2011 No.9 Antivirus:

Vipre Antivirus 4

Pros: Vipre has one of the most efficient scanning engines with a small scan footprint. The home site license is perfect for households with multiple PCs.

Cons: The installation is thorough, but requires a restart.

The Verdict: The Vipre brand may still be pretty new, but the software is definitely worth looking into.

Vipre AntiVir Review

Vipre Antivirus has a great combination of features, and though the company is relatively new on the security scene, their antivirus software is one of the best. It’s not a typo, ‘VIPRE’ stands for Virus Intrusion Prevention Remediation Engine. The software includes antivirus and antispyware protection, as well as a number of additional compelling features.

Probably the most unique offering from Vipre is their unlimited home site license option. With the unlimited license you can run the software on as many computers (as well as laptops and netbooks) that you have at home. For families with three or more PCs, this is a very affordable option.

Scope of Protection: 

Sunbelt Software’s Vipre Antivirus + Antispyware doesn’t just protect from viruses and spyware, but also covers rootkits, Trojans, worms, keyloggers, dialers, adware, malicious scripts, and a number of other malware threats. Vipre’s big push is to keep your computer protected from viruses that may not be on traditional signature databases yet.

This proactive protection is made possible by incorporating advanced heuristic detection, including the MX-Virtualization. This technology allows Vipre to run files in a sterile Windows-like emulator and observe how it behaves. If the files act up, they are appropriately identified as malware. Combine this with real-time, kernel-level antivirus security, and Vipre is well equipped to guard your PC from threats from different angles.

Effectiveness: 

Vipre is an effective antivirus (and antispyware) desktop solution. Powered by Sunbelt Software, the software has received the checkmark certification from West Coast Labs as an effective antivirus software. The antivirus software has also been evaluated and certified by ICSA labs, and has received the VB100 award.

One feature that helps keep Vipre on top of protection is the advanced heuristic technologies, Genscan and Cobra. These advanced features help Vipre dynamically locate malware before it even has the chance to cause any problems on your PC.

Ease of Installation: 

Vipre Antivirus has a fairly thorough installation process, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s not super quick, and requires a restart, but it’s not hard by any means.

Vipre was engineered from the bottom up, and specifically designed not to be a system hog. And while there are trimmer antivirus applications, Vipre Antivirus holds up to their promise to deliver a resource- efficient program. Vipre certainly has one of the most efficient antivirus scanning engines available, and should leave users pleasantly surprised with no PC slowdown.

Ease of Use: 

Vipre’s antivirus software is quite simple to use. The simple user interface and navigation make for a pretty intuitive experience. Setting specific scans on a schedule or adjusting settings are no trouble. Even better, for the most part Vipre runs seamlessly in the background, requiring very little user input.

Features: 

Vipre Antivirus has a number of useful tools that ensure security, and are just plain convenient. The secure file eraser lets you completely and permanently remove sensitive files from your computer. The software also includes an integrated history cleaning utility (to cover your tracks online), and simple access to some PC tools that normally are hard to find.

Vipre is also fully equipped to protect your computer from email-borne threats. The active email scanning will keep your inbox free of malicious files, and even scans outbound mail so you won’t pass any viruses on to your friends/coworkers/family by accident.

Vipre has all the essentials, but we would have liked to see an integrated silent ‘gamer’ mode and password-protected settings.

Updates: 

As with almost every antivirus software, updates from Vipre are set up to run automatically (but can also be performed manually if needed). The program is set by default to run updates every few hours, but can be manually set to run every hour if desired. More importantly, Vipre utilizes a security network that enables them to deliver updates to your PC immediately as the need should arise.

Help & Support: 

Sunbelt’s support for Vipre Antivirus is pretty good, and includes in-program help files, and additional assistance online. Most common issues can be fixed by taking a look at the KnowledgeBase, user guide, or support forums. Individual questions can be directed to their service department through email, phone, or even online chat (all U.S. based).

Summary:

Overall, Vipre Antivirus is a very good security solution. The software has all the essentials, and several advanced features (heuristic, behavioral analysis, real-time protection) that work efficiently to deliver a fairly complete antivirus package. The unique “home site license” allows you to install the software on as many computers as you have at home (a valuable solution for many home users).

Source: toptenreviews.com

2011 No.1 Antivirus: BitDefender Antivirus 2011

2011 No.2 Antivirus: Kaspersky AntiVirus 2011

2011 No.3 Antivirus: Webroot AntiVirus 2011