Vendor: F-Secure
Zero to Neo
Our reports help you choose the best home anti-malware product that can protect you from ransomware and other types of attack
Choose the best home anti-malware solution
There seems to be no limit to the powers of cyber criminals. In 2021 the public became aware of the advanced capabilities of the NSO group, now infamous for helping governments spy on dissidents and others.
The SolarWinds attack compromised some of the largest organisations in the world (and my implication, their customers – and so on, down the supply chain). And the US’ largest oil pipeline company was breached, and its systems held to ransom.
Most analyses of these incidents recognise that endpoint security was attacked. As we alluded to in our annual report this year, breaches are a process. The initial stages of these famous attacks may not have involved a Windows PC but if your organisation grinds to a halt because everyone’s laptop is showing a red warning and a Bitcoin demand then the endpoint was compromised at some point. It needs protection, regardless of other security layers in play.
We include targeted attacks in our endpoint protection tests because hackers can use a variety of techniques to attack endpoints. Not all targeted attacks are as sophisticated and focussed as the automatic iPhone exploits used by the NSO Group. Sometimes a targeted attack can be as simple as someone using a basic tool downloaded from the internet. Your adversary might be your neighbour, rather than a government-backed organisation. In fact, that’s possibly more likely.
Protection is expected
It doesn’t really matter who represents a threat to you: a resourceful cyber ninja or an idiot colleague. When you or your business buys an endpoint protection product you expect it to stop attacks, sophisticated or otherwise. When you read the results in this report, remember that all it takes is one successful attack to ruin your day or your company.
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.
How they sell security (and we buy it)
The world of cyber security sales is unclear at best
Our reports help you choose the best home anti-malware solution. This latest one looks at how the most popular products handle the threats everyone faces on a daily basis, as well as the sort of targeted attack you hope never to encounter (but might).
There aren’t many resources available to help make such buying decisions. Security marketing is fraught with misleading claims. That’s not just our opinion. “Snake oil” is a common refrain among attendees of security conferences and the large companies that buy security to the tune of over one trillion dollars a year.
Choose the best home anti-malware solution
SE Labs is particularly well connected in the security world. It’s partially how we have gained the trust of the security vendors themselves, and their own customers. We sit right in the middle of things, alongside the analysts who help businesses choose which vendors to work with. This is why your favourite reviewers use SE Labs lab data to help them with their anti-virus reviews and other security articles. Very few organisations get to see under the hood of personal security products. We’re here to help, and provide that insight.
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.
Read this SE Labs assessment of world-leading endpoint security products and discover how they handle well-known threats and targeted attacks.
2020: year of the breach
Solid endpoint protection is a bare minimum
If it feels like new breaches are reported every week it’s because they are. Attackers are taking no prisoners and are successfully breaking into businesses, political organisations and systems belonging to individuals.
Backups are important but, they are not always the perfect solution. Recent attackers have been deleting backups and there are ways to damage offline backups held securely on tape, as we discussed in our article.
You can’t rely on just one type of security solution. However, having solid endpoint protection in place is one of a few bare-minimum measures you need to take. Most of the products in this security test report are excellent at providing a much-needed level of protection on personal and business computers.
We recommend you read through our test results in detail and consider how confident you are that your current choice will stand up against real-world security threats.
Hands up, who’s been hacked?
Get ahead in the game that never ends
Have you ever been hacked? You, personally, or your business? If your answer is, “no” it would be interesting to know how you can be so sure.
Keeping your wits about you is essential, but you can’t do it all on your own. That’s why a good (anti-malware) endpoint protection solution is an essential basis for your online protection. We hope this report helps you or your business get ahead in the game that never ends.
Read this SE Labs assessment of world-leading endpoint security products and discover how they handle well-known threats and targeted attacks.
Next-gen security testing for next-gen products.
Read this SE Labs assessment of world-leading endpoint security products and discover how they handle well-known threats and targeted attacks.