Software	Rating	Rank
		6
		7
		3
		4
		2
		5
		1

From all our investigations over the past few weeks we can conclude in our opinion AVG Internet Security is the best software around!  We were really pleased and excited to see that Avira and Kaspersky have so much potential and are on the verge of being world class products.  Norton 360 and McAfee, for us, were the biggest let downs.  The quality of product and service just isn’t as good as you expect.  In many cases you’re better off going for a smaller brand or AVG!  All software used in the comparisons were the best available home software from the brand at the time of writing.

I think the interesting and most important thing to take from the investigation is that the two biggest household names are rated as last.  Consequently this whole survey really asks this question…’do the big name brands always provide  the best service and product?’

Want to find out more?  Check out the original comparison articles:

• Norton 360 vs AVG Internet Security
• McAfee Total Protection vs AVG Internet Security
• Trend Micro Internet Security Pro vs AVG Internet Security
• Avira Premium Security Suite vs AVG Internet Security
• avast! Professional Edition vs AVG Internet Security
• Kaspersky Internet Security vs AVG Internet Security

	Alternative Software %	AVG % in Comparison
	64%	86%
	63%	88%
	75%	94%
	69%	88%
	77%	82%
	67%	90%

As you can see from the table, AVG is by far the superior antivirus software when compared to the others.  Throughout the entire comparison process we were very impressed with the potential of some of the lesser known software like Avira and Kaspersky.  In a few years time they could really be battling with the rest!  Look out for our ratings table in coming weeks!

Feature
Download Time	Fast	Fast
Installation	A little frustrating as it wouldn’t install on many occasions as it kept identifying previous antivirus software which had been uninstalled.  Also, it wouldn’t allow me to have programs such as ‘SpyBot’ installed on my machine to complement the software. Once it started working it was very fast and efficient.  Allows you to configure basic features which is a great feature.	Takes an average length of time.  Quite extensive and helps you set up the basic features of the software.
Anti-Malware
Anti-Spyware
Firewall
Scans Files, Emails, Links, Instant Messenger and Internet Traffic
Automatic Updater
Antivirus
Antispam
Protects Wi-Fi and VPN Connections
Anti-Phishing
Identity Protection
Parental Control
Anti-Rootkit
Available to buy from Brandstar?
RRP	£39.99 (1 PC)	£39.14 (1 PC)
Overall Rating	12 out of 16	15 out of 16

Overall, I am very impressed with Kaspersky Internet Security.  It has great potential, it just needs some tlc.  I can see Kaspersky really fighting AVG for the top spot in a few years time, but it is the new boy on the block and still has a little further to go.  Furthermore, Kaspersky’s virus protection statistics aren’t as good as the ‘Big Three’ (McAfee, Norton and AVG).  AVG has an all round better performance and product quality.  One thing I really don’t like about Kaspersky is its lack of compatability.  For example, you would expect your antivirus software to go with complementary products, such as; SpyBot – Search and Destroy.  Whereas Kaspersky doesn’t, which is very frustrating.  You have to uninstall all security software before you install Kaspersky.