Is AVG Better at Finding and Blocking Viruses than McAfee?

Q: My computer guy says AVG is far more efficient than McAfee. He claims it picks up and blocks viruses better. Is this true or not true?

A: That is a good question. If you go by traditional performance, it is not true, at least from all the independent tests we rely on for our research. Our in-house testing showed that McAfee caught and blocked more viruses than AVG. And the testing from AV-Comparatives, an independent antivirus testing organization, confirms our findings, giving AVG only one star compared to McAfee's two stars traditionally for their Product Dynamic Test, which looks at how the different components work together against viruses.

However, during this year's testing, McAfee did much worse in the AV-Comparatives testing, scoring zero out of three stars for the first time in the product's history. Part of why it was ranked so low was because the software is designed to warn you about malicious web addresses that you might be visiting, not block them, which is one of the key components to the test. The software also historically tends to be sensitive and blocks several safe sites or files.

If you are looking for a more reliable security software at a cheaper price, we recommend Avast! It is fast, easy to use, reliable and is cheaper than most of the security software that we review. To take a look at all of our security software reviews, click here.

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