Today we’re comparing Avira’s Premium Security Suite and the Award Winning AVG Internet Security. Avira again are relatively unknown to the typical user but I think in a few years time it will be fighting AVG, Norton and McAfee for the most popular software providers. For more about Avira check out their website! The comparison will involve an overview of the features each package has and then at the end we’ll tell you which we think is better through our rating system. Our ratings are worked out by the amount of ticks the product has. Further points are awarded for faster download, simpler/better installation and cheaper price.
| Feature |  |
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| Download Time | Very Fast | Fast |
| Installation | Installation was long. You setup a couple of the basic features but most features you need for a decent performance are still left to be configured.
Also, very frustratingly it isn’t compatible with complementary anti-virus software such as, Windows Firewall. However, it does allow you to continue the installation process. A warning just appears to say they aren’t compatible. |
Takes an average length of time. Quite extensive and helps you set up the basic features of the software. |
| Anti-Virus |  |
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| Anti-Adware | |
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| Anti-Spyware | |
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| Anti-Phishing | |
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| Anti-Rootkit | |
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| Web-Shield/Guard (Protection whilst surfing the Internet) | |
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| Anti-Bot | |
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| Email-Scanner | |
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| Backup System | |
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| Anti-Spam | |
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| Firewall | |
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| GameMode | |
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| Parental Control | |
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| Easy to remove Viruses | |
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| Task Scheduler | |
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| Identity Protection | |
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| Link Scanner |
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| IM Scanner |
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| Available to buy from Brandstar? |
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| RRP | £26.95 (1 year) | £39.14 (1 Year) |
| Overall Rating |
17 out of 22 | 18 out of 22 |
Overall I have been very impressed with Avira’s Premium Security Suite! It’s really given AVG Internet Security a run for its money! As you can see, Avira’s feature’s aren’t quite as extensive as AVG’s, this is represented by the lower price. For Avira to really compete with the likes of AVG they will need to increase its compatibility and bring in features such as Identity Protection. Avira’s userface could also do with a ‘facelift’ to make it easier to user and generally nicer to look at.
To conclude, watch out for Avira in the next few years…it’s bound to be big!
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.
So after playing around with the two programs I can conclude that we think AVG Internet Security is better than McAfee Total Protection. It has a wider range of tools and equipment to give an overall better performance. McAfee looks nicer than AVG but we all know looks can be deceiving and AVG turns out to be far easier to use. A huge advantage of AVG is that you can buy it for 1 computer if you only have 1 computer, whereas you dont have the option to do that with McAfee Total Protection. Although the installation of AVG involves you having to make some choices it saves you having to do them in the long run and it helps provide you with an even better performance. Whereas with McAfee you spend ages doing the Automatic installation to find out you still have to configure all the features yourself!!