Anti-Malware Software Review

The best antimalware software is efficient and effective. It runs light yet is able to combat all multifarious malware. This type of security software protects your PC or laptop and your personal information. Unlike a full internet security suite, antimalware software does not include extra features you may not need, such as parental controls or password managers. They just provide simple, dependable and essential protection.

To learn more about the antimalware software that consistently performs the best, see Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2012, Kaspersky Antivirus 2012 and F-Secure Antivirus 2012. To explore information on how to protect your computer from malware, see our articles about antimalware software.

Antimalware Software: What to Look For

In order to be the best antimalware software, an application must perform two functions: detect malware and remove malware. If it cannot perform those two tasks, the other features provide little value. We looked for light running antimalware software with the proven ability to identify and eradicate malware. We also compared how the software can manage malware and the technical support provided by the software developer.

The criteria we used to rank antimalware software are the following:

Malware Detection
Antimalware software cannot remove malware that it cannot detect. We gathered numerous efficacy scores to evaluate which product has the most dependable performance in detecting malware. The performance tests not only incorporate known threats, but also newly emergent threats and suspiciously behaving scripts. The best antimalware software also does not produce a significant number of false positive results.

Malware Removal
Removing malware that has already infected a system is a more difficult task than detecting it. We rated the anti malware software that can safely remove malware from an infected system successfully and restore it to its pre-infected state the favorably. We also looked at the software to see if it can detect malware on a PC during the installation process and whether it can reboot from a rescue disc should Windows become locked down or dangerous to run.

Malware Management
If you are the type of person who is looking for a tool to remove malware, you are likely looking for a product that runs light and can be customized to handle malware the way you desire. So we not only looked at the types of scans the software can run, but also whether scans can be adjusted to use system resources the way you want. Some features that can help you maximize the performance of your PC during scans include full-screen modes, scan throttling, low-use detection and the ability to create white lists.

Help & Support
We evaluated the type of customer assistance and technical support the manufacturers provide. The best antimalware software providers offer telephone, chat and email support, as well as user manuals and online documentation. Many also provide virus and threat information, user forums, free tools and the ability to submit suspicious files for evaluation.

Antimalware software runs light and is not loaded down with features you may not need. However, despite their low use of resources, these applications can protect your PC from malicious attacks from the internet, downloads, emails, links, external drives and chat conversations.

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