MaximumPC 2006 01

reviewsTESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED

84 MA XIMUMPC JANUARY 2006

V

iruses. Worms. Trojans. Bummer. But

that’s life: The best things, including

drag racing, sex, and the Internet,

aren’t without their dangers. That’s why

we’ve got airbags, condoms, and antivirus

applications. You’re on your own with the

first two, but Maximum PC put its rigs on the

line to suss out the software that lets you

surf, download, and email with confidence.

—LOGAN DECKER

MCAFEE VIRUSSCAN 2006

Forty bucks buys you antivirus protection,

email-attachment scanning, spyware detec-

tion, real-time, on-the-fly security alerts,

and one year of daily virus-signature and

program updates in McAfee’s VirusScan

2006. This includes monitoring your system

for suspicious activity, such as behaviors

indicative of worm and hostile-script activity.

After a swift and painless installation

(unfortunately, registration is required to

receive pro-

gram updates),

VirusScan com-

pleted its survey

of our test system

in a somewhat

sluggish 41

minutes. But up

against Maximum

PC’s Payload

of Misfortune™—a bundle of 12 viruses,

worms, downloaders, and Trojans—McAfee

nailed the lot of them. It also detected the

two spyware spooks, but was only able to

remove one of them on its own.

One of the highlights of McAfee

VirusScan 2006 is protection from what

McAfee calls PUPs—potentially unwanted

programs. It’s very effective. We installed

the application first and then busted out

with our payload again, and VirusScan

2006 flagged all of our Internet cooties

and blocked their

installation. On the

other hand, it also

proved to be a bit on

the hysterical side,

frequently sounding

the alarm on game

and application

demos, and even

PUPs we had previ-

ously authorized.

We’re delighted to

report that McAfee’s

VirusScan 2006 is a

competent Internet

cootie blocker, but

even in this respect,

it’s still playing catch-

up with Symantec’s

somewhat more

sophisticated and

comprehensive appli-

cation, and it still

doesn’t stand out as a great value com-

pared with free antivirus and anti-spyware

mercenaries like AVG and Spybot.

SYMANTEC NORTON

ANTIVIRUS 2006

Like McAfee’s VirusScan 2006, Norton

AntiVirus 2006 installed without undue

agony, and a relatively swift 28-minute initial

scan alerted us to all 12 of the Payload of

Misfortune™ rogues. Purging unwelcome

spyware guests proved to be a challenge,

however, as both pieces of spyware had

to be removed manually with help from the

Symantec website.

NAV 2006 also monitors email attach-

ments, keeps an eye out for spyware and

unauthorized installations, and can be con-

figured to update itself automatically, just

like McAfee’s app. But NAV 2006 shows

more polish and foresight than VirusScan

before you even install the application. The

installation disc is bootable, giving you a

clean environment to start with if you’ve got

a serious problem on your hands; McAfee’s

VirusScan 2006, on the other hand, requires

you to make rescue discs instead. And

Norton’s real-time PC cop guarding our

test system was far less jumpy than the

one offered by VirusScan 2006, alerting us

only when we had a genuine ITD (Internet

transmitted disease). AntiVirus 2006 also

required fewer reboots throughout our test

period, and offers browser hijack protec-

tion, a curious omission in its competi-

tor. The clincher is that, on top of all this,

Norton AntiVirus 2006 is lighter on CPU and

memory usage than VirusScan.

We could have done without the Security

Center, which, as in McAfee’s product, is

just an advertisement for other products;

and more effective removal tactics would be

welcome. But hey, that’s something to look

forward to in 2007.

Antivirus Arm Wrestle

Symantec or McAfee—who yields the better shield?

Although most intruders are halted at the gate, Norton requires a

visit to the Symantec website to remove the most tenacious viruses

and worms.

It’s very annoying that those yellow and red bars in the

SecurityCenter just indicate that you haven’t purchased

other McAfee utilities.

$40, http://www.mcafee.com

HUGS

Effective protection against

Internet nasties.

BUGS^6

Redundant PUP alerts; fre-

quent reboots required.

$40, http://www.symantec.com

NORTON ANTIVIRUS 2006

MUGS

Bootable disc, browser

hijack protection, keen eye

for viruses and worms.

THUGS 

Failed to successfully

remove some infections,

annoying Security Center.

MCAFEE VIRUSSCAN 2006