To get certified, a product must block at least 98% of pornographic website!

AV-Comparatives provides certification for parental control software. In order to be certified, a product must block at least 98% of pornographic websites, have no more than a few false alarms on child-friendly websites, and have no severe unresolved bugs (or design flaws) discovered during the review.

A certification is valid for one year and vendors can apply for certification once a year. Several vendors submitted their products for certification in 2020, of which only two reached the requirements.

Certified Parental Control Solutions

Kaspersky Safe Kids for Windows

SafeDNS for Windows

If you’ve ever considered doing your own tests of antivirus programs, you might be surprised to find that it’s much, much more difficult than you think.

Have you ever been curious as to how good your antivirus program is at protecting your computers and servers? How it scores in an real av-test? If you’ve ever considered doing your own tests of antivirus programs, you might be surprised to find that it’s much, much more difficult than you think.

Here’s why:

There are literally millions of cyberthreats out there, so testing only against a few will not have any statistical validity. You need a threat-set that represents all the different types of threats(viruses, worms, ransomware, 0-days, exploits, trojans, backdoors, botnets and so on), AND you need to be sure that these are genuinely malicious and life on the internet.

Even if you had thousands of relevant cyberthreats, how would you test them? Well, you could scan them with an AV program installed on your own computer, or use an online scanning service. However, neither method lets you test against a large number of threats with multiple AV programs simultaneously.

There’s another, very important disadvantage to both. The on-demand scanning feature of a modern antivirus program is just one of many ways it can protect your computer. If in real life you try to browse to a cyberthreat, your security program checks the URL to see if it’s on a blacklist; uses file reputation services; unpacks the file to see through any obfuscation techniques; employs heuristics and machine learning to detect new malware programs; and monitor its behaviour in real time when you execute it, to see if it does anything suspicious.

If you look at AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, you can see a perfect example, testing all the techniques an anti-virus software offers.

Professional labs have the resources to use large amounts of relevant malware, and test all the security features of multiple antivirus programs simultaneously, with equal conditions for all the tested products. They can also investigate usability of the tested products, that is whether they create a lot of false alarms or slow your computer down in daily use
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Some of the test labs even undergo strict audits by ISO, to prove that they are independent. This ensures that they understand the interests of security vendors whilst remaining impartial and unaffected by commercial lobbying organisations. Independent av-test labs also work with universities on scientific research, which means that their test methodologies are state of the art.

Now, are you sure you want to rely on the results of DIY testing to protect your computer? Or do you prefer to rely on the results of an independent testing lab?

Have a look at the latest consumer and enterprise IT-Security and Antivirus software tests of one of the most well-trusted antivirus-software lab worldwide:

latest AV-Comparatives Consumer Security Tests
Real-World Protection Test February-May 2020 – https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/real-world-protection-test-february-may-2020/
Speed-Impact Test – https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/performance-test-april-2020/
Malware Protection Test – https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/malware-protection-test-march-2020/
Mac Security Test & Review 2020 – https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/mac-security-test-review-2020/

latest AV-Comparatives Enterprise Security Tests
Business Security Test March-April 2020 – Factsheet https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/business-security-test-march-april-2020-factsheet/
Mac Security Test & Review 2020 – https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/mac-security-test-review-2020/

Peter Stelzhammer, AV-Comparatives, CBDO and co-founder:
“Finding a good antivirus program or IT security suite is a big challenge. Testing it yourself against thousands of threats is nearly impossible. You need a trustworthy, unbiased source of reliable information. Independent AV-test labs like AV-Comparatives have years of experience, plus the facilities and test methods to deliver meaningful results you can trust.”

AV-Comparatives releases report of 2020 Mac antivirus test

Independentantivirus testing lab AV-Comparatives has released the report of its 2020 Mac certification test and review of security programs for Apple’s macOS operating system.

7 consumer products and 2 business solutions were put through theirpaces on macOS Catalina systems.

Six consumer products passed the test and were certified by the Austrian testinstitute. These are (in alphabetical order):

Tested Products

Avast Security for Mac, AVG Internet Security for Mac, Avira Antivirus Pro for Mac, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac and Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac. The two enterprise products, CrowdStrike Falcon Prevent for Mac and FireEye Endpoint Security for Mac, were likewise approved.

Certification

To be certified, products had to demonstrate a high degree of protection againstprevalent Mac threats, and produce no false alarms with common, legitimate software for macOS. Approved products also had to provide protection without slowing the system down, have real-time protection, carry out essential functions reliably, and avoid confusing the user with misleading alerts.

Research shows that macOS is vulnerable to malware and PUA too

Malware research by AV-Comparatives has shown that viable malicious programs targeting macOS are still being produced, and that Mac users are not immune to cyberattacks. There has been rapid growth in potentially unwanted applications (PUA) for Mac recently.

Potentially Unwanted Programs

AV-Comparatives also tested each product against a wide array of potentially unwanted programs for macOS, and the results of this are included in the report. Additionally, all participating products were tested for their ability to detect Windows malware. This ensures that Mac users do not inadvertently pass on malicious Windows files to family, friends or colleagues. Results of the Windows-malware detection test can also be found in the report.

How to keep a system safe

As well as the test results, the report includes general security advice to Mac users on how to keep their systems safe. There is also an in-depth review of each product, describing its installation and daily use, and how it alerts the user when malware is found. Readers are thus given a picture of how easy the products are to use.

Major new test reveals how consumer security programs software can detect covert surveillance by stalkerware programs

Independent antivirus testing lab AV-Comparatives has released the results of a major new test relating to stalkerware programs.

Stalkerware is hidden software that can secretly spy on the user’s activities. It can monitor and record phone and video calls, and let the stalker read the user’s emails, text and social media messages. Internet browsing history may also be recorded.

With mobile devices such as laptops, tablets and phones, stalkerware can track the user’s physical location over time. It can be used by individuals to spy on their partners, or by governments to monitor the activities of political dissenters.

In this test of protection against stalkerware, the institute’s experts looked at antivirus products for both Android and Windows devices. For each platform, 10 popular security products were checked to see how effectively they detected stalkerware programs. Two separate rounds of testing were performed, one in November 2019, and the second in May 2020.

Surprisingly, stalkerware can be bought legally. The companies that make it state that it should only be used for legitimate purposes, such as parents monitoring their children’s Internet use, or employers keeping an eye on their staff. However, unlike genuine programs for these purposes, stalkerware goes out of its way to hide its presence on the user’s device. There are no shortcuts or program icons to be seen, and no entries in lists of installed programs. Unless you are a technical expert, the best way to check for installed stalkerware on your device(s) is to use a good antivirus program.

AV-Comparatives is an independent, ISO-certified testing AV-test lab based in Innsbruck, Austria. It specialises in rigorous tests of security software, to check how well different products protect against current cyber-threats.

To find out which antivirus programs were most effective at detecting hidden spyware, visit AV-Comparatives’ website, www.av-comparatives.org. Please share and like all the lab’s publications, the report is made available free of charge to everyone.

Most extensive test of Android antivirus apps to date shows increase in quantity but not quality – 2019

The latest test of Android security apps – believed to be the biggest ever conducted – shows that only one in three provides effective protection. Out of 250 mobile antivirus apps tested, the majority were dubious, unsafe or ineffective.

Read the full report here (PDF)

AV-Comparatives have released their report on the biggest-ever test of Android security apps and their effectiveness against Android malware. The independent testing lab put 250 Android AV apps to the test against an array of common threats and found that some apps are not really protecting the users. Less than 1 in 10 of the apps tested defended against all 2,000 malicious apps, while over two thirds failed to reach a block rate of even 30%.
Although an automated process (developed in co-operation with the University of Innsbruck) was employed, the test used physical Android devices rather than an emulator, in order to ensure the most accurate possible results. Any malware samples not detected in an on-demand scan were installed and run, giving the security programs every opportunity to prove their protective capabilities.

AV-Comparatives’ founder and CEO Andreas Clementi noted, “Although the number of Android security apps on the market has increased since last year, our test shows that a smaller proportion of the available apps will actually provide effective protection. Last year, a third of the security apps we tested failed to detect even 30% of malicious samples; this year, that proportion rose to over two thirds. User ratings in the Google Play Store might show that a security app is easy to use. However, without independent testing, users cannot be sure if its detections are genuine, or whether it has given a clean bill of health to a malicious program. Our test report lets you know which programs will protect your Android device, without false alarms.”

As with all AV-Comparatives’ public-test reports, the Android Test Report is available to the public free of charge. You can download it here (PDF). Later this year, we will publish a detailed report and review of some of the more effective and reliable Android security apps.


About AV-Comparatives
AV-Comparatives is an independent organization offering systematic testing to check whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises. Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing. AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations and scientific institutions. Certification by AV-Comparatives provides an official seal of approval for software performance, which is globally recognized.

The results can be used by editors / media / bloggers etc. for free. Please give as source https://www.av-comparatives.org

The survey of computer users gives an insight into computer security, and which institutes they trust to provide reliable information on security issues.

The AV-Comparatives annual survey of computer users worldwide gives us an insight into their understanding of computer security issues, requirements in security software, and which institutes they trust to provide reliable information on security issues.

The detailed results can be found on our website and as PDF

Every year AV-Comparatives conducts a security survey asking users their opinion and preference on security products. In our global survey we ask users on various security related topics. The opinions and preferences from the end user community provide us with valuable feedback. The results help us increase the relevance and value of anti-virus software testing. We want to thank all who join the surveys and spend their time to complete them.

Reliable end user feedback from all continents

In our annual security survey we received responses from 88 countries coming from all continents around the globe. The survey was conducted from December 14th, 2018 to December 24th, 2018.

Some highlights are:

AV-Comparatives determined, that majority of users (86%) were well protected in the last 6 months, having not suffered a malware infection in this period. A little over a third (35%) stated that their security product had blocked malware within the last week, indicating how easy it is to encounter a threat. So AV-Tests are very important, to inform about the quality of the products.

The number of users who rely on free desktop security software has risen again this year, standing at 44% of users. There has been a drop in the number of users without antivirus software, which is now down to 0.5%.
Over three quarters of this year’s respondents have moved to Windows 10, leaving Windows 7 with under a fifth of users.
A little under a half of respondents (45%) use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). In Iran, UAE, Iraq and China, at least three quarters of users deploy a VPN.

Google Chrome is the most popular browser, with getting on for half of respondents (45.6%) using it. Mozilla Firefox accounts for a lot of the remaining users, with a share approaching a third (29.2%). Despite being built into the increasingly popular Windows 10, and being Microsoft’s recommended browser on this OS, Microsoft Edge is only used by one in 20 of users overall.

Click here to read the full AV-Comparatives Security Survey

About AV-Comparatives

AV-Comparatives is an independent organization offering systematic testing that checks whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises. Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing. AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations and scientific institutions. Certification by AV-Comparatives provides an official seal of approval for software performance which is globally recognized.

AV-Comparatives works closely with several academic institutions, especially the University of Innsbruck’s Department of Computer Science, to provide scientific testing methods. www.av-comparatives.org

February 22, 2019

Best-performing IT security software recognised at Swarovski Crystal Worlds

AV-Comparatives’ Awards Ceremony for 2018

Click here for details and photos of the Award Ceremony

Click here for details of the Summary Report

Best-performing IT security software recognised at Swarovski Crystal Worlds

As cybercrime becomes ever more common and ever more sophisticated, the importance of effective security programs increases accordingly. AV-Comparatives’ Awards Ceremony for its 2018 tests recognised those vendors whose products provide truly effective protection against IT threats. The event was held on 4th and 5th of February 2019 in Innsbruck, and 36 IT-security specialists from 12 countries attended. In addition to the awards ceremony itself, the event included a security conference, with speakers on cybersecurity-related topics. As cyber-threats continue to evolve, so must the testing of security solutions, and so AV-Comparatives’ new Enhanced Real-World Test, which will be run for the first time in 2019, was introduced.

Participants were also treated to a thrilling bobsleigh ride at the Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track in Igls. The bobs reached a top speed of over 120 km/h!

Awards

At the Awards Ceremony, various awards were handed over for top-performing security products tested during the course of 2018. There were AV-Comparatives Approved Product Awards for qualifying consumer and business products. In addition, there were various awards for the Consumer Main Test Series – both for individual tests, and for overall results across the test series.

Product of the Year Award

Avast received the Product of the Year Award 2018 (1st place overall), having reached top scores in every test throughout the year. The award is given for the highest overall results across all the tests in the series.
Bitdefender was rewarded with the Outstanding Product Award 2018, having also reached top scores in all the tests. This award is given when two products achieve identical overall scores in the Consumer Main Test Series; the product which has already won Product of the Year, or won it more recently, receives the Outstanding Product Award.
AVG, Avira, Kaspersky Lab and Tencent achieved excellent results across the different test categories, and all received

Top-Rated Product Awards.

Security awards for protection, performance, malware removal and low false alarms
Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were given for each of the following AV-Comparatives’ Tests: Real-World Protection, Malware Protection, Low False-Positives, Low System-Impact and Malware Removal. For details, please see “Overview of levels reached during 2018” in our 2018 Summary Report. Vendors receiving awards for individual tests were Avast, AVG, Avira, Bitdefender, Emsisoft, ESET, K7, Kaspersky Lab, and Tencent.

Security conference

Franz Unterluggauer opened the day with a presentation on how the Innovation Agency of Tirol stimulates business transformation through digitalization. Next, Dr. Peter J. Mirski, Professor of Management and IT at the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) gave his view on how to improve ‘IT and security education of tomorrow’. After the break, the improvements of the AV-Comparatives’ Enhanced Real-World-Test methodology were presented.

Message from the CEO

AV-Comparatives’ founder and CEO Andreas Clementi commented, “We would like to thank everyone who came to this event in Innsbruck for making it such a success. As cybercrime continues to rise, effective security products are more important than ever. We congratulate the security vendors whose products stood up to rigorous independent testing that mimics real-world scenarios.”

AV-Comparatives’ Tests

The increasing number and variety of threats means that rigorous testing is required to determine which security products are really effective at protecting a system, whilst allowing the user to work normally without interruptions. AV-Comparatives’ Consumer Main Test Series subjects consumer security programs to not one but four main tests throughout the course of each year. The Real-World Protection Test checks a product’s ability to protect against real-world Internet threats; the Malware Protection Test requires each product to identify thousands of recent malicious programs; the Performance Test verifies whether the security programs can provide protection without slowing down the PC; and the Malware Removal Test checks how well each product can remove malware that has already infected a PC. Additionally, there is a False Positives Test ensures that false alarms are kept to a minimum. This variety of tests ensures that security products are not just strong in one or two areas, but provide all-round protection and performance.

About AV-Comparatives

AV-Comparatives is an independent organization offering systematic testing that checks whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises. Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing. AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations and scientific institutions. Certification by AV-Comparatives provides an official seal of approval for software performance which is globally recognized.
AV-Comparatives works closely with several academic institutions, especially the University of Innsbruck’s Department of Computer Science, to provide scientific testing methods. www.av-comparatives.org

The results can be used by editors / media / bloggers etc. for free. Please give as source https://www.av-comparatives.org

AV-Comparatives tested 10 different Anti-Virus Products if they are able to remove an infection

Malware remediation capabilities are one of many aspects to consider when choosing an antivirus solution. An antivirus scan is the first counteraction of most users when they notice their system is infected. Therefore, AV-C evaluated both completeness and convenience in the Malware Removal Test.

AV-COmparatives wants to point out the importance of good image and data backup tools to undo or recover from malware infections. We advise home users to enable Windows System Restore and regularly make backups of their system image and user data. Some vendors provide additional cleaning solutions on their websites.

The following products were tested from February to October 2018 concerning their malware remeditation capabilities. We always use up-to-date product versions – therefore no version numbers are given in the list below:

• Avast Free Antivirus
• AVIRA Antivirus Pro
• Bitdefender Internet Security
• BullGuard Internet Security
• Emsisoft Anti-Malware
• ESET Internet Security
• F-Secure SAFE
• Kaspersky Internet Security
• Tencent PC Manager
• VIPRE Advanced Security

Read More (Full Report)

About AV-Comparatives

AV-Comparatives is an independent organization offering systematic testing to check whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises. Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing. AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations and scientific institutions. Certification by AV-Comparatives provides an official seal of approval for software performance, which is globally recognized.

The results can be used by editors / media / bloggers etc. for free. Please give as source https://www.av-comparatives.org

AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Test for September 2018 is based on a test set of real live test cases (malicious URLs found in the field).

AV-Comparatives Releases September 2018 Results of their Real-World and Malware Protection Test.

• Real-World Protection Test Results can be found here
• Malware Protection Test Results can be found here

AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Test for September 2018 is based on a test set of real live test cases (malicious URLs found in the field). The detailed overall result reports that are released in July and December also contain a false-alarm test and lists the awards that the security products reached based on their overall scores during the respective five-month period.


Malware Protection Test

The Malware Protection Test assesses a security program’s ability to protect a system against malicious files. The methodology used for each product tested is as follows: prior to execution, all the test samples are subjected to on-access and on-demand scans by the security program, with each of these being done both offline and online. Any samples that have not been detected by any of these scans are then executed on the test system, with Internet/cloud access available, to allow e.g. behavioural detection features to come into play.

Even products that sometimes reach 100% protection rates in a test do not always protect against all threats on the web. It only shows that they were able to block 100% of the widespread malicious samples used in a test. Users are also advised to keep their system and third-party applications up-to-date/patched as this can dramatically decrease the risk posed by exploits.

About AV-Comparatives
AV-Comparatives is an independent organization offering systematic testing to check whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises. Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing. AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations and scientific institutions. Certification by AV-Comparatives provides an official seal of approval for software performance, which is globally recognized.

The results can be used by editors / media / bloggers etc. for free. Please give as source https://www.av-comparatives.org

16 enterprise products tested! The independent security software testing lab AV-Comparatives released a a large scale Enterprise Security Endpoint Test.

AV-Comparatives tested 16 leading enterprise security products for Windows.

The independent security software testing lab AV-Comparatives released a a large scale Enterprise Security Endpoint Test with the August-September 2018 results of their Business Main-Test Series. 16 enterprise products are covered in the report.

This short fact sheet for our Business Main-Test Series, containing the results of the Business Malware Protection Test (September) and Business Real-World Protection Test (August-September). The full report, including the Performance Test and product reviews, will be released in December.

The factsheet can be downloaded from here:
https://www.av-comparatives.org/corporate-reviews/