Recently released, Avira Internet Security 2012 was taken for a ride. As usual, the test drive consisted of installing the tested program in my test computer, then accessing known malicious websites and their respective malicious files, and in general trying to infect the computer and see what the security program does to counter the effort.

When I first tested Avira (the 2011 version), it failed miserably. Not this time around. No sir. I installed it and left the firewall setting in its default setting, but did change the behavioral detection level to its highest sensitivity setting. And then the fun began.

First round: accessed malicious website, was prompted to download a file, did so. Successfully finished downloading the malicious file, proceeded to open it… And Avira’s real-time protection module jumped to alert me that the program I had just tried to open was a Trojan and should be quarantined. No infection got through. Pretty good.

Second round: similar scenario (but different website), this time WHILE downloading the file and before attempting to open it, the real-time protection module alerted to the maliciousness of the file. Wow, that was even better.

Third round: Somewhat similar, except this time when trying to ACCESS the malicious website, before being even able to start downloading the infection, I was denied access to it by Avira’s web filter module. This was getting better at every attempt!

Fourth to tenth rounds: same as 3rd round.

All different websites, not one infection got through. In fact, no malicious program was even allowed to open!

None of my attempts to infect the computer succeeded. Quite a change compared to the 2011 product!

Conclusion

A triumphant pass, making Avira Internet Security Suite 2012 join the ranks of those security programs that have pass my test. So the list now goes:

1. Kaspersky Internet Security 2012.

2. VIPRE Antivirus Premium.

3. ZoneAlarm Extreme Security Suite 2012.

4. Avira Internet Security Suite 2012.

All trustworthy and recommended.