Effective protection and high speedĪV-Comparatives awarded Kaspersky Internet Security its Product of the Year 2020 title. In such cases, the lab selects the product of the year based on the results of individual tests or confers an honor on the solution with the longest awards drought, leaving the other star performers to share the title of Outstanding Security Product and second place. But sometimes more than one product reaches that summit. Further, if only one solution scores maximum points for the year, it becomes the Product of the Year.
For example, Top Rated status from AV-Comparatives is the equivalent of third place, not “top,” as you might expect from the name. Throughout each year, AV-Comparatives conducts numerous tests based on various criteria: detection and removal of common malware in lab conditions real-world protection capabilities performance protection against complex threats and false positives.īased on their aggregate scores, the competing solutions vie for one of three annual awards: Product of the Year, Outstanding Security Product, and Top Rated.
With that in mind, we compiled this report on how the laboratories test security solutions. Knowing how each lab assesses protection, what criteria it uses, and what it focuses on, makes it easier to understand which awards are relevant. He has been in the antivirus testing business for a quarter of a century and was one of the first to deploy real-world attack scenarios in tests. Here are the best-known.Īustrian lab AV-Comparatives is an independent organization with a spotless reputation that has been testing security solutions for more than 20 years ĪV-TEST GmbH, a German independent research institute specializing in IT security, has been testing security solutions for more than 15 years īritish SE Labs has been in the industry for only five years, but its founder, Simon Edwards, is a renowned security expert. Several major labs have a strong global reputation.
They evaluate all manner of security products: home antivirus utilities, corporate security solutions, parental control apps, password managers, and more.
Fortunately, independent international organizations specializing in professional cybersecurity testing make their objective approach available. There is no shortage of online reviews, of course, although the users who post them may have any level of cybersecurity expertise, bias, and understanding of what various consumers actually want. If each vendor claims to offer the best, how can you choose the best for you? That’s leaving aside some important features such as a password manager or a VPN, not to mention key concerns such as computer speed and gaming focus. With so many security solutions on the market, navigating performance test results and independent reviews is no easy task.