AV-TEST conducts new series of tests on Windows 7 systems

Mar 29, 2017 05:36 GMT  ·  By

German security institute AV-TEST performed a new research to determine the best antivirus product for Windows 7 in January/February 2017 and the results are not at all surprising.

The same security software that topped the charts in the past are among the best this time as well, with Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Symantec, and Trend Micro scoring the maximum points in protection, performance, and usability tests.

AV-TEST used a total of 11,500 malware attacks to test the 19 consumer anti-malware products, with the scanning products involving approximately 1.3 million files.

Microsoft no longer providing just basic protection

While the four products mentioned above gained 6 out of 6 points for each test, F-Secure and Quick Heal got very close with a maximum score of 17.5 points, followed by a group of 7 security vendors, including Microsoft.

In most of the cases, Microsoft’s antivirus products were considered to provide just basic protection to Windows users, but this time Security Essentials performed quite impressive and got the same score as more widely-praised products such as Avast, AVG, and Avira.

Avast, however, was rated with 6 out of 6 points for protection and usability, but received only 4.5 points for performance. AVG, on the other hand, got only 5 points for protection, but improved in the other tests and was rated 5.5 and 6 for performance and usability, respectively.

On the other hand, ESET has recorded the biggest drop, as it obtained only 15.5 points, while Comodo dropped to the very last spot with only 13 points. For what it’s worth, Comodo received 4 points for protection, 3 points for performance, and 6 points for usability.

Many users are wondering whether antivirus products are still needed these days, but when looking at these tests, there’s no doubt that some of them are really effective when it comes to blocking known threats. As for zero-days and other exploits, this often comes down to Microsoft and software vendors to block attacks and protect users.

Four products received the maximum 6 points in each test
Four products received the maximum 6 points in each test

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Bitdefender and Kaspersky top the results
Four products received the maximum 6 points in each test
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