AV-Test Institute Rates Antivirus Protection - PC Magazine

PC Magazine, By Neil Rubenking 

Researchers at AV-Test Institute constantly test popular antivirusprograms to determine which ones are most effective. Every couple of months they release a new set of test results. All products in the latest report managed the minimum score needed to receive certification, but some did much better.

Test Categories
Each product can earn up to six points in three categories: protection, performance, and usability. Protection naturally refers to the product's ability to block malware attacks. The testers expose each product to a collection of the very newest zero-day malware attacks and to a collection of malware samples that were widely prevalent during the previous four weeks. Quite a few products managed 100 percent protection, earning a full six points.

To measure performance, the researchers time various ordinary activities before and after installing antivirus protection. These activities include visiting websites, downloading software, installing programs, and more. Read more.