Tools of Choice (3)

Virus gets the NOD

How do you decide about anti-virus protection for your computers?

Some people are experts, but most, like me, have to follow the experts' advice.  But with anti-virus software, it's a funny business, because under normal circumstances, you don't really see anything happening.  The only test occurs if your computer is infected, and the anti-virus software effectivley detects it.  Which for most people is a very rare occurrence.

For several years, I have favoured Avira AntiVir.  As far as I am concerned, it is the best free one.  I certainly had a great run with it, as did (and still do) many clients and family members.

But now that I am running my own server, and with more computers to look after, I have recently made a switch.  Based on expert advice, including that of my IT advisor at EastHarbour.

So I now have NOD32 installed on all my machines.  Haven't got a virus yet.  Nor has NOD32 detected any.  So nothing has changed.

There's certainly one thing I like.  It is very unobtrusive.  Just quietly updates the signature file several times a day, no big deal.

Their New Zealand website makes some pretty impressive claims about performance.  For example:

• Most secure and effective solution on the market - has the best detection record of any antithreat product.
• Unique ThreatSense Technology significantly reduces exposure and risk to new threats, consistently detecting >80% of new threats without requiring a specific signature update.
• Lowest overhead of any antithreat product (up to 75% less system overhead).
• Fastest scan speed of any antithreat product (2 to 50 times faster scanning performance).
• Smallest update files of any antithreat product (typically 10–50 kb in size).
• Fastest growing customer-base of any antithreat product.

So if that's to be believed, looks like I might have made a good decision.

Technorati tags: antivirus, NOD32, micro-ISV