With the advent of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, even though Microsoft is applauding advances in the security of the now updated operating system, the need for end users to run a security solution has by no means disappeared. Of course that the inevitable question that comes to mind is which antivirus is best suited to protect the latest Windows client from Microsoft plus the first service pack. And while a definitive answer on this matter is hardly an easy task, there are clues pointing consumers in the right direction. The VB100 Awards delivered by the Virus Bulletin Magazine are an indication of the security solutions most suited for Windows Vista SP1.

No less than 37 antivirus products were tested on a copy of Windows Vista Business Service Pack 1. The security solutions had to pass extensive testing from signature detection of malware to polymorphic threats and to false positives while taken into consideration stability issues. Out of almost 40 security products that were tested only 18 managed to pass and receive the VB100 Award.

A number of solutions failed to accurately protect Vista SP1 Business, and some of them come from top players on the security market. Products from BitDefender (SOFTWIN), McAfee, Sophos and Trend Micro are among those that did not pass the VB100 test. The most prominent issue reported is the failure of antiviruses to correctly detect and stop malicious code that has been in circulation for quite some time.

At the same time, there are indeed no less than 18 products which contributed to bulletproofing Windows Vista SP1. AEC (Trustport), AVG (Grisoft), Avira, CA eTrust, CA Home, Eset, GDATA, Kaspersky, Microsoft Forefront, Microsoft OneCare and Symantec are among the security solutions that aced the test and proved to be a great fit on Vista SP1.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system is available for download HERE.