TechLife Australia Issue 63 May 2017

[ WWW.TECHLIFE.NET ] [ 067 ]

Vendor Avast AVG Avira Bitdefender BullGuard Comodo Emsisoft ESET F-Secure G Data K7 Computing Kaspersky Lab Intel Security Microsoft Microworld Panda Security Quick Heal Symantec ThreatTrack Trend Micro
TESTED PRODUCT NAME FREE
ANTIVIRUS
2016

INTERNET

SECURIT Y

2016

ANTIVIRUS

PRO 2016

INTERNET

SECURIT Y

2017

INTERNET

SECURIT Y

1 7. 0

INTERNET

SECURIT Y

PREMIUM 8.4

ANTI-MALWARE

12.1

INTERNET

SECURIT Y 10.0

SAFE 2016 INTERNET

SECURIT Y 2017

TOTAL

SECURIT Y 15.1

INTERNET

SECURIT Y

2017

MCAFEE

INTERNET

SECURIT Y 2016

WINDOWS

DEFENDER 4.8

ESCAN

INTERNET

SECURIT Y

SUITE 14.0

PROTECTION

18.0

TOTAL

SECURIT Y 17.0

NORTON

SECURIT Y 2016

VIPRE INTERNET

SECURIT Y PRO

2016

INTERNET

SECURIT Y 2017

Website avast.com avg.com avira.com bitdefender.com bullguard.com comodo.com emsisoft.com/ eset.com f-secure.com gdatasoftware.
com

k7computing.

com

kaspersky.com intelsecurity.

com

microsoft.com microworld.com cloudantivirus.

com

quickheal.com norton.com vipreantivirus.

com

trendmicro.com

Protection
Protection against 0-day malware
attacks

100 % 98 .7% 100 % 98 .7% 98 .7% 100 % 98 .7% 100 % 100 % 98 .7% 97 .3% 100 % 100 % 98 .7% 98 .7% 100 % 100 % 100 % 93 .3% 100 %

Detection of widespread and
prevalent malware

99 .7% 99 .2% 99 .7% 99 .9% 99 .9% 92 .1% 99 .9% 99 .6% 99 .9% 100 % 99 .0% 100 % 100 % 98 .6% 99 .9% 99 .8% 99 .8% 100 % 99 .8% 100 %

Performance
Performance impact when
launching popular websites

18 % 16 % 11% 14 % 8% 8% 19 % 21 % 17 % 22 % 15% 13 % 11% 10 % 18 % 17 % 13 % 37 % 15% 13 %

Performance impact on download
of frequently-used applications

17 % 2% 22 % 5% 5% 26 % 7% 11% 7% 5 % 2% 2% 1% 9% 5% 18 % 6% 3% 3% 8%

Performance impact on launch of
standard software applications

52 % 11% 34 % 14 % 13 % 31 % 44 % 16 % 8% 26 % 7% 11% 22 % 15% 8% 20 % 13 % 8% 14 % 16 %

Performance impact on installation
of frequently-used applications

21 % 25 % 22 % 12 % 35 % 61 % 36 % 35 % 53 % 36 % 13 % 18 % 39 % 65 % 24 % 71 % 14 % 31 % 29 % 15%

Performance impact on copying of
files, locally and in a network

32 % 10 % 4% 4% 5% 4% 11% 30 % 3% 18 % 10 % 2% 5% 4% 44 % 27 % 12 % 9% 31 % 19 %

Usability
False warnings or blockages when
visiting websites

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

False warnings on installing new
software

0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0

False blockages of certain actions
carried out whilst installing and
using legitimate software

1 0 1 0 2 5 5 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 1

Protection score 6.0 4.5 6.0 6.0 5.5 3.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 6 .0 5.0 6.0 5.5 4.5 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.0 6.0
Performance score 3.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 5.0 4 .5 5.5 6.0 5.5 4.5 4.0 2.5 5.5 5.5 4.5 5.5
Usability score 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 6.0 5.5 6 .0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 6.0 6.0
Total score 15.5 15.5 17.0 17.5 16 .0 12 .5 15.0 16 .5 16 .5 16 .5 15.5 18 .0 17.0 15.0 15.5 13 .5 16 .5 17.0 15.5 17.5

MCAFEE TOTAL PROTECTION

$80 for 10 devices for 1 year

http://www.mcafee.com.au

CRITICAL SPECS

Anti-malware, anti-spam, anti-ransomware, firewall, website filtering,

parental controls, password manager, system optimisation and cleaning

McAfee Total Protection

EXCELLENT ANTI-MALWARE, BUT THE REST IS KIND OF ‘MEH’.

BEFORE INTEL SECURITY took over, McAfee had felt like a suite on

the decline. It wasn’t keeping up with the competition in features or

performance. But things have definitely turned around for the suite,

at least when it comes to anti-malware. Its anti-malware is close to the

best around, with perfect detection rates and a relatively modest impact

on performance.

The rest of the feature set, as well as the interface, could use a bit of a

refresh, however. There are good elements here, but a lot of it feels like

it’s a generation behind the competition. Parental controls, for example,

are locally managed, which is not nearly as useful as the web-based

management you find in Symantec, Bitdefender and Kaspersky’s

solutions. The web advisor, site advisor and vulnerability scanners are

also not as up to date as in those suites. There’s no secure browser, no

VPN, no backup, no update checker.

However, there are some bright spots. Intel Security’s True Key is one

of our favourite password managers, a true rival for LastPass, and you

get a full license included with the suite. Meanwhile the File Locker can

be a little inconvenient to use (much like Bitdefender’s similar solution),

but it does provide an effective solution against ransomware by

preventing file modifications in selected folders without authorisation.

As has become common with many suites, Total Protection covers

not just PCs. The license extends to mobile devices and Macs as well,

with anti-malware available for all platforms and up to ten licenses

supported — though we’re not sure of the value of its mobile platform

and its confusing array of apps, or what value it adds over the free

solutions available for mobiles. As it is, it’s a capable suite with excellent

malware protection, but its multi-platform features are limited and its

extra features a little behind.

31 / 2

SUPERGUIDE

WINDOWS SECURITY SUITES COMPARED