There’s been a few comparative tests published as of late. In case you’ve missed any of them here’s a quick rundown of the most significant ones.
First on the list are the Q1-2011 quarterly results of the Full Product Test (FPT) by AV-Test.org. These FPT’s are performed on a monthly basis and are very in-depth, covering pretty much all aspects of a modern security software and testing from a users’ perspective by replicating infection vectors and user experience. The areas tested include real-time blocking of malicious websites, detection of relevant and active malware samples (zoo malware, wildlist malware according to AV-Test.org criteria of wildlist, not the limited WildList.org list), false positive testing, performance testing, disinfection testing, detection and disinfection of active rootkits, behaviour-based dynamic detection, dynamic false positives and packing and archive support. Overall one of the most comprehensive regular tests out there. It’s such a tough test that 5 out of the 22 vendors tested did not obtain the minimum score to achieve certification. Panda Internet Security came out with very good scores and achieved certification. The report on Panda Internet Security can be found here (PDF) and the complete results for all vendors here.
Next in line are a couple of tests by AV-Comparatives.org. The first one is the traditional On-Demand test from February 2011 which also tests false positives and performance of the on-demand scanner. In this test Panda Antivirus Pro achieved the #4 rank in terms of malware detection. We still had 18 false positives that, even though are of low prevalence according to AV-Comparatives.org, prevented us from achieving the Advanced+ certification. We’re doing a lot of work in improving in this area. Panda Antivirus Pro also achieved the #2 rank in the performance test for scanning speeds. The full report can be downloaded from the AV-Comparatives.org website here.
The second test by AV-Comparatives.org that has been published recently is the Whole-Product Test. Similar to the AV-Test.org Full Product Test, this test tries to test user experience by replicating the infection vector. Unlike the AV-Test.org FPT, this one focuses only on malicious websites and behaviour-based dynamic detection. Panda Internet Security scored very good with a 98.8% protection index. More information can be found at the AV-Comparatives.org site here.
If you’re interested in these types of AV tests, make sure to vote on your favourite AV testing outfit in our open poll here. So far both AV-Comparatives and AV-Test are leading the pack.
