton are bloated and tend to slow your system down. NOD32 is effective in using computer resources, and like the previous Microsoft Security Essentials, it also has a heuristic detection engine called ThreatSense to pro-actively detect virus.

So, if you trust the recommendations of America’s top tech guy, get NOD32. He’s backing it up entirely with his reputation. It costs RM83 for one user for one year subscription. If you have more users and longer subscription period, you can get prices as low as RM33 per user per year (under 4 users for 2 years package). [buy]



3. Hong Kong action superstar and Malaysian badminton player

No doubt that Jackie Chan is a world famous actor with a lot of fancy moves, staring in popular Hong Kong and American action movies alike while Lee Chong Wei is a achieved player in Malaysia’s badminton arena but I’m not entirely sure what they both know about IT, especially computers and antivirus software.  If you ask them anyway for a suggestion on antivirus software, they will tell you that they choose Kapersky.



Kapersky is slightly cheaper than NOD32. You can get a yearly subscription for only RM58.50. Your subscription cost can be even lower with more users, as low as RM25.10 per user.So, if you trust in your favourite action hero or athlete, click the BUY button now, before it’s too late and you get infected by nasty viruses. No amount of kung fu kick ass action or badminton shuttlecock smashing can help clean your PC if you get in trouble with viruses. [buy]

So, there you have it, 3 sides of the story with 3 different antivirus software recommendations. Pick the side you can trust the most, or if you just like the person, you can also choose what they recommend. My personal preference would be for Microsoft’s Security Essentials (since it’s free), but the other two (NOD32 and Kapersky) will also do the job just fine.

Best Phones of 2010

Christmas is here, christmas is here…typically the time of the year when telcos will be in a merry mood and give promotions on their phone prices (hopefully). Not sure of which to get? Check out recommendations from Steve himself on the Phones Show 127. A slight warning though, non of these phones are below the RM1000 mark.  To summarize:

• Media creator: Nokia N8  (for the high resolution 12mp camera and xenon flash)
• Communications junkie: HTC Desire HD  (for the huge screen and HTC sense with integrated social networks. I was personally expecting something with a hardware keyboard though)
• Hardcore gamer: iPhone 4  (iOS has the best mobile games around)
• Media consumer: Nokia N8  (for HDMI out to connect to your TV and USB OTG that reads most USB mass storage devices)
• Work addict: Nokia E7 or HTC Desire Z?  (No suitable phone yet actually)
• Tech enthusiast/Hacker:  Google Nexus One  (Updates, updates and more updates, plus hackability. Still more solid and well made than the new Nexus S)
• Web-a-holic: HTC Desire HD  (for the big screen, plus flash support)
• Normobs (normal mobile users): iPhone 3GS  (the best of the iPhone 4, with a affordable price)

Actual YouTube video below,  phone recommendations start at 1:21.

Best Tablet in Malaysia?

Treating yourself to a Christmas present? Or getting it as a gift? Considering a tablet for any of the former?

With the coming of the iPad to Malaysia (finally) and the rising of so many Google Android based tablets (or rather, oversized phones),  curious hearts are eager to purchase and tablet and give it a try for themselves. And after my previous brief introductions to Android tablets here, i decided to rationalize which might be the best out there. So, which will be the most reasonable one to get? Locally in Malaysia, we have quite a few options:

• Apple iPad
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• CSL Droidpad Spice Mi700
• Toshiba Folio AS100
• Archos 101

The table below is a summary of all the tablet specs worth comparing (click image to enlarge) :

Which one is the one for you? Let me give a few general ideas.

Best Tablet overall?

Apple iPad. Although the iPad has been slow to come to Malaysia, only in December 2010 after being launched in April  2010. This is still no doubt the best tablet that you can get for the price. Apple has it when it comes to ease of use and with tonnes of Apps in the App Store, you’ll be finding something new to do with your iPad everyday. There are many choices of storage capacities (16GB,32GB,64GB) and also connectivity (with or without 3G).

Best Android Tablet?

First of all, you gotta decide, do you want your tablet to have 3G connectivity?

With 3G?

CSL Droidpad Mi700. The only other tablet with 3G is the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Certainly Samsung sounds like a more reputable brand compared to the local CSL, so why the Droidpad?  Let us put is this way; why wouldn’t we choose the Galaxy Tab? The price. For RM2699, the price of the Galaxy Tab is just too high for anyone to recommend buying, especially when Android tablets are still such a new market. Many would be curious to give Android tablets a run and the price is not very encouraging. Even the cheapest iPad with 3G is less than RM2k. Only get the Tab if you are very very certain. Else the Droidpad is the way to go.

Without 3G?

The Toshiba Folio AS100 looks good on paper running the latest Nvidia Tegra2 and is officially available in Malaysia but i would seriously not recommend anything with a custom skin on top of Android. Custom skins which are just crudely made by manufacturer are not optimized and tend to slow down your device.  That leaves us with the Archos101.  Most units on sale arrive from Singapore so if you’ve purchased this, you would have to return it back to your vendor if you need it serviced. Around RM1600-RM1800, this tablet comes with almost everything you need. The big 10″ screen won’t make it lose out to the iPad. It has 8GB or 16GB  internally to get you started and a memory card extension slot if you need more storage. This has 1Ghz processor which makes it snappier compared to the Droidpad. Also, a HDMI port which comes in handy when you want to connect it to a HD TV to share a photo, website or playback video.

Anything less than RM1k?

Well yes but most of these tablet originate from China and mostly take the shape of the Apple Ipad. For around RM800-RM900, you can get an 8″ 800×600 resistive touchscreen tablet, has a 1gz A8 processor, 512mb ram, Wifi and runs Android 2.2. No cameras or 3G functions built in though.  And for the lower price, you’ll have to purchase additional memory cards for increased storage capacity if you need it.

That’s it for my tablet recommendations. Any ideas, or opinions, kindly leave a comment below. Happy shopping.

Update: 26-Dec-2010

If you haven’t gotten your hands on new tablet so far, it might be a good idea to wait till the end of next month (Jan 2011) for new devices. Check news on possible new Motorola tablet here.

Update 2: 29th Dec 2010

Maxis has a new tablet, the Huawei Ideos S7 for as low as RM999 (one year contract) which is a good buy. Check this post.