06/04/2009

Sluggish System? Your Antivirus Software is Probably to Blame

While many consumers are starting to realize the importance of antivirus software, many are unaware of the significant differences in performance from one antivirus program to another.

Why is this so important?

Realizing that many consumers just go with whatever is pre-installed on their system when they get it or with whatever their ISP installs/recommends, it seemed important to question the rationale behind that.

Often, the security application that has been installed is chosen for one reason: money.

Understanding the relationship between the PC manufacturers and ISPs and the antivirus vendors is an easy one: the AV makers often pay to have their software installed (if not, they often let the manufacturers install it for free.) Huh?

The reason is, the A/V makers realize that many, if not most, consumers will renew their antivirus subscription when it expires, thus while they may have to "pay" for their antivirus software when they get their computer, they do buy the renewal subscription.

And, once they're in there, they have a revenue stream from you.

Sluggish System?

So, you're cruising around with your PC for a while--maybe even a year or more, when it just doesn't feel as fast as it once did.

All those files and pictures and videos you've created and viewed over the many moons you've had your computer are stored somewhere, often they live in your Temporary Internet Files directory.

Over time, as these files accumulate in the various places of your hard drive, your antivirus software has to work harder and harder to keep up.

What happens next is where it gets ugly.

You get fed up with it slowing things down and disable it, "just to get some stuff done."

The problem is the software stays off for a while--sometimes for a long while, maybe even forever.

Now that antivirus subscription you just renewed is totally, completely, utterly useless.

Real Antivirus Solutions

What this boils down to is that choosing your antivirus software, and not just taking the easy route, is critical.

This is part of the reason we rate VIPRE antivirus so highly: it's highly efficient and uses very few CPU, RAM, and system resources to keep your computer safe and virus-free.

We're not the only ones saying this, either. I just came across a VIPRE review from August 2008 on ZDNet's Hardware 2.0 blog by the much-respected Adrian Kingsley-Hughes.

The lowdown:

"Security software can have a shocking effect on performance, and can take a new system and make it feel like one that’s a few years old.

I’m pleased to see that Sunbelt Software’s claim that VIPRE doesn’t hog system resources and doesn’t slow down a PC isn’t just marketing hyperbole but is actually true."

(N.B. emphasis mine)

Adrian's images, originally located here ZDNet (archived now at our site), really tell the story about VIPRE well. (Visit ZDNet for complete details.)

In his review, he compares system performance with:

VIPRE
Kaspersky
Norton
No antivirus software

Take a look at the below images and judge for yourself...

Original source: http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/av_shootout_system01.png

Original source: http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/av_shootout_system02.png

Original source: http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/av_shootout_system03.png

It's good to see we're not alone in leading antivirus review sites singing VIPRE's praises, they're well-deserved.

Posted by Kevin R. Smith at 12:00:00 AM in Antivirus Reviews , Antivirus Testing , BitDefender , Kaspersky , VIPRE

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