Antivirus Test: A Quest for Nearly Objective Rankings

* AV: Zondex Infections found: --- Comments: This AV software hails from Australia and I was curious to see how an "Auzzy" product would stack up. The interface feels a lot like Windows 3.1 and settings cannot be adjusted like many other products. Twice the GUI crashed and stopped running. When restarted, it pegged CPU usage at 100percent.

* AV: Zone Alarm Infections found: --- Comments: It was the slowest of all AV products tested, scanning only 162 files an hour (2.7 files per minute). I was curious as to why it was so slow until I checked my firewall logs (not ZA or Checkpoint). Apparently the product "phones home" with each and every possible infection. At this rate the test would have taken over 9 days to complete. I pulled the plug after 30 hours.

Products not tested (and why)

* Inca: Also know as nProtect, the site is mostly in untranslated Korean (hover your mouse over the "Products" icon and see for yourself). I was trying to read the few English words on the site and guess where the link to the software was when the site launched a java script that pegged my CPU usage at 100 percent. Given this experience I chose not to download or test this AV.

* Graugon: A program that uses the Clam AV engine, and after seeing how effective this engine is, I chose not to evaluate this product.