Oh dear, another panning from Computer Shopper!

[Bascule]

Hi All,

Just picked up the April issue of Computer Shopper and received another dent to my confidence in Avast! I was concerned by their last comparison of AV products but my mind was put at rest after reading the threads about it here. However, as a simple consumer, their defense of their testing methods in this issue sound reassuring and I am wavering again in my loyalty. I am just about to buy a new laptop and will quite possibly try Kaspersky or Steganos as an alternative (Won't be un-installing Avast! from the desktop just yet though!). Any replies in Alwil's defense will be read with interest!

Rgds to all.

[DavidR]

Sorry but my confidence in a Computer Shopper review is very low, I haven't read the review I don't even buy the magazine as I feel there are also better computer magazines out there.

I suggest you look at the likes of www.av-comparatives.org for a more balanced and long term view or http://www.virusbtn.com/index which deals with in the wild threat tests over a long term.

Whilst avast may not have the best detection rate it has more configurability and flexibility and different shields than many of its competitors, detection rate isn't everything, the AV solution has to suit your needs. You need to take a long hard look at the features and details does it support your P2P, IM, or email program, etc. does it have the boot-time scan, etc. The big one that isn't mentioned in the marketing blurb is the support.

avast has done me well in the almost three years I have had it, but you can't relay on a single program to protect against all evil, add say AVG anti-spyware and AdAware to increase overall protection and back that up with a healthy dose of common sense.

You have been on the forums since May 2005 so also let your own personal experience giude you not a single article.

[Bascule]

Thanks for the response. You're quite right, Avast's protection is very extensive with all the different shields enabled. I only picked the mag up for the notebook reviews and there was the damn AV comparison come back to haunt me! Like you, Avast! has done me well for a few years and I have never caught a virus and have had the occasional detection alert so I really shouldn't be worried. Experience counts for a lot.

[DavidR]

Yes personal experience counts for a lot, even though mention "their defence of their testing methods in this issue sound reassuring." Unfortunately the average reader of Computer Shopper won't have an in depth knowledge to refute their method. But I would question the competence of a reviewer in a magazine like computer shopper on security subject rather than selling computer related advertising, etc. and filing it out with supposed reviews.

Unfortunately not everyone sees this for what it is a poor review but gospel.

[FreewheelinFrank]

I have to disagree here: I haven't seem the latest review but there is nothing wrong with the standard of Computer Shopper's reviews: it's a very professional and well written magazine, and the methodology used is fine. Any AV that gets a panning deserves it.  :'(

Edit: I have seen it now, and I'm not changing my opinion. By the way, Symantec and McAfee get a panning too  for charging loads of money for inferior protection. The malware writers have overwhelmed all the AV companies with sheer volume of new viruses/Trojans/worms, and the only question is whether you want to play Russian roulette with one bullet in the magazine or three; either way you're going to blow your head off sooner or later, so just don't open e-mail attachments and don't download executable files from the web. 

[Dwarden]

i really want to hear something from Alwil about this new "masterpiece" from Computer Shopper

especially after problems with theirs previous review (it almost looks like payback) ...

you can check scan of that article here http://rs5.rapidshare.com/files/15722990/Binder1.pdf

reliable test ?

if i understood it correct,
they used 251 viruses collected by Mesage Labs (yet such file could be e.g. damaged or non working virus too as they often getting nailed by AVs too not to mention false positives)

then they test 183 malware programs they downloaded from somewhere on internet ...

i wonder why it's so hard to include e.g. additional website info what viruses/malware was used ?
i wonder if they sent "missed" files to each AV lab after test was published ?

oh well 

[Vlk]

Well, what can we say.

Our UK distributors are now trying to find out more... It happened a year ago, and now it happened again. Let's see what takes place in 2008...

[TheWhiteknight]

I have read the reviews in Computershopper and I not conviced in the least about their results . I as DavidR mentioned earlier http://www.av-comparatives.org/ is definatley the clearest review out their ! I am a little bemused as to why they decided to place AVG ahead of Avast seems very strange test  to especially when you consider that in the last results produced by AV comparative . AVG did not even getting a rating . I'm sticking with Avast as my av of choice as it has served me well for over a year half now.

[Bluesman]

I'm sticking with Avast as my av of choice as it has served me well

Same here, avast! is a great program for me, and bad reviews about avast! will not change my mind.

[FreewheelinFrank]

The correct link for AV-Comparatives is .org as the .com address is an ad site- presumably hijacking the name.

[DavidR]

Thanks Frank, original link edited.

[FreewheelinFrank]

The article is online here:

http://www.computershopper.co.uk/labs/230/anti-virus-software/products.html

There's a comments button at the bottom of each review.

Comments appear in the comments section of the Computer Shopper forum:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/shopper/phpbb/index.php

[JPC]

Hi
Ive just scanned through the Computer Shopper article at my local newsagents and I must say I was concerned about the poor rating for Avast....

Ive used it for some years and felt comfortable with it....

However I also installed AVG on my PC recently (obviously I made sure only one AV was running at one time)
I then updated both Avast & AVG and ran separate scans of my PC starting with Avast......  I was a little concerned when I ran AVG and it found a virus that Avast obviously missed.... it wasn't a new virus so the issue of definitions being more up to date on AVG than Avast didn't come into the equation.

I am now really torn between the friendly interface of Avast and what seems a more taxing but maybe more efficient AVG.
Regards to all
JC

[Vlk]

It would also be helpful to find out whether the file in question was really of malware nature, or a false-positive in AVG instead...

Cheers
Vlk

[DavidR]

Ive just scanned through the Computer Shopper article at my local newsagents and I must say I was concerned about the poor rating for Avast....

Ive used it for some years and felt comfortable with it....

However I also installed AVG on my PC recently (obviously I made sure only one AV was running at one time)
I then updated both Avast & AVG and ran separate scans of my PC starting with Avast......  I was a little concerned when I ran AVG and it found a virus that Avast obviously missed.... it wasn't a new virus so the issue of definitions being more up to date on AVG than Avast didn't come into the equation.

I suggest you stand by your experience of years with avast. Also check out the other AV review sites previously mentioned for a long term view.

It is never advisable to have two resident AVs installed even if you disable one at a time, the virtual drivers, legacy registry keys are still present and may conflict.

Besides what Vlk said, you don't say what the infected file was, file name, location and malware name, it may well be adware or spyware rather than as you say a virus ?