AV-TEST: 13 security products in Windows endurance test

IT security firm AV-TEST has released the results of its latest six-month endurance test evaluating 13 security packages designed for Windows operating systems. The test, conducted from March to August 2024 under Windows 10 and 11, assessed the software's protection capabilities, system load, and usability.

During the evaluation period, the products were exposed to over 1,000 new zero-day malware samples and more than 50,000 known malicious samples. In the protection test, six products – Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, F-Secure, Kaspersky, and Norton – successfully defended against all threats at a 100 percent rate. Avira and McAfee achieved near-perfect scores of 99.9 percent, while ESET reached 99.7 percent.

In terms of overall scores, which encompass protection, performance, and usability (with a maximum of 18 points), four products secured the top score: ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, and McAfee. The majority of the 13 tested security software packages performed strongly, with 12 products receiving scores between 17.2 and 18 points. Only one product showed significantly weaker performance compared to the others.

The test underscores the ongoing threats faced by computer users, emphasizing the need for effective, real-time protection against malware, phishing, and ransomware without significantly impacting system performance or generating false alarms.