Flu season is in full swing, and you've probably had your flu shot. But is your computer protected against viruses? Throughout the chilly November and December of 2013, researchers at AV-Test ran two dozen antivirus and security suite products through a barrage of tests. They've just released the latest results, identifying which products excelled in several different criteria. If you're considering which security product to choose, or considering switching from your current protection, you'll want to check these results.
Each product earned up to six points in each of three categories. The Protection score incorporates two measurements; how well did the product defend against widespread, prevalent malware, and how well did it defend against brand-new zero-day attacks. For a good Performance score, the product must not slow down everyday activities including "visiting websites, downloading software, installing and running programs and copying data." Antivirus software that warns about or actively blocks valid software and websites causes more trouble than it's worth, so a good Usability score requires few or no false positives.
At the Top
In November's edition of this report, Kaspersky managed a trifecta: six of six possible points in all three categories. Note that testing lab AV-Comparatives named Kaspersky their product of the year for 2013. Kaspersky remains at the top in the latest report, joined by Bitdefender. Bitdefender's improved performance score pulled its total up to a perfect 18 points.
Avira pulled its protection score up from 4.5 points to 6.0, putting it in second place overall with 17.5 points. Products from Qihoo and F-Secure tied for third, with 16.5 points total.
At the Bottom
The team behind Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender aren't trying to compete with third-party antivirus vendors. They've made it clear that Microsoft's protection is a baseline, something to make sure everyone has at least some protection. Of course, a product that doesn't perform as well as this baseline really needs to improve.
Both AV-Test and AV-Comparatives take Microsoft at its word. They include Microsoft in testing, but just as a baseline. This time around Microsoft took 11 points; four products scored lower than that baseline. With 10.5 points, Norman and K7 barely achieved certification. AnhLab and Kingsoft didn't make the cut, both with 9.5 points. That's actually an improvement for AhnLab, which earned 9.0 points last time. Kingsoft dropped from 11.5 down to 9.5 because it totally blew the performance test.
Zero-Day Protection
Protection against viruses and other malware is the prime directive for antivirus products. As noted, AV-Test tests products against widespread malware and against brand-new zero-day malware. The report broke out a pair of charts showing each product's ability to block zero-day malware in November and in December.
Avira, Bitdefender, Comodo, F-Secure, Kaspersky, and Symantec managed 100 percent protection in both months. Six others managed 100 percent in one month, but not the other. For both months, Microsoft, AhnLab, ThreatTrack/VIPRE, Tencent, and Norman made up the bottom five. Their order within the bottom five varied, except for Microsoft. With 64 percent one month and 76 percent the other, it had the very lowest scores.
On the flip side, AV-Test didn't actively turn off any protection built into Windows 8.1. Unless the security product itself disabled Microsoft's antivirus and firewall, those components remained active. It's possible that some of the top scorers got a bit of a boost from Microsoft. (Say thanks, guys!)
Independent lab scores are important, but tracking results from multiple labs is essential. It's actually very difficult to test security software, and the best labs keep working on innovative testing methods. A product that excels with all of the labs is surely one that will do a good job protecting you and your PCs.
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