Guide | How To Why there is no "best" Antivirus product

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Hello everyone,

I see more and more threads over time asking what the best Antivirus product is... So I made this thread to explain that there is not a "best" Antivirus product and why there isn't one.

With the increase of malware spreading all the time (and not just "malicious software", but adware/PUPs are a lot more popular nowadays than they used to be in my opinion), it's impossible for any current security company to provide a product which can detect and block every threat out there.

Each Antivirus product may have it's own strength, however an important note is that most Antiviruses have their own different and unique databases used in the product. I said "most" since some products use another Antivirus engine. Although, usually they would still have their own different database anyway.

Antivirus vendors realized that the standard hash detection (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256) was not going to be enough years ago, so they moved to developing new features for protection such as HIPS/BB. They also started implementing "heuristic" analysis (this could be both static and analysis. For example, the heuristics could have static analysis for detection based on the bytes in the executable, however it may then have dynamic analysis detection based on the API calls the process will make once it's executing).

Static analysis detection = detection without executing the executable.
Dynamic analysis detection = detection in real-time for when the executable is executing.

No HIPS/Behaviour Blocker can block every threat. The only way it can would be by blocking everything, including legitimate applications.


The closest I can see any company reaching the "best" protection would be to adapt to whitelisting over blacklisting. Although, this alone has flaws. The first issue with it, is what about new software? I can't even imagine how crazy everyone would be if they had to wait weeks for their software to be whitelisted by a company. Secondly, whitelisting would be a pain in the end because it will block legitimate applications which are not whitelisted. It would also cause a lot more hassle for the user.

On top of the whitelisting idea (companies have actually already started to try this, and it does work well to an extent), what if a malware writer managed to outsmart all the staff at a specific security company who are managing the whitelisting? What if they managed to fool and succeeded, and had programmed their malicious software so well that it tricks all the staff and becomes whitelisted? Don't get me wrong, staff at security companies are very smart, however it's always a possibility.

The only way to have a "best" antivirus would be for all the antivirus vendors except one to stop their companies and drop all their products. This would leave 1 antivirus product - ending the competition. Since there is then only one antivirus product available, then it is surely the best right? Of course it still won't have 100%, but it would be the best since it would be the only one available. I am afraid to say I don't think this will ever happen.

Of course there are cases when another antivirus product is shown to be more effective than another. I am not trying to say every product is the same. For example, I would happily agree that Emsisoft is far more effective at preventing malware infections than ClamAV. Nonetheless, even with another product "seeming" better than another, there is still no "best" antivirus.

You'll notice some vendors put something like "99.9% detection rate" on their websites. This is advertising to try to get new customers - I don't personally agree with that kind of advertising because I think it's misleading and unfair to the average customer who is not so aware of the real situation...

There are also companies like VirusBulletin, AV-Comparatives who perform tests on different antivirus products. Just because one product scored top in their tests won't make it the "best". Most of us are aware that Bitdefender has won awards from AV-Comparatives and won in the past, but I am sure there are many users on this forum who are willing to disagree that Bitdefender is better compared to a product like ESET or Emsisoft. It's user opinion based. Due to the amount of samples out there and being released everyday, it is impossible for any testing companies to tell you which vendor really has the "best" detection. Some have a good detection with certain samples, some don't. Some companies work extremely well some weeks/months, some don't. It's just how things work.

When you see a thread asking what the best Antivirus is, the comments people put down regarding different antivirus products are their opinion. It's more of what their "favourite" Antivirus is, as opposed to what the best antivirus is.

If anything, the best antivirus available out there is yourself. Don't always be click-happy. Do your research before you run an application (especially if you are going to grant it Administrative priveleges). Try running a new program in an virtualized environment before your real system. Keep a backup of all your personal documents in case of execution of malicious software which may harm/damage your files.

I recommend if anyone reading this is looking for a "best" antivirus, you start using the free trials the products usually provide for testing purposes, and then if you like the product enough, purchase it and use it. Only you can decide upon which product you want and should use.

The safest way to stay free from infection would be to lockup your system and never use it again. Originally I was going to say to never connect to the internet... But you could then always be infected via removal storage media. Point being, if you are using a computer at all then the risk is always there, and when you use it whilst connected to the internet then the risk is increased due to the content out there and the hackers waiting for their next victim.

Cheers. ;)
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Well the word 'best' is really use as overexaggerate, much better if 'excellence' ;)

But really 'one of the products that recognize through excellence' will be a capable line for their products however most AV's use awards as matter of advertising even though its old alreadly (i.e 2008 award) so it just complement to the users who wanted to use.
 

Exterminator

Community Manager
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Oct 23, 2012
12,527

tallorder

Level 6
Verified
Jan 15, 2015
267
Well said & well done @kram7750!:)


Hold 'Ctrl' & tap '+' to make letters Big and eyes feel (..if not the best) Better!;)
I was able to 'squint' just enough, or would have done exactly what you said here, Cats-4_Owners-2!

I use that all the time to either enlarge font, or make it smaller if it is taking up all of a page... through 'CTRL' and tap the (-) minus sign. :D

Excellent, @kram7750!

When I first came to MT, I put an endless amount of AVAM/kill this, fix that, block this/ try that on here. I ended up with everything clashing, and nothing wanted to work! Have learned here, by reading all the headlines, and articles and forums and watching all malware removal pros daily work to fix machines, that new malware/PUPs, problems and infections are popping out every minute. It seems to me that there could be no 'best', for the reasons you stated, Kram7750, but also because of which 'team' discovers and offers a fix for a new bug...today..! The Kaspersky Team, or the Emsisoft Team or the ... it is a constant effort to keep up!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

MrXidus

Super Moderator (Leave of absence)
Apr 17, 2011
2,503
Example: Which do you prefer? (A novice member asks what the best antivirus is)

Response A:
"What's the best antivirus?"
or

Response B:
"What's the best antivirus?"
Ultimately the best protection is yourself, while there is no best antivirus, see this thread for why.
It depends if you're looking for a free antivirus or a paid one as the feature sets can differ.
For free I'd recommend 360 Total Security Essential.
<list some positive reasons why but nothing too large and long>
For paid I'd recommend ESET Smart Security or Emsisoft Internet Security, both are top notch in my opinion.
<list some positive reasons why but nothing too large and long>

Many antivirus vendors offer free trials on their product so you can ultimately find one you're happy with in the end.

One can further look at the questionnaires configuration thread and see what the currently have and improve upon that in the response and can even post suggestions in their configuration thread.

Unless the user describes his/her browsing habits and if they download smaller executables etc [casual user or dangerous] that could also reflect the answer given.

Great post Kram!
 

jackuars

Level 27
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 2, 2014
1,688
In my opinion there is a Best Antivirus. And it is..............
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tHe AnTiViRuS tHaT yOu ArE cUrReNtLy uSiNg. :p Stick with it.

But am pretty much sure, when an antivirus scores higher in the next test you will be changing to it. *Facepalm*
 
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darko999

Level 17
Verified
Well-known
Oct 2, 2014
805
finally, I have seen so many threads about which one is the best antivirus. It's a ghost thread, you can't kill ghosts. People should realise the best av is the one who is going to work better for them, they should think all chances and options; then pick what's best for their own scenario.
 

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