A historical perspective
By testing the products over a period of
three months, we get a good indication of which software is likely to be able
to protect your PC over the course of the year. And by looking at previous
tests conducted by the Dennis Technology Labs, we can get more information on
the relative reputation of the software.
In the test conducted between January and
March 2013, Norton Internet Security 2013 came top with a total accuracy rating
of 388. Interestingly, Avast Free Antivirus came second, with 381, and Kaspersky
came third with 379. Bitdefender wasn’t quite so successful, scoring 355
points.
Norton
Internet Security 2013
In October to December 2012, the free
products weren’t tested. However, Norton, Kaspersky and ESET got the top three
spots, with Bitdefender in fourth place. In July to September 2012, the top
three were Kaspersky, then Norton and Bitdefender.
With the same names cropping up repeatedly,
it becomes apparent that our top three products here aren’t just the lucky
winners of a single test, but were able to consistently protect our PCs over a
twelve-month period.
Total accuracy ratings
The total accuracy ratings bring everything
together into the graph displayed on the right. Each product’s protection
rating is added to its false-positive accuracy, for an overall score with a
potential maximum of 400 points. This score is weighted towards security, which
is the essential element of an anti-virus program. However, 25 per cent of it
is made up of the false-positive ratings, which become particularly relevant
when differentiating between the top products.
Trend
Micro Internet Security 2013
Top of the group is Kaspersky Internet
Security 2013 with 388 points. Kaspersky proved its worth by coming a very
close second to Norton in the protection ratings. Despite only coming fourth in
the false-positive accuracy tests, there was very little to separate it from
the leader. Although it didn’t come top in any one chart, the combined strength
of its results makes Kaspersky a powerful security tool to have guarding your
PC.
Second place goes to Bitdefender. This did
very well in the protection tests, blocking and neutralizing every single
threat exposed to it, which is a phenomenal achievement. It only lost points by
letting a small number of threats through and only neutralizing them after
they’d infected the PC.
It stopped four safe programs, which also
brought its score down, but only slightly, because the software it flagged was
relatively rare.
Norton Internet Security came third with
381 points. It was the best of the bunch at blocking malware before it reached
the PC, which won it first place in the protection ratings once our scoring
system penalized Bitdefender’s otherwise faultless performance for neutralizing
(rather than defending against) eight of the threats it detected.
Of the free programs, Avast Free Antivirus
was the most effective overall. It got the best protection rating of the free
products we tested and, although AVG was better when it came to avoiding false
positives, the margin was narrow enough to let Avast’s superior protection gain
the lead.
Avast
Free Antivirus
At the bottom of the table, Microsoft
Security Essentials scored only 226 points overall. Its false-positive score
was perfect, letting every single safe program through. However, this open-door
policy also applied to many of the threats we exposed it to, and it only
managed to stop 64 of the 100 threats in our test.
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
·
Price: Free
·
Website: free.avg.com
Avast Free Antivirus7
·
Price: Free
·
Website: www.avast.com
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
·
Price: $72 (3 PCs)
·
Website: www.bitdefender.co.uk
ESET Smart Security 6
·
Price: $80 (3 PCs)
·
Website: www.eset.co.uk
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
·
Price: $80 (3 PCs)
·
Website: www.kaspersky.co.uk
McAfee Internet Security 2013
·
Price: $88 (3 PCs)
·
Website: home.mcafee.com
Microsoft Security Essentials
·
Price: Free
·
Website: bit.lv/mse323
Norton Internet Security 2013
·
Price: $80 (3 PCs)
·
Website: uk.norton.com
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
·
Price: $96 (3 PCs)
·
Website: www.trendmicro.co.uk
Conclusion
The top three security products in this
test performed excellently, and fully deserve their awards. Their respective
positions were the result of small differences in the levels of protection
provided.
We’re awarding Gold to Kaspersky Internet
Security 2013, which offered the best balance between solid protection and a
good judgment of what software is safe.
Norton Internet Security came third in our
final chart but we’re going to give it the Silver Award, because its
performance over the year was extremely strong, winning the previous two tests
and coming second in the one before.
That leaves Bitdefender with our Bronze
Award, because it performed very well, with improving results over the period.
We’d be happy to have any of these top three programs protecting our PCs.
In the next few months, security firms will
be bringing out 2014 versions of their software, so this is an excellent time
to buy boxed copies of the 2013 products, as retailers try to clear their
stocks. All security products come as a one-year subscription, so you’ll be automatically
upgraded to the latest version when it is released and won’t have to pay
anything extra.
