On average, it took almost a month for antivirus products to update their detection mechanisms and spot the new viruses. And two of the products with the best detection rates — Avast and Emsisoft — are available free; users are encouraged to pay for additional features. This despite the fact that consumers and businesses spent a combined $7.4 billion on antivirus software last year — nearly half of the $17.7 billion spent on security software in 2011, according to Gartner.
[emphasis mine]
Two problems I have with that story are Norton certainly does have an antivirus product and Emsisoft is not free.
http://us.norton.com/antivirus/
Isn’t Emsisoft Anti-Malware freeware?
Yes and no. By default Emsisoft Anti-Malware installs as a free fully functional 30 day trial version. After the trial period you can either choose to buy a full version license or switch to the limited freeware mode. The freeware mode still allows you to scan and clean infections, but it doesn’t provide any real-time protection to guard against new infections. It’s useful as a second opinion scanner but you should NEVER rely on the freeware mode as long term protection for your PC. Without suitable real-time protection, your PC is at risk of becoming infected very quickly.
That article makes a lot more sense. I’d believe the 87% average detection rate a lot more than 5%. Yes signatures alone are no longer good enough but all the AV companies have other layers of protection. Some better than others of course. Criticize Symantec all you want but they have stayed in the forefront of providing these additional protections. Avast is also doing a credible job and certainly promises to get even better.