April 19, 2011

Best Antivirus for Windows 7 – AV-Test 2011/Q1

AV-Test, one of the most influential independent labs for testing, certification and comparative analysis of IT security products, as usual, has issued its first report of the year, certifying 17 out of 22 of the Best Antivirus products for Windows 7 in 2011. AV-Test certifies Antivirus or Security Suites that achieve a cumulative score at least 11 of the 18 total possible points based on protection, repair and usability.

To evaluate protection, AV-Test used static and dynamic malware found in the wild, including 0-day attacks. To test repair functionality, previously infected test systems were subjected to an exhaustive analysis and for determining usability, the number of false positives and system latency during virus scans were tested. These tests were performed on 32-bit Windows 7 systems.

The 17 certified AVs from AV-Test are:

BitDefender: Internet Security Suite 2011 > 15,5 ptos.
F-Secure: Internet Security 2011 > 15,5 ptos.
Symantec: Norton Internet Security 2011 > 15 ptos.
Panda: Internet Security 2011 > 14 ptos.
G Data: Internet Security 2011 > 14 ptos.
Kaspersky: Internet Security 2011 > 14 ptos.
AVG: Internet Security 10.0 > 13,5 ptos.
Sophos: Endpoint Security and Control 9.5 > 13 ptos.
Eset: Smart Security 4.2 > 12,5 ptos.
Webroot: Internet Security Complete 7.0 > 12,5 ptos.
Trend Micro: Titanium Internet Security 2011 > 12,5 ptos.
Sunbelt: Vipre Antivirus Premium 4.0 > 12 ptos.
Avast: Free AntiVirus 5.0 and 6.0 > 11,5 ptos.
Microsoft: Security Essentials 2.0 > 11,5 ptos.
Avira: Premium Security Suite 10.0 > 11,5 ptos.
MicroWorld: eScan Internet Security Suite 11.0 > 11,5 ptos.
BullGuard: Internet Security 10.0 > 11 ptos.

“We always used the most current publicly-available version of all products for the testing.” said Andreas Marx, CEO of AV-Test.org. “They were allowed to update themselves at any time and query their in-the-cloud services. We focused on realistic test scenarios and challenged the products against real-world threats.”

The 5 AVs NOT certified by AV-Test were:

:( Comodo: Internet Security Premium 5.0 and 5.3 > 10,5 ptos.
:( PC Tools: Internet Security 2011 > 10,5 ptos.
:( CA: Internet Security Suite 2011 > 9,5 ptos.
:( Norman: Security Suite Pro 8.0 > 8,5 ptos.
:( McAfee: Total Protection 2011 > 8,5 ptos.

Comparative results from such prominent and venerable independent test labs such as AV-Test, who along with AV-Comparatives and Virus Bulletin, is members of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), are very interesting and credible for computer end users in helping us decide which security products to consider for our own PCs.

Another interesting finding is that two free antivirus products: Avast! And Microsoft Security Essentials had excellent results, on par with or better than commercial security suites. None of our forum member’s favorite security products (according to our survey Kaspersky, Panda, Avira, and ESET), placed first, but they still ranked very well, obtaining certification with very good results. Products that are less popular or well-known in the Spanish-speaking world also performed well.

One thing to remember is that the malware threat landscape changes daily, and no product has the ability to detect 100%, nor is that ever likely, given the vast scope and volume of malware threats today. These days, we can’t leave the entire responsibility of protecting our personal data to whatever antivirus is installed on our PC. As end users we have to take an active role in protecting out data and systems, but comparative tests like AV-Test’s are a beautiful thing. ;-)

Lab Test Summary:

The chart below summarizes the latest results reported by labs West Coast Labs, ICSA Labs, Virus Bulletin, AV-Comparatives, and AV-Test.

West Coast Labs, ICSA Labs, Virus Bulletin, AV-Comparatives, and AV-Test

As a final recommendation from InfoSpyware, when it comes to deciding which Antivirus is best for your PC, it makes sense to take these comparatives into account, but also try them on your own PC and see which one suits your particular needs the best.

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