G Data AntiVirus 2012 Download:

     By Jay Andrew Allen | September 15, 2011

The most notable new feature is idle scan, which automatically initiates a scan during periods of system inactivity. Idle scan is configured to run by default; it can be disabled in Settings -> Automatic Virus Checks by unselecting the Idle Scan checkbox.

G Data has also followed suit with its competitors by adding a cloud-based component to their virus checking repertoire. Cloud-based virus services leverage the knowledge of other virus platform users to detect potential viruses in the wild. Unfortunately, the G Data documentation is quiet on how exactly G Data leverages cloud knowledge; it only mentions in passing that its anti-phishing technology uses cloud data. (See below for the dish on how G Data's revised virus engine ranks in both performance and accuracy.)

The rest of G Data's 2012 features are all improvements in its virus detection engine: a larger, more compact virus definition database; a proactive detection system for banking-oriented trojan programs; and an improved Outlook add-in for detecting infected attachments. The platform also incorporates something it calls "on-extension monitor mode". As best as we can tell, this is a performance enhancement that limits G Data's CPU and memory usage when your system is already running at its limit.

The one feature not included? Gamer Mode, or Full Screen Mode - a popular feature which suspends virus operations when a full screen application (such as a game or online video) is playing. The absence of this feature in the 2011 edition was hard to believe; its absence in 2012 leaves us gobsmacked. G Data also has not updated its Instant Messaging support; its configuration window still implies it only supports ancient (ca. 2005) versions of Microsoft Messenger and Trillian.

G Data's improvements in virus detection and in its virus definition database size do not equate to improved test scores. In our tests, the new release performed roughly the same as last year's version. G Data AntiVirus 2012 also took a hit in its accuracy ratings (discussed in Section 3 below).

G Data Virus Scanner:

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Scan Speed: On our reference system*, G Data's scan speed was found to be 28.3 MB per second, as G Data Antivirus 2012 took 36.2 seconds for an initial scan of our 1GB test file matrix.

Updates: G Data may not be speedy or accurate, but it is up to date: the engine downloads new virus definition updates an average of 18.5 times daily. Only Norton 2012 had more daily updates than G Data.

*Reference Computer:  Windows 7 Home Premium running on a Toshiba Pentium Dual-Core T4200 (64 bit), with 3GB of RAM and a 210GB hard drive.