Top 10 Antivirus Softwares of 2012

10. Panda Antivirus 2012:

 
Panda Antivirus makes it to 10^th spot in our top 10 Antivirus programs of 2012. With a good malware detection and removal performance it’s a pretty good choice for the pc users.

But Panda antivirus has its own cons. It doesn’t thoroughly clean all found malware. After removal of the malwares certain rootkits still keep running in the system. And also it doesn’t have a good protection against new malware attack. The Safe Browser is a bit bulky and pretty awkward to use.

If the Panda Antivirus can improve in its malware blocking and put some good effort into the overview it’s sure to be a contender for top 5 spot, but until then Panda Antivirus 2012 is good to be at number 10.

9. ZoneAlarm Antivirus 2012:

 
ZoneAlarm with a brand new look, a friendly user interface and a super fast thorough scan, stands number 9 on the list. It has a good firewall and an excellent phishing protection and free credit monitoring.

But still it’s prone to certain problems. Files that were called safe by the download manager were later flagged as malicious by the antivirus. Downloading certain exploit files seems unsafe. And also it failed in detecting certain malware samples.

With a new look and good firewall and phishing protection, the ZoneAlarm is still a good contender in our top 10 Antivirus of 2012.

8. Trend Micro Antivirus 2012:

 
A straightforward antivirus. Good and clean interface makes it easy for the users to use. The Trend Micro Antivirus provides better protection against malwares, AV, botnets, rootkits. It also offers a free copy of Mac protection.

But with all these standouts, it ranked average in a number of tests. It produced poor scores in antiphishing, malware removal and blocking. Still Trend Micro is an average antivirus for pc users and its ranked number 8^th in our antivirus list.

7. F-Secure Antivirus 2012:

 
A better malware cleanup and a decent malware blocking system make F-Secure Antivirus a solid 7^th spot contender in our list. With a user friendly interface and good ratings from independent lab tests F-Secure is one of the antivirus to look for in 2012.

However this antivirus is a bit slow on the performance side. A standard scanning can take a bit time to finish up. Well it would have been better if F-Secure had combined the internet and the pc security windows. Also it showed installation difficulties on virus infested systems and the new addition Deep Guard which is a behavior based, detected both valid programs and malwares “suspicious”.

If you are able to tolerate this sluggishness then F-Secure Antivirus is a good choice for pc users and it ends up on the 7^th spot on our antivirus programs list.

6. GFI Vipre Antivirus 4:

 
A relative newcomer, formerly known as Sunbelt, Vipre Antivirus 4 is our number 6^th candidate in the top 10 Antivirus Programs of 2012. The Vipre 4 scores some serious points with its reasonably straightforward installation and a faster scan engine. But it’s an inconsistent defender. This antivirus fails on protections against phishing, spam and identity theft protection. The overview seems good, with a clean startup screen, a good deliverance speed that won’t slow down your pc; the Vipre 4 definitely is worth considering based on the strength of its malware detection and removal performance.

5. Norton Antivirus 2012:

 
One of the strong performers in recent years, the Norton antivirus is always worth a try. With very good malware removal and blocking, this antivirus makes into the top 5 spots which is highly congested.

An attractive polished interface and a map showing the global cybercrime activity over the last 24 hours, Norton Antivirus has certain standout features to look for. Rated high in independent tests, this antivirus offers certain additional tools to remove persistent malware. Also it can integrate with Norton products too.

The only drawback are its web based protection and its speed. Although it has put up good scores in speed testing, but they aren’t top notch. If Norton can brush up it’s time managing issues then this antivirus is sure for a top spot, but for the time it makes the 5^thspot in our top Antivirus list.

4. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 2012:

 
A very good contender for the top spot, only if been improved, the NOD32 antivirus finishes in 4^th spot of our roundup of antivirus of 2012. With a good user interface and a good malware cleanup, NOD32 is a good recommendation for end users. Also scanning can be done in Safe Mode.

But the malware blocking seems a bit inconsistent; also it was weak against some of the rootkits. But these cons don’t hold back this performer. With a good speed in scanning, NOD32 standouts in the number 4 spot.

3. Kaspersky Antivirus 2012:

 
Kaspersky Antivirus is one of the best that the antivirus world has to offer. With very good performance on individual systems, Kaspersky is rated very high among the antivirus rivals. The New File Advisor feature reveals the file’s reputation. Also it can fix the Internet Explorer and Windows settings. Another feature is that it can clean up the traces of computer and browser activities.

Very little is to say about its cons. Phishing protection is pretty weak against some of the latest sites. And there are certain chances that some of the malware might be missed. Apart from all that Kaspersky is still being highly rated among the antivirus labs. And thus this brings Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 at the number 3 spot in our countdown to the best antivirus.

2. McAfee Antivirus 2012:

 
A Site Advisor Live that creates safe links for sharing, file encryption and a very good and thorough scanning speed, McAfee Antivirus 2012 makes it up to the number 2 spot in our top antivirus rankings. Apart from these standouts, McAfee also provides us with a wide range of new options like the Network Intruder Alert systems, an improved Parental control and also in denying the access to some of the dangerous sites.

Although some of the independent systems has detected malwares, the McAfee antivirus is rated second best with its huge security features, chest like interfaces, shredding and its accurate spam filtering services.

1. BitDefender Antivirus 2012:

 
The best antivirus in the IT industry, with its impeccable speed in finding the malwares and blocking, BitDefender is the number one antivirus of 2012. Super fast on independent systems makes it very much the most preferred among end users.

The only con that we can come across was its large installation. But this simply diminishes when we hear about the extra features that this antivirus has to offer. An Autopilot mode to offer silent security, Rescue Mode for tough threats, private data protection, identity theft monitoring are just some of the features it has to offer. It also allows us remote monitoring and configuration.  Not mention about the Facebook protection. With one of the best antiphishing tool, BitDefender is the best and the number one on our top 10 Antivirus Software’s in 2012.