Hello,
It’s not necessarily a bad idea to look at independent test results, as well as see what sorts of certifications candidate anti-malware software might have, at least once you’ve gotten down to your short-list.
AV-Comparatives
AV-TEST
Dennis Technology Labs
ICSA Labs
PassMark Software
PC Security Labs
Veszprog Ltd
Virus Bulletin
Web Coast Labs
There are also a lot of research institutions and universities involved in testing anti-malware software, like Baylor University (Texas), Carnegie-Mellon (US), Harvard (US), Politechnique Montreal (Canada), Perdue University (US), Slovak University of Technology (Slovak Republic), SRI (US) UCSB (US), UCSD (US), University of Hamburg (Germany) and University of Karlsruhe (Germany), to name a few of the many, many organizations involved in looking at anti-malware software in some way.
One thing, though, that I would strongly recommend is that you look at reports and studies from multiple organizations over the course of several years. The reason is that testing methodology is difficult, and often even the best of these tests may have some sort of problems. There’s an organization called AMTSO (short for Anti Malware Testing Standards Organizatio) that is trying to provide some harmonization between vendors and testers to ensure that the public gets accurate data. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that test results are only valid for the period in which the tests were performed, and with the configuration and environment chosen by the tester. Looking at the results over a few years can help you determine if a program’s protection is doing better, worse or about the same over time.
That, coupled with the due diligence in other areas like piloting the software, having your legal department review the contract for any hidden gotchas, et cetera, should give you a solid basis on which to base your purchase decision.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
P.S. As an employee of an anti-malware company, I certainly have my own biases. You should be aware of that and take it into consideration when reading the above.
Answer from aryeh-eset on community.spiceworks.comVideos
What Is the Best Free Antivirus Software?
You’ve come to the wrong place if you’re looking for free antivirus protection. Our list here covers the very best antivirus tools, and they’re not free. On the other hand, the best free antivirus apps beat out many of their commercial counterparts. Consider Avast One Basic or AVG AntiVirus Free if your budget just doesn’t stretch to paying for antivirus protection.
What Is the Best Antivirus Software Now?
Which antivirus should you choose? While you have many options, two stand out from the rest. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus holds perfect and near-perfect scores from three independent antivirus testing labs, with more features than some security suites. Norton AntiVirus Plus likewise offers many suite-level features, and it gets excellent scores from all five testing labs we follow. We've named these two our Editors' Choice winners for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only antivirus apps worth consideration. Read the reviews of our top-rated programs, then make your own decision.
Editors’ Note: Given that the US government has banned new sales of Kaspersky security products, we no longer recommend them.
What Is the Most Widely Used Antivirus Software?
Every Windows computer comes with Microsoft Defender Antivirus preinstalled, making it the most widely used antivirus software. However, if you've installed third-party protection, Defender stays on the sidelines. If no other antivirus is present or your existing antivirus expires, Defender steps up.
Commercial antivirus apps offer protection beyond what's included with Windows, but Defender is looking better lately, with some solid scores from independent testing labs. The combination of good lab scores and a great score in our hands-on malware protection test brought its rating up to 3.5 stars. As it is a free, built-in utility, we're not including it in this roundup of commercial antivirus apps.
Hello,
It’s not necessarily a bad idea to look at independent test results, as well as see what sorts of certifications candidate anti-malware software might have, at least once you’ve gotten down to your short-list.
AV-Comparatives
AV-TEST
Dennis Technology Labs
ICSA Labs
PassMark Software
PC Security Labs
Veszprog Ltd
Virus Bulletin
Web Coast Labs
There are also a lot of research institutions and universities involved in testing anti-malware software, like Baylor University (Texas), Carnegie-Mellon (US), Harvard (US), Politechnique Montreal (Canada), Perdue University (US), Slovak University of Technology (Slovak Republic), SRI (US) UCSB (US), UCSD (US), University of Hamburg (Germany) and University of Karlsruhe (Germany), to name a few of the many, many organizations involved in looking at anti-malware software in some way.
One thing, though, that I would strongly recommend is that you look at reports and studies from multiple organizations over the course of several years. The reason is that testing methodology is difficult, and often even the best of these tests may have some sort of problems. There’s an organization called AMTSO (short for Anti Malware Testing Standards Organizatio) that is trying to provide some harmonization between vendors and testers to ensure that the public gets accurate data. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that test results are only valid for the period in which the tests were performed, and with the configuration and environment chosen by the tester. Looking at the results over a few years can help you determine if a program’s protection is doing better, worse or about the same over time.
That, coupled with the due diligence in other areas like piloting the software, having your legal department review the contract for any hidden gotchas, et cetera, should give you a solid basis on which to base your purchase decision.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
P.S. As an employee of an anti-malware company, I certainly have my own biases. You should be aware of that and take it into consideration when reading the above.
I’ve just started as the Technology Director at my current job and right away I have a renewal contract for our antivirus. I’ve Only had experience with a few products in this area, Norton, Vexira, and Microsoft. I know that I would get some resistance to Norton because they’ve used it in the past, and it was a bit of a resource hog. In the job where we used Endpoint protection there wasn’t too many problems, but the users were less likely to get viruses there (software development shop). The current setup is ESET, which I’ve never heard of, just like Vexira, so I don’t have a lot of confidence in it right away.
Realizing no solution is going to be perfect does anyone know of a recent comparison based on actual virus detection, management, and cost? Or feel free to give your recommendations as well!
@Microsoft @Bitdefender @OpenText_Cybersecurity
It will get deployed on a few servers, but mainly domain laptops and some desktops. Many of these are working from home so automatic updates is important. (all windows based)
Any details as to why you liked your suggestion would be appreciated.