Comparison of antivirus software explained

Legend

The term "on-demand scan" refers to the possibility of performing a manual scan (by the user) on the entire computer/device, while "on-access scan" refers to the ability of a product to automatically scan every file at its creation or subsequent modification.

The term "CloudAV" refers to the ability of a product to automatically perform scans on the cloud.

The term "Email Security" refers to the protection of email from viruses and malware, while "AntiSpam" refers to the protection from spam, scam and phishing attacks.

The term "Web protection" usually includes protection from: infected and malicious URLs, phishing websites, online identity (privacy) protection and online banking protection. Many antivirus products use "third-party antivirus engine". This means that the antivirus engine is made by another producer; however, the malware signature and/or other parts of the product may (or may not) be done from the owner of the product itself.

Desktop computers and servers

Microsoft Windows

Company	Software	On-demand scan		Boot-time scans										Macro protection	Live Update	Support	Settings Import/ Export	installer/ updater MIMA safe		Price	First release	Country of origin	Original author/s	Notes
Avast (Gen Digital)							(basic)														1988		Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kučera
Avast (Gen Digital)																					1997		Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kučera
AVG Technologies (Gen Digital)																					1992		Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer
AVG Technologies (Gen Digital)																					2006		Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer
AVG Technologies (Gen Digital)	AVG Internet Security																				2008		Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer
Avira (Gen Digital)																					1988		Tjark Auerbach
Avira (Gen Digital)																					2002		Tjark Auerbach
																					2013
																					1996
																		^[1]			2008
																					2002			Third-party antivirus engine (Kaspersky) ^[2]
																					2002
Cisco (originally Immunet)																					2010			Third-party antivirus engine (ClamAV)
																					2002
			(with Winpooch or Clam Sentinel)	(with Clam Sentinel)																	2002			Third-party antivirus engine (ClamAV)
																					2010				Protection via containment of untrusted executable code.
																					1992		Igor Danilov	macOS/Linux feature only
																					2006		Igor Danilov
																					2003		Christian Mairoll
													^[3] ^[4]								1987		Peter Paško and Miroslav Trnka
																					2007		Peter Paško and Miroslav Trnka
																					1991		Petri Allas and Risto Siilasmaa	Third-party antivirus engine (Avira)
																					2004		Petri Allas and Risto Siilasmaa	Third-party antivirus engine (Avira)
																					1989		Friðrik Skúlason (second engine also with Dr. Vesselin Bontchev)	EOL 2021
																					2004
																					1987		Andreas Lüning and Kai Figge	Third-party antivirus engine (G Data + Bitdefender)
																					2004		Andreas Lüning and Kai Figge	Third-party antivirus engine (G Data + Bitdefender)
																					2004		Andreas Lüning and Kai Figge	Third-party antivirus engine (G Data + Bitdefender)
																					1997		Eugene Kaspersky and Natalia Kaspersky	Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
																					2007		Eugene Kaspersky and Natalia Kaspersky	Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
																					1997		Eugene Kaspersky and Natalia Kaspersky	Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
Malwarebytes	Malwarebytes																				2008	United States	Marcin Kleczynskiand Bruce Harrison
																					1987		John McAfee	John McAfee "uninstall video" scandal
																					2006	United States	John McAfee	John McAfee "uninstall video" scandal
							using Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security^[5]			^[6]											2012
NANO Security Ltd																					2009
Gen Digital																					2000			Whitelists FBI backdoor scandal^[7] ^[8]
Gen Digital(originally PC Tools)																					2003
																					1990		Mikel Urizarbarrena
																					2002		Mikel Urizarbarrena
																					2009	Spain
																					2006
																					1988		Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer
																					2000		Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer
																					1990
																					2008
																					2010
	Secure Anywhere																				2010

Apple macOS

Company	Software	On-demand scan										Live-Update	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
Avast (Gen Digital)																2012
Avira Operations (Gen Digital)																2011
																2011
																2000
Clario Tech	MacKeeper															2010
																2012
																2012
																2011
						^[9]										2013
																2008		Third-party antivirus engine (Bitdefender + F-PROT)
																1987			Third-party antivirus engine (G Data + Bitdefender)
																2004		Third-party antivirus engine (G Data + Bitdefender)
																2004		Third-party antivirus engine (G Data + Bitdefender)
																1997
																2000
																2010		Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
																1995		Jayanta
																2006		4 vulnerabilities found by Project Zero in 2016
																2008
																2010
Gen Digital	Symantec Endpoint Protection															2012
Gen Digital	Norton Security Standard for Mac															2012
																2011
	SecureAnywhere AntiVirus										(only in Apple Safari)					2012
	SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus and Complete										(only in Apple Safari)					2012

Linux

Company	Software	On-demand scan							Email security		Web protection	Live-Update	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
AVG Technologies (Gen Digital)																2008
			^[10]													1998
																2008		Very difficult to install, needing extensive system hacks/edits.
																1992
	ESET File Security for Linux															2008		EOL March 16 2023^[11]
ESET	ESET Endpoint Antivirus for Linux															2020	Slovakia	Currently in 'Limited Support' doesn't have all functions available via GUI interface. EOL March 16 2023^[12]
																1989		EOL 2021
																2008
	Forticlient															2009
																2012		Banned in U.S. government departments by the USG
																2008
																2008		Not for home users, only provide paid business version via resellers.

Solaris

Company	Software	On-demand scan			Email security		Web protection	Live-Update	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
												1998
	F-PROT Antivirus											1989		EOL 2021
												2009
														Central management

FreeBSD

Company	Software	On-demand scan			Email security		Web protection	Live-Update	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
												1998
	F-PROT Antivirus											1989		EOL 2021
												2009

OS/2, ArcaOS

Mobile (smartphones and tablets)

Google Android

Company	Software	On-demand scan			AntiSpam	Web protection	Privacy Advisor	AntiTheft	Call/SMS Filtering	Backup	Parental Control	Support		AV Test^[13]		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
Avast (Gen Digital)																	2011
Avast (Gen Digital)																	2013
AVG Technologies (Gen Digital)																	2010
																	2004
																	2011
	Security Master																2012		Former CM Security,^[14] Purged from Google Play Store
																	2012
																	2010
																^[15]	2011
																	2010
																	2012
Kaspersky Lab																	2011		Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
																	2011
	EndUser Protection																2011
																	2012
Gen Digital	Norton Mobile Security																2011
																	2012
	SecureAnywhere Mobile																2012

iOS

Company	Software	On-demand scan				Web protection	AntiTheft	Call/SMS Filtering	Backup	Parental Control	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
														1997		Discontinued
Gen Digital	Norton Mobile Security													2011
	Bitdefender Mobile Security													2018
	mSuite MDM													1994

Windows Mobile

This list excludes Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 as they do not support running protection programs.

Company	Software	On-demand scan				Web protection	AntiTheft	Call/SMS Filtering	Backup	Parental Control	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
														2006
														2010
														2008		Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
	mSuite MDM													1994

Symbian

Company	Software	On-demand scan				Web protection	AntiTheft	Call/SMS Filtering	Backup	Parental Control	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
														2006
														2010
														2008		Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS

BlackBerry

Company	Software	On-demand scan				Web protection	AntiTheft	Call/SMS Filtering	Backup	Parental Control	Support		Price	First release	Country of origin	Notes
														2015
														2008		Banned in U.S. government departments by the DHS
														2011

See also

• Antivirus software
• Comparison of firewalls
• International Computer Security Association
• Internet security
• Comparison of computer viruses
• Virus Bulletin

Notes and References

1. uses http
2. Web site: How to disable and remove Kaspersky Labs components from Check Point Security Gateway. supportcenter.checkpoint.com. en. 2017-11-11.
3. ESET Knowledgebase, http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/indexpage=content&id=SOLN2820
4. ESET Knowledgebase, http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/indexpage=content&id=SOLN2844
5. Web site: Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security (Windows 10) | Microsoft Docs . 2017-07-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120810/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/access-protection/windows-firewall/windows-firewall-with-advanced-security . 2017-10-07 . dead .
6. Web site: Team . Microsoft Defender Security Research . 2018-10-26 . Windows Defender Antivirus can now run in a sandbox . 2023-01-07 . Microsoft Security Blog . en-US.
7. Web site: AntiSec leaks Symantec pcAnywhere source code after $50k extortion not paid. Computerworld. 25 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130115140346/http://blogs.computerworld.com/19695/antisec_leaks_symantec_pcanywhere_source_code_after_50k_extortion_not_paid. 15 January 2013. dead. dmy-all.
8. Web site: FBI "Trojan horse" triggers alarms. New Scientist. 25 November 2012.
9. http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN3275 How do I create a firewall rule to allow/disallow use of a certain application in ESET Cyber Security Pro?
10. Web site: On-Access Scanning - ClamAV Documentation .
11. https://support-eol.eset.com/en/trending_eol_products.html
12. https://support-eol.eset.com/en/trending_eol_products.html
13. Web site: Detailed test reports—Android mobile devices) . .
14. Web site: Antivirus app for android smartphone) . 5 January 2022 . Androidleo .
15. ESET Knowledgebase, http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN3429