14 DAY TRIAL // It’s generally believed that Microsoft Security Essentials isn’t the best antivirus solution out there, but only a basic product that can protect your computer until you install a more advanced security app, but a new series of tests conducted by Dennis Technology Labs claim otherwise.
MSE scored incredibly well and reached legitimate accuracy of 100 percent and total accuracy of 95 percent, which makes it one of the top security solutions on the market, along with Kaspersky, Norton, ESET, and Trend Micro.
Microsoft’s antivirus, which is available free of charge for users running Windows Vista or Windows 7, and is part of Windows Defender in Windows 8 and 10, received the AAA award, which is the highest rating a security product can get in the aforementioned tests.
Antivirus tests and MSE points
More specifically, MSE obtained 964 points out of a total of 1020 in the accuracy tests, which means that it managed to detect and block 95 percent of the threats. Kaspersky and Norton Security topped the pack with 100 percent, followed by ESET with 99 percent, and Trend Micro with 98 percent.
In terms of protection ratings, Kaspersky once again got the best rating with 300 points out of a maximum of 300. Microsoft Security Essentials received only 244 points in these tests.
A total of 94 points (out of a maximum of 100) went to MSE for protection scores (Kaspersky again number one with 100), while, for protection details, Microsoft’s app received 88 points out of 100. Last but not least, Security Essentials achieved the best score in terms of legitimate software ratings, reaching the same marks as Kaspersky, Norton, and ESET apps.
“Overall, considering each product’s ability to handle both malware and legitimate applications, the winners were Kaspersky Internet Security 2015, Norton Security, and ESET Smart Security 8. These were closely followed by products from Trend Micro and Microsoft. All win AAA awards,” Dennis Technology Labs explained in the results.
“The presence of anti-malware software can be seen to decrease the chances of a malware infection even when the only sites being visited are proven to be actively malicious. That said, only one product achieved a 100 per cent protection rate.”
Needless to say, Microsoft must be proud that its antivirus actually performed so well in these tests, despite the fact that the company itself admitted that MSE shouldn’t provide more than just basic protection. With that in mind, don’t forget that there’s no bulletproof antivirus app out there, so staying away from malware and threats is also up to the user.
