When we here of Chinese staling the confidential data of the US, India Defense data being hacked or NATO’s confidential documents being made public by anonymous hacker and then look at our system thinking of security levels it boasts, how vulnerable are your data, shivers run down th spine. Threat to computer may not come the anonymous hacker, Viruses, Trojans, Worms and other malware, released into cyberspace designed to harm computer at large are causing havoc. There by creating business opportunities for the Antivirus companies. Mind questions ? Do these anti virus companies themselves create viruses to create their own business opportunity... ? No, Never. They are nice set of people helping us through troubled times and protecting our computers from unknown risks. There are enough dirty minds with evils workshop, who find solace by troubling others.

Most people don't realize that malware is present in almost all net connected computers and avoiding this malicious computer invader is very difficult. And usually, you won't even know you've become a victim.

And those who do net banking, just remember your banks advisory mail, that you might have received a month and half back requesting you not to respond to a mailer requesting any of your banking details posing as RBI. These mails requesting banking details are from phisher’s posing as RBI, and this is what is referred as Phishing.

If you have ever come back to your computer and found it was not starting or all your files erased and un-ecoverable, it is then you will know by yourself, why we always insist on the need to protect your computer.

The best antivirus programs will stop viruses before they ever reach your hard drive and keep your computer safe, usually without you even noticing it. A recent study found that more than 75% of home computers have spyware installed on them and most users don't even know it. Sypware, or sometimes called adware, is a small, seemingly innocent piece of software that embeds itself in your Internet browser. As you surf the internet, signing into email, social networks or bank accounts, the spyware program reports back to home base with all your personal information. Before long, your resources are drained, your computer slows down, and some stranger knows everything about you. Worse if he poses like you and uses your account for unlawful activity.

Rootkits are also a type of spyware. In this case, a hacker takes control of your computer, without you knowing, and uses your hard drive and IP address to infect others. This type spyware is difficult to detect on your own, but top antivirus software will detect a dangerous download and immediately delete the file. Computers are expensive pieces of equipment. For the same reasons you lock your home and car (to keep others out), you need to have some type of antivirus protection on your computer. There is a race out there between malware producers and antivirus software producers. And it escalates daily. Remaining unprotected is a sure-fire way to become collateral damage in this war. The cost to prevent and protect yourself is much lower than the cost of replacing your computer and restoring your identity.

At SOFTDISK, we do the research & survey, to know the Users’ perception, so that you don’t have to gamble with your gadget and take appropriate & correct decision on the product you want to choose. We don’t recommend any particular product but only portray a uses perception and that too based on view point of respondent to our survey.

All antivirus software is not created equal. Like any other category of consumer goods, it has its good, its bad and its mediocre. The choices are broad and wide. Software offerings from around the globe commonly used in India grace the surveys & reviews of antivirus software giving you the end-users’ perception.

Top antivirus software should be easy enough for a computer user to both install and uninstall. The software should effectively seek out and identify virus threats, as well as clean or isolate infected files. There should be understandable reporting available for each scan and plenty of help support available, so you can be well-informed of the software’s activities and capabilities. Below are the criteria SD called for Users’ opinion on and evaluate antivirus software.

Ease of Use : Exceptional antivirus software is simple to use, regardless of a user's computer experience or knowledge of viruses. The software should be easy to install and configure. If you need to use the interface to change settings, it should be intuitive and non-threatening to beginners. Ideally, most features will be enable/disable toggles with the power to fine-tune if desired. The best antivirus software is the kind you simply install on your system and then let it do its work.

Effective at Identifying Viruses and Worms : The best antivirus software identifies infected files quickly through realtime scanning, searching for viruses in a multitude of sources, including email, instant message, web browsing, USB and other third party media etc. Scanning speed is also important. Slow antivirus software will tend to interfere with your work and if you are particularly impatient, you might have the tendency to stop or pause the scan, rendering the software useless. Generally, antivirus software scans your hard drives looking for known viruses.

Effective at Cleaning or Isolating Infected Files : Truly capable antivirus software thoroughly cleans, deletes or quarantines infected files, keeping them from spreading throughout the hard drive or network. Proactive/heuristic testing enables the antivirus software to detect and quarantine code that looks and acts like a virus even before it has been reported. This could be critical in protecting you on a “Day Zero” attack and spare you from being one of the first casualties.

Activity Reporting : Antivirus programs should give immediate notification of viruses found by real time scanners and should provide an easy to read report of scan results, including what was found and what was done with infected files. Anonymous transfer of information must be reported real time and permission sought.

Feature Set : A well-rounded feature set allows antivirus software to provide absolute protection. The best programs are those that offer a wide variety of tools, from basic realtime scanning to more advanced heuristic scanning and script blocking. When it comes to virus protection, the more options the better. Many of the best antivirus packages now include multiple protection schemes at no extra cost. These include anti-spyware, anti-malware, rootkit detection, parental controls and email screening.

Ease of Installation and Setup : Antivirus programs should be a breeze to install, making it easy to go from installation to initial scan in just a couple clicks of the mouse.

Help & Documentation : High-end antivirus software comes with plenty of help, including support via email, online chat or via telephone. There should also be online resources, such as knowledge bases and FAQs available for quick and convenient help.

Bank & Shop Online : An advanced antivirus program should provide complete security while doing net banking or online shopping.

Data Theft Protection : Ability of the Software to use firewall to stops hackers from stealing your information when you are connected to the internet and alerts you if any suspicious traffic / intruder is trying to access your PC.

Based on above points SD went about asking its users’ their rating of Top 5 Antivirus Software brands for Desktops & Laptops. In all 2311 users responded. There was a very close contest for the pole position K7 & Kaspersky fighting to out very closely. K7 reaped 26.79% votes as against Kaspersky 23.59% to win the coveted SD’s No. 1 Anti Virus Product of the Year Award. More people use K7 Total Security then K7 Ultimate Security. However K7’s popularity has risen by 3.10% while Kaspersky popularity has increased by 3.70% in being rated SD’s No 2 Anti Virus Product of the Year. Next in rating was the Quick Heal having raked 14.54% votes to get rated as SD’s No. 3 Antivirus product of the year. This indicates a dip in popularity by 2.76%. Norton has been successful in increasing its popularity level by 1.22% raking up 11.47% votes to be rated SD’s No. 4 Product of the year while eScan raked 5.49% (Dip of 0.89%) to clinch the SD’s No. 5 Product of the year award in SD Users’ Satisfaction Survey 2013.

Softdisk believes that it is more a case of User Education to Use Licensed Software and not a case of fighting for space to survive. Especially at as low a price Anti virus software are available now.

Above ratings are based on SD’s Users’ Choice Poll carried between 1st June 2013 thru 30th July 2013 and purely reflect the percentage of Users Perception in regard to the software they use and does not necessarily reflect SD’s opinion. Editor.