AntiVirus 2010 Performance Tests

NOTE: These are our old 2010 Tests - you can view our current Antivirus Tests here.
Or you can read our Antivirus Software Reviews here.

1) Memory Use:

Note: 10 separate readings were taken 1 minute apart while the computer was idling. The average memory usage (MB) is given in the graph below.

2) Reboot Time Increase:

Note: Reboot time after Antivirus installation was compared to the reboot time without any Antivirus software installed. Ten reboots were performed and the average increase in reboot time is shown in the graph below.

3) Installation Size:

Note: The installation size of each Antivirus program before any updates were downloaded.

4) Application Launch Time:

Note: 50 launches of a web browser (Mozilla Firefox) were compared before and after Antivirus installation. The average increase in launch time is shown in the graph below.

5) File Conversion Time:

Note: Conversion time of a MP3 file being converted to several different formats (MP3 > WAV > MP3 > WMA > MP3). The conversion time with Antivirus installed was compared to the conversion time without any Antivirus, and the average increase in conversion time of 10 trials is shown below.

Overall 'System Impact Score'

Note: The "System Impact Score" is a comparative score tallied from the above 5 Antivirus tests (Memory Use, Reboot Time, Install Size, Application Launch, & File Conversion). 10 points were given for a top ranking in each of the above Antivirus tests, while 1 point was given for a bottom/10th-place ranking. The higher overall score the better (50 total pts).

Antivirus Versions Tested: Norton Antivirus 2010, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.2, Avira AntiVir Premium Version 10, Avast! AntiVirus Pro 5.0, Kaspersky AntiVirus 2010, BitDefender AntiVirus 2010, McAfee VirusScan Plus 2010, AVG Anti-Virus 9.0, F-Secure Anti Virus 2010, & Trend Micro AntiVirus 2010 (Version 17.5).

Each Antivirus program is run with Default Settings.

Test Computer Specifications: HP AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+ 2.40 GHz (32-bit), with 3 GB RAM memory and 297 GB Hard-drive, running Windows Vista Home Premium (SP2). Acronis True Image is used to create a backup image and to restore from before each Antivirus installation, so each AV program runs in a similar environment.

Graphs compiled June 22, 2010 (Avast, AVG, Avira, NOD32, and F-Secure 2010 added)

Previous Testing: 2009 AntiVirus Performance Testing

Other Antivirus 2010 Software Tests:

Top Antivirus Software Reviews: