CNET 2007 antivirus performance test scores

For the first time in nearly two years, we have an Editors' Choice winner for antivirus protection. Of the products we've tested and reviewed thus far, we think Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 offers the best value and performance. Norton AntiVirus 2007 improved some over last year, but McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007, despite adding a firewall, failed to move up. New this year is Eset NOD32, an excellent application, but one that's best suited for more advanced users.

How we test
Testing done by CNET Labs focuses on how a given antivirus scan affects the performance of a few real-world tasks. For example, in the Apple iTunes 6.0.1 test, we time how long it takes to convert 19 WAV files to 192Kbps MP3 files. To see how a given antivirus app performs when stopping malicious code, we recommend viewing the latest test results published by independent antivirus testing organisations AV-comparatives and Checkvir.com.

iTunes 6 deep-scanning performance
In seconds (shorter bars indicate faster performance)

iTunes 6

Test system

162 

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6

174 

NOD32 2.5

194 

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

196 

Norton AntiVirus 2007

208 

Sorenson Squeeze 4 deep-scanning peformance
In seconds (shorter bars indicate faster performance)

Sorenson Squeeze 4

Test system

241 

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6

250 

NOD32 2.5

283 

Norton AntiVirus 2007

317 

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

329 

Product reviews

Kasperksy Antivirus 6

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 is light and fast and consistently wins detection awards against the competition; it's worthy of our Editors' Choice designation.

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007

Despite a face-lift, the redesigned McAfee VirusScan Plus continues to consume system resources and leaves its customer support lacking.

NOD32 2.5

If you want a fast, flexible antivirus product that an advanced user can tweak to perfection, NOD32's an excellent choice. But if you're more of a set-it-and-forget-it novice, look elsewhere.

Norton AntiVirus 2007

By rewriting much of the code, Symantec made Norton AntiVirus 2007 faster and lighter than its 2006 version, but a few glitches here and there keep us from granting it our Editors' Choice award.