Vendor: ESET
All reports
Five Antivirus Myths Busted
And why do we still believe them?
Anti-virus, or endpoint security plays an essential part in protecting Windows PCs. Whether you are working in the world’s largest enterprise, or using a small personal laptop, you need a last line of defence against attacks who use malicious code to steal or damage your data.
Our reports help you choose the best enterprise anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attacks.
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Antivirus myths you shouldn’t believe
- Anti-virus slows your computer.
- Anti-virus only stops viruses.
- You must pay for great protection.
- Detection means protection.
- Updates are no longer necessary.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
Five Antivirus Myths Busted
And why do we still believe them?
Antivirus, or endpoint security plays an essential part in protecting Windows PCs. Whether you are working in the world’s largest enterprise, or using a small personal laptop, you need a last line of defence against attacks that use malicious code to steal or damage your data.
Our reports help you choose the best SMB anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
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Five antivirus myths busted!
- Anti-virus slows your computer.
- Anti-virus only stops viruses.
- You must pay for great protection.
- Detection means protection.
- Updates are no longer necessary.
If you want to know more about anti-virus and the myths around it, check out our podcast episode Is Anti-Virus Dead?
Choose your reports and reviews carefully
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
Choose your reviews carefully
3 reasons our enterprise tests are trustworthy
This security report compares anti-malware products. Its job is to help you make informed buying decisions.
Our reports help you choose the best enterprise anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
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Product factsheets:
Three reasons our security tests are the most trustworthy
There are a few questions you should ask when you look at a security report. These are all very important but in random order here they are:
- Is the test realistic?
- Does the tester explain how they tested?
- Does the tester explain how they make money
from the report?
There are all sorts of other little details to consider, which are often things security vendors get anxious about. These include technical details relating to the testing environment and the threats used to test the products. But ultimately, as a reader, you should care most about the list above.
Choose your reviews carefully
If you see a security report that isn’t realistic and transparent treat it with extra care. For more information about fake anti-virus reviews please see our blog post on the subject. If you want to make the most informed purchase of security software choose your reviews carefully.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
Choose your reviews carefully
3 reasons our small business tests are trustworthy
This security report compares anti-malware products. Its job is to help you make informed buying decisions.
Our reports help you choose the best SMB anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
Loading…
Product factsheets:
3 reasons our small business tests are trustworthy
- Is the test realistic?
- Does the tester explain how they tested?
- Does the tester explain how they make money
from the report?
There are all sorts of other little details to consider, which are often things security vendors get anxious about. These include technical details relating to the testing environment and the threats used to test the products. But ultimately, as a reader, you should care most about the list above.
Choose your reviews carefully
If you see a security report that isn’t realistic and transparent treat it with extra care. For more information about fake anti-virus reviews please see our blog post on the subject. If you want to make the most informed purchase of security software choose your reviews carefully.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
SMB Anti-Virus Testing
How hard should a security test be?
Thank you for opening this report. I hope you’ll be able to use it to get a better idea about which anti-malware products you might want to buy (or get rid of!)
Our reports help you choose the best SMB anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
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SMB Anti-Virus Testing
The report starts off with a list of products, each of which win impressive-looking awards. But have you considered what those awards mean? How come there aren’t any massive losers in the list? How hard is this security test anyway?
Baseline Testing
There are lots of ways you can test products. You could prod a teddy bear and say, “well, that looks good enough,” or you could take it to pieces and analyse every component forensically for build and functional quality. “This toy looks safe, its parts are large, soft and non-toxic, and we can’t burn it easily. Plus, it’s got big, cute eyes.” This could be a baseline for cuddly toys: SAFE, with cuteness as an extra bonus.
For anti-malware products we have to consider a few different things, including the following:
- Is it really an anti-malware product? Is it at least basically functional?
- Can it determine a good quantity of common malware, without blocking lots of useful software?
- Can it stop the malware, as well as simply detecting it?
Read this SE Labs assessment of world-leading endpoint security products and discover how they handle well-known threats and targeted attacks.
Enterprise Anti-Virus Testing
How hard should a security test be?
Thank you for opening this report. I hope you’ll be able to use it to get a better idea about which anti-malware products you might want to buy (or get rid of!)
Our reports help you choose the best enterprise anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
Loading…
Product factsheets:
Enterprise Anti-Virus Testing
The report starts off with a list of products, each of which win impressive-looking awards. But have you considered what those awards mean? How come there aren’t any massive losers in the list? How hard is this security test anyway?
Baseline Testing
There are lots of ways you can test products. You could prod a teddy bear and say, “well, that looks good enough,” or you could take it to pieces and analyse every component forensically for build and functional quality. “This toy looks safe, its parts are large, soft and non-toxic, and we can’t burn it easily. Plus, it’s got big, cute eyes.” This could be a baseline for cuddly toys: SAFE, with cuteness as an extra bonus.
For anti-malware products we have to consider a few different things, including the following:
- Is it really an anti-malware product? Is it at least basically functional?
- Can it determine a good quantity of common malware, without blocking lots of useful software?
- Can it stop the malware, as well as simply detecting it?
Which small business anti-virus?
Everyone tells you that you need it, but which one?
Which small business anti-virus is the best? Our reports help you choose the most appropriate small business anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
Choose the best small business anti-malware solution
Classic cybersecurity advice always includes a plea to, “install anti-virus” or “use endpoint protection software”. Journalists, bloggers and even governments hand this information out, as if it helps. Most platforms, including Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS, include anti-virus so the question then becomes, “which anti-virus?”
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How do you choose?
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides some mature and detailed advice but stops short of helping readers work out which products might be most suitable. The only time it tries to help in this respect ends in a bizarre suggestion that you might prefer a product that implements the Anti-Malware Scan Interface (AMSI). This feature is only relevant if you are developing security software yourself.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the US gives advice on stopping ransomware. At the bottom of the list, including useful items such as, “update and patch” and “keep your personal information safe” is the instruction to, “install antivirus software, firewalls and email filters.” Nowhere does any such organisation help you choose which is the best or most appropriate for your organisation.
When you search for, “best small business anti-virus” or, worse, “best home anti-virus” you’ll see millions of links to better or lesser-known magazine websites and slightly shady reseller’s blogs. Some of the most respectable technical websites run sensible and unbiased reviews and there’s where you start to get somewhere: opinions on interfaces and prices. But how effective are these products?
Find the best reviews
The best reviewers delegate the really technical business of testing endpoint security to the professional testers. If you read their reviews you’ll see our name in there somewhere.
This is because organisations such as SE Labs spend all of their time testing security products – it’s what we specialise in. In our case we learn how the criminals behave and then copy them closely. This produces the most realistic results you can hope to see in a public security test. We also ensure that our reports are reviewed by the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO) to validate that we’ve tested fairly.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
Which enterprise anti-virus?
Everyone tells you that you need it, but which one?
Which enterprise anti-virus is the best? Our reports help you choose the most appropriate enterprise anti-malware product that can protect your organisation from ransomware and other types of attack.
Choose the best enterprise anti-malware solution
Classic cybersecurity advice always includes a plea to, “install anti-virus” or “use endpoint protection software”. Journalists, bloggers and even governments hand this information out, as if it helps. Most platforms, including Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS, include anti-virus so the question then becomes, “which enterprise anti-virus?”
Loading…
How do you choose?
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides some mature and detailed advice but stops short of helping readers work out which products might be most suitable. The only time it tries to help in this respect ends in a bizarre suggestion that you might prefer a product that implements the Anti-Malware Scan Interface (AMSI). This feature is only relevant if you are developing security software yourself.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the US gives advice on stopping ransomware. At the bottom of the list, including useful items such as, “update and patch” and “keep your personal information safe” is the instruction to, “install antivirus software, firewalls and email filters.” Nowhere does any such organisation help you choose which is the best or most appropriate for your organisation.
When you search for, “best business anti-virus” or, worse, “best home anti-virus” you’ll see millions of links to better or lesser-known magazine websites and slightly shady reseller’s blogs. Some of the most respectable technical websites run sensible and unbiased reviews and there’s where you start to get somewhere: opinions on interfaces and prices. But how effective are these products?
Find the best reviews
The best reviewers delegate the really technical business of testing endpoint security to the professional testers. If you read their reviews you’ll see our name in there somewhere.
This is because organisations such as SE Labs spend all of their time testing security products – it’s what we specialise in. In our case we learn how the criminals behave and then copy them closely. This produces the most realistic results you can hope to see in a public security test. We also ensure that our reports are reviewed by the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO) to validate that we’ve tested fairly.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
Choose the best small business security product
By understanding the rules of security testing
Our reports help you choose the best small business security product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
This report contains security testing results. You can choose the best small business security product by comparing the performance of a variety of products that claim to protect you against online threats. This, in theory, will help people and businesses choose the best security product.
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Product factsheets:
But this is a free report. How can you trust that the high-scoring vendors didn’t just pay for their ranking? Do you suspect that some low-scoring vendors dropped out of the report? Or asked to be retested until they scored better?
What are the rules behind the scenes in security testing?
With security testing the stakes are high. From a customers’ perspective, the wrong decision could be disastrous to a business. Or a personal life.
So we, as testers, have a massive responsibility to do the right thing, meaning the honest thing. That means trying to involve as many reputable security vendors as possible in our tests and treating them all fairly.
Security vendors want to sell products and will do what they can to achieved strong marketing. That can involve appearing in weak tests or engaging with more ‘flexible’ testers. One strategy could be to test enough privately against competitors and then release the one report that shows your product at the top of the list.
We focus on strong technical testing and avoid purely marketing-led initiatives. We have awards for vendors who do well, but we stand out by assessing technology deeply and helping improve things for everyone.
Five simple rules
In our blog post Public and Private Testing we explain our five simple rules to help maintain the integrity of our reports. If you want to peak behind the curtain, to see how we work with security vendors, the information is all available online.
Testing Standards
For this report we also followed the only available Standard for anti-malware testing, the one run by the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization. This ensures that we do what we say we’ll do, and can prove it.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
Choose the best enterprise security product
By understanding the rules of security testing
Our reports help you choose the best enterprise security product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack.
Choose the best enterprise anti-malware solution
This report contains security testing results. You can compare the performance of a variety of products that claim to protect you against online threats. This, in theory, will help people and businesses choose the best security product.
Loading…
Product factsheets:
But this is a free report. How can you trust that the high-scoring vendors didn’t just pay for their ranking? Do you suspect that some low-scoring vendors dropped out of the report? Or asked to be retested until they scored better?
What are the rules behind the scenes in security testing?
With security testing the stakes are high. From a customers’ perspective, the wrong decision could be disastrous to a business. Or a personal life.
So we, as testers, have a massive responsibility to do the right thing, meaning the honest thing. That means trying to involve as many reputable security vendors as possible in our tests and treating them all fairly.
Security vendors want to sell products and will do what they can to achieved strong marketing. That can involve appearing in weak tests or engaging with more ‘flexible’ testers. One strategy could be to test enough privately against competitors and then release the one report that shows your product at the top of the list.
We focus on strong technical testing and avoid purely marketing-led initiatives. We have awards for vendors who do well, but we stand out by assessing technology deeply and helping improve things for everyone.
Five simple rules
In our blog post Public and Private Testing we explain our five simple rules to help maintain the integrity of our reports. If you want to peak behind the curtain, to see how we work with security vendors, the information is all available online.
Testing Standards
For this report we also followed the only available Standard for anti-malware testing, the one run by the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization. This ensures that we do what we say we’ll do, and can prove it.
We pride ourselves on a level of transparency that elevates our work above the less open reports available. But don’t just take our word for it. This report has gone through the AMTSO certification process to ensure that we say what we’re going to do; do it; and can prove it. Our results help vendors improve their products and buyers choose the best for their own needs.
