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ESET NOD32 gets nod for best AV
Robert Hallock
December 5, 2008 3:21 PM ET in Tech
After releasing their performance analysis for today’s top anti-virus solutions, security firm AV Comparatives is back (PDF) to evaluate the efficacy of the tested solutions.
While solutions like those from Kaspersky and AVIRA proactively detected 60% and 67% of all new virus strains introduced into the system over four weeks, they were plagued with moderate to many false positives. As a result of testing, it was demonstrated that ESET’s NOD32 heuristically catches 51% of all new infections with a very low chance of falsely identifying a real threat. Based on these findings, NOD32 was awarded AV Comparative’s highest Advanced+ rating.
More broadly, people concerned with the security of their computer should take note of the figures presented by AV Comparatives. Today’s most accurate anti-virus solution catches only 51% of all new infections unleashed upon unwitting users.
It is important to remember that these figures are for proactive detection, or the detection of viruses for which there are currently no definitions. These viruses, the ones that have not yet been identified, are the ones capable of real havoc. It’s easy to cure a disease when you know what you have; it’s much harder to cure when you don’t.
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