Which Antivirus Software Protects You Best?

AV-Comparatives announced the most powerful security products for home users in the first six months of this year. 17 popular antivirus programs have undergone a series of three tests to determine their effectiveness against threats and their effects on system performance.

Overall, the test suite provides a detailed analysis of the protection and usability properties of the tested programs.

Avast Free Antivirus, AVG Free Antivirus, Avira Antivirus Pro, Bitdefender Internet Security, ESET Internet Security, F-Secure SAFE, G-DATA Internet Security, K7 Total Security, Kaspersky Internet Security, McAfee Total Protection, Microsoft Windows Defender, NortonLifeLock Norton 360 Deluxe, Panda Free Antivirus, Total AV Antivirus Pro, Total Defense Essential Antivirus, Trend Micro Internet Security, VIPRE Advanced Security.

The three tests in the series were as follows. The real-world protection test simulates the actions of a typical user who accidentally encounters malware on the Internet. The test allows the use of all the protection components of the tested programs, eg. URL blockers, reputation services, heuristics, local and cloud-based signatures, and behavior detection. For each malware example, a pass to a tested product is credited if the system cannot be infected at any time.

The malware protection test takes into account malware that enters the system from sources such as USB sticks or the local network. Again, all relevant protection mechanisms can be used and a proven program will be adopted if it ultimately prevents the computer from becoming infected.

The performance test examines how each program affects the speed of daily computer use.

False alarms are a potential problem with antivirus software. H. Detection of harmless legitimate programs such as malware. Both the real-world protection test and the malware protection test run false positive tests to ensure that the tested programs do not disturb the user with false alarms. The price is reduced for products with a high proportion of false alarms.

Also, during the first half of the year several other fixes were released on various security issues including a VPN security test, a router security test, a stalkerware test, a Mac security test, a Security Test Android and parental control test.