Symantec Norton, Trend, McAfee, F-Secure and NOD32 miss what the freebies catch

A virus infection on a machine that Symantec/Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, F-Secure, and NOD32 completely missed, was caught by AVG, Avast, ClamAV, and Antivir. The four that caught it are all free for home use, while the 5 that missed it are usually upwards of $50.

http:://www.cbserviceslondon.com

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• norton
• symantec
• clamav
• clam
• trend
• trendmicro
• f-secure
• fsecure
• nod32
• eset
• virus
• infection
• malware
• avast
• avg
• grisoft
• antivir
• security
• CBServices
• CB
• Services

[dkw12002]

The problem I recently had with McAfee is that it slowed down my computer and would actually freeze up on internet pages so I had to keep rebooting. As soon as I uninstalled the McAfee files, instantly my computer ran much faster. I installed Norton on a computer a few years ago and was not happy with it but when I tried to uninstall it, it deleted an important Windows file and my computer never worked the same after that. Now I just do what you do which is to use the free stuff.

[cbiltcliffe]

@dkw12002

I don't use the free stuff, either. I haven't personally run antivirus software since 2003. I certainly don't recommend that for anybody else, but I've never, ever been infected with a virus, unless I intentionally infected a virtual machine for a behavioural analysis of the malware.

Instead, I watch what I click on, don't use the most common software for most applications, keep my software patched, and analyze with virustotal anything I download.

For me, A/V is a waste of CPU.

[milxekim]

You can't always use Virustotal or Jotti as a benchmark for what each AV detects. For example, I have had Avira, kaspersky, NOD32, Dr.web, Avast, etc detect test samples on my computer locally but, when I uploaded them to VT or Jotti they were not detected by the same AV that I had installed.

[cbiltcliffe]

Depends on the date of the definitions file. Sometimes the definitions file is a day or two old on virustotal, so it's not going to detect the newest stuff.

If you check the dates on these scanners, though, you'll see Symantec had newer definitions than Avast and AVG, but still missed it when the two free ones caught it.

Not acceptable.

[goodman854]

Maaa Cafe E? Mac A Fee

[cbiltcliffe]

What?

I assume you're complaining about my pronunciation.

McAfee employees pronounce it like I do. It's only the idiots at Best Buy that say Mac-eh-FEE!

You'll notice it's not spelled "MacAfee".

[yaar444]

Eset is best among all av.

[masternoel123]

Use ESET period

[Starwarsgalaxy1]

I...actually have several things to say against this, but I have a character limit, so I'll keep things brief. Well, first of all, free antivirus provide very basic protection as opposed to a paid subscription to an antivirus which provides comprehensive protection. What you're doing here cannot be used as a verified claim, because VirusTotal cannot be used to test antivirus. The algorithm of detection varies greatly from products and this tool is not a desktop version...

[har777333]

AVAST BEST

[har777333]

ESET SMART SECURITY BEST

[har777333]

avg best

[damonadamjewett]

Why would anyone want to use free security software there is a reason its free you have to pay if you want good protection

[Marco76821]

I recommend you should show the details of the virus file used for the testing.

So, we could understand deeper to the insufficiency of those named brands. Cheers

[Nathaniel12345678910]

Did CA cought it