Microsoft Security Essentials fails to make top 5 AntiVirus list
It's important for all computer users to install and use antivirus software to protect their data and computers from all the threats found all over the Internet. There are many different antivirus choices and it can be hard…
It’s important for all computer users to install and use antivirus software to protect their data and computers from all the threats found all over the Internet. There are many different antivirus choices and it can be hard to determine which software is best. Microsoft has maintained their very own free antivirus solution known as Microsoft Security Essentials for quite some time now. But how does it stack up to the competition?
To find out, Microsoft Security Essentials and its competitors were put through a series of tests by Dennis Technology Labs. These tests were conducted between April 10, 2014 and June 17, 2014 and were designed to mimic real world conditions. Computers were exposed to the malware and viruses in a natural way to emulate how users would encounter these viruses. The results were then documented so many different antivirus solutions could be examined. To test false positives, the antivirus software was exposed to 100 malicious and 100 safe websites.
It should be noted that virtually every single antivirus solution was compromised at least six times. However, some products faired much better than others. Antivirus protection is not an exact science so compromises can be expected. Although some software proved much more difficult to compromise than others.
So how did Microsoft Security Essentials fair in these tests? Unfortunately, Microsoft Security Essentials let through almost half of the online threats in the tests. In the most recent tests Microsoft Security Essentials performed worse than ever before and were down a full four percent from the last quarter. Microsoft has admitted that the software is only meant to provide baseline protection but now many industry experts recommend removing it from your system and choosing another solution for your virus protection.
Which products faired the best in these tests? Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Norton Internet Security topped the list protecting the computers from the most malicious software with ESET, Avast and Bitdefender rounding out the top five.
If you prefer to use free antivirus products, you should know that of the free software, Avast Free Antivirus provided the most protection with an impressive 93 percent protection. Free rival AVG, protected against only 76 percent of infections.
One popular tool, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free, also performed almost as badly as Microsoft Security Essentials blocking only 63 percent of attacks. It should be noted, however, that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free only scans a computer after it has been infected. This can alter the results of the tests and actually show that’s its protection is severely diminished when compared to other products.
As you can see, Microsoft Security Essentials can no longer be reliably trusted to properly protect your computer and your data from malicious attack from the viruses and malware on the Internet. There are many other solutions both free and commercial that are much better options to choose when you are looking for the best antivirus software to protect your data from attack.
