Consumer Reports Ratings

Consumer Reports rated various AVs in the Sept. issue:

1) Tend Micro PC-cillin
2) Kaspersky 5.0
3) BitDefender
4) Norton AV
5) Avast!
6) McAfee VirsuScan
7) Panda
8 ) Computer Associates eTrust

Both PC-cillin and Kaspersky were recommended for those users who do not have an anti-virus program. It is nice to see the second tier vendors get some good visibility.

Rich

 

I didn't even know Consumer Reports did software

 

That's interesting, Rich, but I don't know that I would consider Trend Micro a "second tier" vendor....because according to virtually every marketshare report that I have seen on AVs in the past year....Trend Micro actually has the THIRD largest user marketshare (behind Norton and McAfee).

Something surprising about that list (besides the rankings ) is that NOD was NOT even listed! From everything I've heard about NOD, I would think an honest and reliable AV comparison would have NOD rated pretty highly up there with Kaspersky).

 

I'm happy with the results.

 

True. I was thinking more about KAV and BitDefender.

I am not sure how Consumer Reports chose their list. Sometimes they just go to a consultant and ask for a quick list and ranking. That is how it was when I was doing this kind of work, so the listings sometimes were not very comprehensive.

Cya,
Rich

 

Not sure how comprehensive was the testing. But it is nice to see other vendors get some visibility. Usually it translates into sales and revenue - which I think lots of the second tier vendors could use in order to support their efforts.

Cya,
Rich

 

Trend?

I stopped believing Consumer Reports when they rated Eureka vacuums better than Dyson Vacuums. I think there are many questions about their criteria and reasoning and they seldom seem open to answering them.

I'll pass.

 

Consumer Reports? If I want to read about tests of toasters, toilet bowl cleaners, & such, then I buy their magazine. But AV software? I think not.

 

I am not

My favourite AV is not even in the list

 

I would have liked if they tested NOD32 and Antivir.

 

I would not put much into a Consumer Reports rating on AV software. Interesting results tho.

 

I read the article and was very surprised also. I figured they would pick the usual Norton, McAfee one, two punch. Very surprised to see Trend and KAV one, two. I think they liked Trend because it is a suite with antispyware and antispamware. Spyware, spam and phishing was the main topic of the article.

 

If you read the results they based these rankings on three things.
1. Versatility: "Indicates how many useful features are included."
2. Ease of use: "Indicates how appropriate default settting are and how easy the product is to use."
3. Scan speed: "is how quickly the product scans a typical hard drive."

They do not include detection or removal rates in these rankings.

 

A friend of mine once bought health insurance based on a CR recommendation. CR compared the policy terms and prices to produce its rankings. They did not look at differences in policy administration. As it turned out, the company he chose had the highest rate of denied claims in his state. He had to sue them.

Be careful with CR, because they do not always use the best criteria for testing. As noted above, this AV test excluded detection and removal from its criteria, something that is very important around here.

 

LOL, same here. Well, I don't actually trust them for anything.

 

A few years ago, I purchased some liquid car wax based on their tests. I was very pleased with it. I liked it better than any car wax I had ever used....as far as their antivirus recommendations...no comment