_AnTi ViRuS_

BITDEFENDER
Ease of Use:
In less than a half an hour, you can download, install, follow the prompts, re-boot your system and voilá, you're protected and can forget about viruses, trojans, spyware, worms, and malware.
One of the best advancements in the latest version of BitDefender has been the increase in scanning speed.

Effectiveness:
BitDefender received their highest rating for having removed 98% of all viruses and spyware in their rigorous tests. In addition, BitDefender has received the highest ratings for effectiveness by Virus Bulletin (VB100%)BitDefender is great at removing viruses and spyware, it excels at protecting your system from incoming viruses. The new BitDefender can actually strip viruses from your incoming HTML stream before the virus makes it to your browser.

Updates:
BitDefender updates its virus signatures every hour unless you adjust it to a longer interval.



KASPERSKY
Ease of Use:
With the release of version 7, Kaspersky dramatically improved their interface giving this software an interface that matches the quality of the overall package. Further improvements have been made for the 2009 version. From a geek’s perspective, Kaspersky's interface is probably the best of all the software reviewed.

Effectiveness:
Like BitDefender, Kaspersky was able to remove over 98% of all viruses it encountered in the most recent objective tests of AV-test.org. Kaspersky is also certified by all of the major virus/malware testing laboratories. Tests confirm Kaspersky's effectiveness. It found every virus on the test computer.

Updates:
Both Kaspersky and BitDefender update their signatures every hour.

NOD32
Ease of Use:
ESET has made some excellent and necessary improvements in their interface with version 3. The package is just 34M making it among the lightest antivirus packages we have ever seen. Fortunately, NOD32 works as it should in its default configuration and most users will never have to do anything but simply install this excellent software.

Effectiveness:
ESET's NOD 32 is among the most effective antivirus software products on the market today. Independent tests show that NOD32 removed about 98% of the virus threats it faced, putting it on par with BitDefender, “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner, and Kaspersky, “TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award” winner. In addition, NOD32 is certified by all the major independent testing laboratories the world over.

Updates:
Unlike Kaspersky and BitDefender, ESET's NOD32 only updates its virus signatures once a day. That's probably a short enough interval considering that ESET has the power to “push” updates to your computer in the instance of attack.



AVG
Ease of Use:
Though AVG Antivirus is mostly a hands-off program, there may be some instances when you may need to configure some advanced options. For 99% of the population though, the default options will be more than sufficient. The menus within AVG Antivirus are very simple and offer all the options and information needed to keep your system safe from Internet threats.

Effectiveness:
AVG Antivirus is one of the most complete programs we have found to date. It includes many new options to make it one of the most effective virus scanners on the market. It is still plagued by horrible slowdowns at times. That dual core processor you bought is actually going to start getting a workout now. AVG also includes support for Windows Vista and the 64 bit versions of Windows XP and Vista

Updates:
AVG Checks for updates every 4 hours by default. You can change this to any interval you wish. The updates section of AVG Antivirus also shows you which virus database version you have, as well as when the last update was. It also tells you when the next update is scheduled.