AV-TEST: Antivirus Programs Show Strong Performance in Windows 10 and 11 Endurance Test
A new six-month endurance test by AV-TEST reveals that 11 antivirus products effectively protect both Windows 10 and 11. Several packages achieved top scores in protection.
December 2025 – AV-TEST has concluded a comprehensive endurance test evaluating the performance of consumer antivirus software on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The six-month test, conducted from March to August 2025, transitioned from Windows 10 to Windows 11, with 11 security packages demonstrating strong protection capabilities across both operating systems.
The test included 12 protection packages from vendors such as Avast, AVG, Avira, Bitdefender, ESET, F-Secure, K7 Computing, Kaspersky, McAfee, Microsoft, and Norton. Five of these products, specifically Bitdefender, ESET, Kaspersky, and Microsoft Defender, achieved a perfect score of 18 points for protection. These solutions successfully detected all malware threats presented during the test period.
Another five packages, including AVG, F-Secure, and Norton, scored 17.8 points, while Avast, Avira, and TotalAV received 17.7 points. All tested products also performed well in the area of false positives, meaning they did not interfere with legitimate software usage.
Beyond protection, the test also assessed the impact of these security packages on system performance. Researchers measured the slowdown experienced during routine tasks like browsing websites or installing applications. The majority of the tested software exhibited minimal system load, indicating that robust security can be maintained without significant performance degradation.