Welcome to my Security Tools Ultimate Compilations thread. In this thread we will be covering almost all Anti-virus, Anti-malware, Anti-spyware, Firewall. All the information, rating, price, statistics are referenced from reputed Antivirus testing lab's reports like av-comparatives.org. Prices of products and versions names are grabbed from respective official sites, there might have slight variations in the price. This thread will hopefully be an informative resource to the members, the motivation for this thread is the tons of questions posted here about best antivirus and other security tools. I'll keep update this thread and add as many as information I can. If you have any questions regarding anything listed in here, or need additional help, post here or PM me.

Kaspersky Anti-virus is one of the most powerful antivirus solutions currently on the market, providing an excellent detection rate, combined with real-time protection and definition updates delivered to every computer on a regular basis. The interface is pleasant and makes you believe you're using an application that's only focused on basic functions, although the powerhouse hidden under the hood is worth every single penny. Kaspersky Anti-Virus is capable not only to discover and remove threats on your computer, but also to protect your email client, instant messengers and web traffic, regardless of the browser you use.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/bitdefender.jpg[/img]

Bitdefender has stepped up its game with the latest Antivirus Plus release, bringing forth new technologies and powerful features for ensuring the security of your system from viruses and other e-threats. After installation, the utility offers two configuration modes: Autopilot mode runs with default settings and doesn't interrupt user activity, while Automatic Game mode caters to users who wish to play video games and not worry about any interference. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus boasts a modern and clean interface, where you have a few scanning modes at your disposal: the Quick mode goes through key areas of your hard drive, while the System mode thoroughly looks for just about any suspicious activity.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/avira.jpg[/img]

Avira AntiVir seems to be the right choice for all those who are searching for a solution with decent performance and regular updates, just to be sure infections stay away from their precious data. The developers over at Avira have always offered a well-organized interface, and their latest antivirus solution makes no exception to this rule. Fortunately, although it's supposed to fight against viruses, the application comes with a handy user interface that lets you configure it with ease. Avira only offers a bunch of settings, so advanced users should have no problem to deal with them, although beginners should too find the whole application quite easy to use.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/f-secure.jpg?0[/img]

F-Secure Antivirus is a security system that assists you in removing viruses, spyware and other infections from your computer. After a long installation process, the software performs an automatic update, which takes a long time as well. Once you have initiated F-Secure Antivirus, you are acquainted with ad user-friendly interface. There aren't many features available in the antivirus system, so beginners should not have a difficult time understanding how it works. In the main window you can access the current status of the virus and spyware scanning, of the scheduled tasks and DeepGuard, but you can also view general statistics.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/avast!.jpg?0[/img]

Avast! Free Antivirus is a reliable antivirus software solution designed to provide computer users with effective protection against viruses and spyware. Avast comes with well-organized interface that targets beginners and professional users alike, with all features being clearly displayed right in the main window. Be careful during the installation though, because the setup kit also attempts to drop a separate browser on your computer, although Avast doesn't need this kind of app to work properly. However, once installed, Avast works simply great, with virus definitions updated even several times a day. The scanning process is very fast and is quite light on hardware resources, but it all depends on the computer and the files you're about to scan. We were pleased with its speed during our tests, even though sometimes we were a bit annoyed by the boot-time scanner.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/avg.jpg?0[/img]

AVG Free Edition is one of the freeware antivirus software that should be taken into consideration when thinking about a freeware solution to protect one's PC. It only provides basic protection, but this should be enough for those who are not avid computer users who download tons of files from the Internet. Extra attention should be paid when installing this application, since it offers to make some changes to your search engine and install a browser toolbar. Even if you refuse these offers, the software still functions properly. The interface of AVG Free Edition pleasant, and packed with features that users would only expect from paid solutions, including modules such as LinkScanner, E-mail Protection or Anti-Rootkit.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/g%20data.jpg?0[/img]

G DATA Internet Security is a suite of applications that work together in order to provide you with the best protection for your computer. The security features include an antivirus, a firewall, antispam filtering and child protection. In addition to its award-winning virus detection rates, G Data InternetSecurity has a new idle scan feature which scans the system when it is idle to utilize your system‘s uptime efficiently. Cloud-based analysis of suspicious files and the silent firewall give your system an effective all-round defense against viruses, worms, spam and hacking - without loss of performance and without tedious queries.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/mcafee.jpg?0[/img]

McAfee initially aimed at home and home-office users, McAfee VirusScan was designed for virus detection and removal. The integrated technologies would fend-off network attacks, spyware and adware threats. However, McAfee VirusScan is not available anymore as a standalone product. Instead, you can find it integrated in McAfee Internet Security Suite and McAfee Total Protection. There is an Enterprise edition of McAfee VirusScan available for download and it also aims to keep malware off your desktop and server systems. This version is meant to be used on larger networks and has two complementary components: a server application and a client application.

[img]http://chart.av-comparatives.org/scripts/css/images/logo/symantec.jpg?0[/img]

Norton 360 can be considered a computer security suite that has everything required to protect your PC. This compact package includes an antivirus tool, firewall, anti-malware, a backup system and a PC tune up utility, all the necessary elements needed to protect you against any threat. The interface of Norton 360 is intuitive enough to enable not only experts, but also novices to operate it successfully. Each function is neatly organized and every button brings up additional features. For instance, one of the sections is dedicated to the actual scanning of the PC, while also enabling you to choose the drive, folder or file you want to scan, as well any Facebook link from your wall. The Identity section allows you to take all the necessary measures for protecting your online usernames, passwords or other sensitive data. So as to prevent phishing, you can even rely on Norton 360 to display full details about the current website or block malicious sites.

Malware, short for malicious software, is software used or programmed by attackers to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems. It can appear in the form of code, scripts, active content, and other software. 'Malware' is a general term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software. Anti-Malware software is a form of antivirus that is concentrated against Malwares.(wiki)

[img]http://cdn.windows7themes.net/pics/malwarebytes-update-faster-scan.jpg[/img]

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a very effective application especially designed to keep malware away from your computer. It can fight off trojans, rootkits, worms, spyware, rogues and more. The program sports a tabbed interface that provides a simple way to browse among the main features. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware enables you to perform three types of scan, 'Quick'', ''Full'' and ''Flash'', with the last one specifically designed to analyze memory and autorun objects. The scanning process is pretty fast, regardless if there's something wrong with your computer or not. When the operation is complete, the application automatically generates a report in which you're informed about the files affected by malware, so that you can safely take the most appropriate action. Cleaning the threats found by Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is again a straightforward process that takes only a few seconds and has an efficiency rate close to perfection, as we found out during our tests.

[img]http://download.cnet.com/i/bto/20080305/spybot_logo_270x66.bmp[/img]

SpyBot - Search & Destroy is a full featured security solution designed to keep this kind of malware away from you, while also providing a suite of tools for system repair, file shredding and managing autostart items. The interface has a clean and professional look, with all the modules in plain view. It provides direct access to the scanning modes, namely: a full system scan that thoroughly analyzes your computer for threats and a custom file/folder scan that allows you to manually select the locations to be processed. The scanning speed is decent and a full-system scan took about twenty minutes in our case, which is acceptable, but the amount of resources it requires is impressive (the CPU usage exceeded 50% at times). A system immunization feature is also available, aimed to apply preventive measures against spyware in order to block malware from infecting your computer.

SUPERAntiSpyware is a one of the software solutions currently available on the market that join the effort to keep malicious files, be them Trojan horses, keyloggers, dialers, worms or hijackers off our computers. This application has the power to scan and remove the threats and even provide real time protection. Once you run the utility, you can choose between four different scan types, quick, complete, critical point and custom. Each of them detects and removes threats in the most efficient way, but it's recommended to choose the complete one to obtain the best results. It's also important to make sure you close all the other programs before starting the scan so the application can search for malicious files without having to deal with too many running processes. The scanning operation went pretty smoothly and quickly during our tests and the system resources were not at all stressed. What's more, SUPERAntiSpyware includes several repair utilities, mostly supposed to fix the issues caused by spyware. These include tools to reset URL prefixes, reset Windows clock time display, repair broken Network Connection, remove or reset Windows desktop wallpaper and many others.

Combofix is a smart spyware and malware removal application known for its speed and effectiveness. It performs in-depth scans that in addition to being short, always result in a complex cleaning process or a detailed report of the analysis. Combofix is designed for advanced users, system administrators and computer technicians; it is not to be used by beginners, because it can cause serious damage to your computer, to the point where the system can become unbootable. In other words, Combofix can return the best and furthermore, the safest results only if in the right hands. Although it performs such a complex task and should be handled with the utmost care, it isn’t difficult to accommodate it on the system. In addition, it creates a backup of the registry, as well as a system restore point, in case crashes occur. Please note that during the scan / cleaning process, Combofix deletes files from three locations, namely Recycle Bin, Temporary Internet Files and the Temp Folder; a wise move would be to backup this type of data before you run the application. One of the greatest advantages of Combofix is its ability to detect combinations of common spyware and malware threats, leaving your computer clean from the first run.

Log Generators, is a tool that is used to diagnose a computer for a possible malware presence and to provide system diagnostics information that can by someone working on a computer. When run, these tools will scan your computer for a variety of information and then generate a report with a tremendous amount of information about your computer's hardware, programs, files, and running environment. In a case of infection HF MRT team often asks to generate logs with these tools.

OTL by OldTimer runs out-of-the-box as it does not require any installation and it can identify the modifications spyware or malware might have caused on the computer. Once the PC has been scanned, the application generates a detailed report of all the files and registry entries that have been affected, allowing users to determine which of the items need to be removed.

HijackThis is a cleanup utility that detects browser hijacking issues and attempts to solve them by deleting the registry entry that holds the malware. Unlike similar software, Hijack This does not rely on a database of the latest malware out there, but instead it tracks the modifications performed in your browser and allows you to undo it. Utmost care is required when removing the adjacent registry entries, since the adjustments are sometimes irreversible. The user interface does not sport any visual incentives, but it’s straight-forward and intuitive. From the main menu you can perform a system scan and optionally to save the results to a logfile, view the list of backups, open the miscellaneous tools section or open the online HiJackThis QuickStart.

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Corso - Thanks for place holding and tip.

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Shinkirou - For your opinions.

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LighterFluid - Thanks for the GFX.

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