Saturday, June 14, 2014

AV-Comparatives Releases Results of May Real World Protection Test. Testing Firm Now ISO 9001 Certified

Austria based AV-Comparatives has released the results of their May “Real World Protection Test”.  Bitdefender, the best anti-malware company you may have never heard of topped all companies, with a 100% score and zero false positives.  Only Panda also blocked 100%.  This was with their free product!  Avira had the top score among the largest freemium vendors (with their internet security suite), blocking 99.5%.

At the other end of the spectrum, Korea based AhnLab ranked at the bottom of products tested, blocking only 87.5% of the threats (ouch), the only company tested at less than 90%.  McAfee had the most false positives, with 16.  The trend of market share leaders not being market performance leaders continued, as both McAfee, and Trend Micro finished in the bottom 1/3 of companies tested.  Symantec has opted out of being tested by AV-Comparatives (a disservice to customers, IMHO).  Man-up, SYMC.



The products included in the test were a mix of anti-virus, internet security suites, paid, and free products.  The exact versions used are listed in the report and on the website.

The Real World Protection Test is just one of a number of tests AV-Comparatives performs over the course of the year.  They can be downloaded from the company web-site http://www.av-comparatives.org/

AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Test framework has been recognized by the “Standortagentur Tirol” with the 2012 “Cluster Award for innovation in computer science” and by the “Austrian Government” with the 2013 “Constantinus Award.

AV-Comparatives Receives ISO 9001 Certification

AV-Comparatives is now an ISO 9001 certified organization.  AV-Comparatives received the certificate from TÜV Austria for their management system for the scope: “Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software” in early June.

"ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.  The organization has to  enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements."  ISO 9001 is currently under revision with the final release of the new standards due by the end of 2015.

About AV-Comparatives

AV-Comparatives is an independent not-for-profit organization offering systematic testing that checks whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises.  Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing.  AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations, and scientific institutions.  Certification by AV-Comparatives provides an official seal of approval for software performance.