VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware - Question from a Reader

I received a question from a reader who wanted some further comparison comments. Phil wrote:

Terry, I have Nod32 and have been using counterspy. Have you any infected system comparison between the antivirus in vipre vs nod32? Any comparison between computer drag in nod32(none) and vipre? Thanks, Phil

I wrote back to Phil to say that I don't do any testing with viruses and other malware. I don't want them on my computers, even for testing purposes.

As long-time readers of my newsletter and site know, as does anyone who reads the introduction to the recommended security software article in my weekly online issue, my selection of recommended software is driven by my search for software for me to use. I only recommend programs that I like and that I use. I will sometimes suggest alternatives to my recommendations, but I clearly note if I no longer use them.

My personal experiences with CounterSpy+NOD32 versus VIPRE are that VIPRE has found more malware in email attachment files and that VIPRE is faster. I suspect that the additional malware catches are ones that the antivirus program assumes the antispyware program would catch, and that the antispywere program assumes the antivirus would catch. None of these malware files were live exploits of my system — they were email attachments, in Eudora's attachment directory, that had not been opened but had not been deleted yet. Some were in zip files and some weren't.

With regard to speed, I noticed that VIPRE is significantly less intrusive (less interference with my computer use) while it scans my computer. I wrote about that in my review of VIPRE, which was in my online newsletter several weeks ago. I didn't do a measured comparison of scan speeds (I uninstalled NOD32 and CounterSpy before installing VIPRE), so I can't say for sure whether VIPRE scans faster or slower than CounterSpy or NOD32 — but it's one scan versus a scan by each program.

VIPRE's quick scan on my notebook (my main computer), as shown in its history takes around 2 minutes when I'm not doing anything else, to about 4 minutes when I'm actively using the notebook as in this morning's 3:51 (min:sec) quick scan. Full scans have run 94-113 minutes, and are running in the middle of the night with no other activity. Obviously, the time for the full scans will vary based on how much disk space you have and how full it is.

VIPRE is $29.95 for a one-year, one computer license, with significant discounts for additional computers and/or additional years. If you currently run CounterSpy, you can upgrade to VIPRE for $9.95 — just scroll down to "Still use Sunbelt's CounterSpy?" section and click on the "upgrade to CounterSpy for just $9.95" link. The Unlimited Home Site License (which I have) is $49.95 for a year and is the best deal for four or more computers. You can download VIPRE for a 15-day free fully-functional trial here.

Copyright © 2008 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.