What is the best Anti Virus?

There are many different situations in which you will require Anti-Virus software. The main two categories people tend to fall into are as follows:

You will either be a single user or have very few workstations with no server.
or
A multi workstation environment with a central file server.

Depending on your situation will change which anti-virus is best for you.

In my opinion if you are a single user or have very few workstations, the best anti-virus protection you can have at the moment is Kaspersky Internet Security 2009. (KIS) Kaspersky is very simple to install and virtually looks after itself. It automatically detects your existing network settings and allows your existing network through the built in firewall. It also integrates a good spam filter into your e-mail client. The program is very user friendly and updates automatically very regularly. Kaspersky is not as cumbersome as some other AV programs (not mentioning any names *cough* Norton). Many people running Norton internet security experience problems at log in, loading the software and when it periodically updates the process can slow the machine dramatically. You experience none of these problems with Kaspersky and it is ideal for Home users or small business's.

Moving onto the second type of user. If you have a centrally administered server the best solution around is Sophos Small Business. Sophos is a fantastic AV and firewall for any size business that has a server. All scans and firewall settings can be administered from one location and all updates are received from the server. I find myself saying alot of the time that the anti virus program you are using is only as good as its updates, simply because if its out of date it is not going to work effectively. With Sophos Small Business, all the updates are done periodically at the organizations server. These are then distributed to the client machines automatically. Once you've set up the firewall initially to allow the known applications (it tends to lock down your system at first) Sophos completely takes care of itself and i couldn't recommend anything else for the protection of your computer.

Hope this helps

Thanks M.