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.