Avira vs. Microsoft Security Essentials

If you're looking for an excellent piece of antivirus software, the competition will inevitably be between Avira and Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). It can be difficult to choose between two different antivirus software applications, and in the end both Avira and MSE have their own strengths and weaknesses. Antivirus software has become a practical necessity in order to prevent bots, Trojans, spyware and other sorts of unwanted intrusions from overrunning your computer.

The Avira vs. MSE comparison makes it quite clear there are key differences between these two antivirus software applications. MSE is cloud-based software that offers you the ability to compare file behaviors between numerous computers using an application called SpyNet. If you are worried that Microsoft may accidentally gather your personal data, you can disable SpyNet's ability to access your personal information. Avira, on the other hand, is a longtime competitor in the antivirus market, but it was not until 2008 that Avira experienced a great boom in popularity thanks to the excellent threat-detection rates of Avira's antivirus software.

In terms of system scanning abilities, the Avira vs. MSE competition is practically a tie. Both give you the option to perform quick scans that often take only a matter of minutes, as well as full system scans. Both offer you the ability to select which portions of your computer to scan and allow you to schedule automatic virus scans at any time of the day or night.

One prime advantage that MSE has over Avira's software is that MSE is much less prone to returning false positives during scans. The MSE software updates its library of malware signatures daily in order to provide the most up-to-date protection service possible. Avira has the ability to update its signatures automatically as well, and it lets you specify the time interval between each update. The MSE user interface is much easier to use than Avira's interface. MSE has only four tabs – Home, Update, History and Settings – that streamline operation of this antivirus software, making it especially easy for novices to use.

Avira's customized virus scans far surpass the utilities offered by MSE. For instance, MSE does not allow more than one scheduled scan that is set to occur at 2 a.m. one day each week, although you can modify this setting. Avira gives you the ability to select how much memory the software will use during a scan so its effect on your computer's performance will be minimal although the scan time will be longer. Avira also offers the option to increase the amount of memory allocated to a scan to complete it more quickly. MSE does not offer these capabilities, although it does allow you to set the maximum amount of CPU usage for a scan.

When it comes to Avira vs. MSE, Avira offers the most options and utilities whereas MSE maintains a slick and very easy-to-use interface. Both antivirus applications use a low amount of your computer's resources when running in the background. It should be noted, however, that Windows XP users might have technical issues with some aspects of MSE because many of its functions are designed for the Vista or Windows 7 operating systems.

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