You need both an anti-virus and an anti-malware solution for maximum protection. Not just for your desktop computer or Tablets, but for your cell phones as well.

Short version:

Desktop: For Antivirus use Avira
Desktop: For Malware use Emsisoft

Android: For Antivirus an Malware use Trend Micro

Longer, More Detailed Version:

An anti-virus program alone does not provide comprehensive protection and cannot prevent, detect and remove all threats at any given time. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs each perform different tasks as it relates to computer security and threat detection. Essentially, they look for and remove different types of malicious threats.

In simplistic terms, Anti-virus programs generally scan for infectious malware which includes viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkis and bots.

Anti-malware programs generally tend to focus more on adware, spyware, unwanted toolbars, browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs and potentially unsafe applications.

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Which Programs are Best?

We all want to know this. In fact, “Best Antivirus” , “Top Rated Malware Protection” and search terms of the like are extremely profitable search terms that bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars from amateur Google searchers.

Have you ever been to a website that looks like this?:

Sites like these are all over the place for just about any product or service you can think of. You know how these work right? The company who pays the most money gets the highest ranking.

Because there are so many people out there that have no clue that these are fake rankings, manufactures almost have to participate. But don’t buy into it. In fact, there is your first clue. If you see a link that allows you to “Buy” from a ratings or ranking website, you may be on a sales or affiliate site. This is a win-win scenerio for the website who presented the information. No matter which program you click on and buy, they get a small cut of the proceeds. They make millions a year from websites like this. Don’t fall for it.

From my own experience I have found two sites that generally provide me with the best test results.

• AV-Comparatives
• AV-Test

The way that I have come to use these test sites is to compare the top performers with each site. At AV-Comparatives you can see that Avira, BitDefender, Panda and Trend Micro caught all the viruses, while F-Secure had the most False Positives. False Positives mean more false alarms which means more distractions. Also, with false positives you may end up deleting a program or service you really need or want.

Programs like BullGuard and Quick Heal make the user get involved with the detection process which certainly is not what I’m looking for in a good Anti-Virus program. While on the website, check out all the other ways they test and compare programs. Have fun.

Another site that I use is AV-TEST.com which gives me an easy way to see which programs might be the best. For my Windows PC I click on the Home User for Windows link. For my computer I click on Windows 7. Then under Protection I click the up arrow to sort them in the order that shows the best ones at the top. For Windows 7 there are only 3 that during their tests caught all the viruses. Then looking at which of those have the best performance and Usability you can see that Trend MICRO does the best job. But according to our other AV testing website, Trend Micro also had a lot of false positives. That seems to make Avira the best on the market. At least for this month.

However, if we compare the results from AV-Comparatives.com we see that Avira seems to be at the top of both websites. Does that make Avira the best? Who knows! It may come down to a Ford vs. Chevy thing. People have their favorites no matter where it ranks in the tests.

My personal favorites and the programs I use:

• For cell phone – Trend Micro Mobile Security
• For desktop/(Malware, Spyware, Adware etc.) – Emsisoft, Malwarebytes, TrojenHunter, SuperAntiSpyware
• For desktop/Anti-Virus – Bitdefender.

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