AV-Comparatives Real World Protection Test Feb-May 2020

Chart = https://www.av-comparatives.org/com...chart_month=Feb-May&chart_sort=1&chart_zoom=2

PDF = https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/avc_prot_2020a_en.pdf

 

Thank you for sharing. Too bad that their site can't be accessed using VPN or Tor network.

 

I'm currently using AdGuard VPN and I can access their site without any problems.

 

You're welcome I just tried connecting using my VPN (hide.me) and it worked.

 

I tried now again and it worked this time. Strange.

 

A lot of FPs for many on the top tier... MS definitely doing well.

 

Panda free beats the premium flagships of Eset,Bitdefender,McAfee, Gdata,Vipre ...
I can hear the champagne cork pop in Bilbao and Seattle (Watchguard)

 

Yes? With 23 FPs? Not really...

 

Agreed. I've been working in IT for a lot of years and in the course of that I have encountered very little actual malware but have seen multiple PCs that had to be reformatted because false positive(s) left them unable to boot. Backups are more valuable than any security software.

 

K7 Antivirus destroyed my systems to bits with its FPs. They can be as dangerous as a virus.

 

I don't know that I want to name names here but over the course or Windows 95 through right now just about every major vendor has destroyed one of my PCs or one I had to support for someone else through false positives. I've also had 3 of them destroy a PC (the Windows installation, not the hardware physically) trying to uninstall it but that likely goes beyond the scope of this discussion.

 

Yeah I know what you mean, one popular one which did this starts with an N. The damage they cause is irreversible the only way is to format as they would have deleted system files or I dunno what they do to them.

 

QUESTION: I don't use a conventional AV now but when I did (it was Panda, I think) it had a setting as to what the AV should do if it found a nasty. The options were (as I recall) clean, quarantine, or ask. I always specified "ask". Wouldn't that "ask" option protect the computer from the FP disasters you have mentioned?

 

Agree, backups should be the first priority for all sorts of reasons, time, cleaning up system from leftovers or mishaps, etc. As for FPs affecting system performance using MS Defender should be pretty safe as it is part of Windows and one would think it won't touch system files...

 

I assume that your reference to "backups" actually means (or, at least, includes) images of the system disk. Ordinary backups rarely remedy major systemic damage. See HERE, for one example of many such explanations.

 

When HIPS first came on the scene around Windows XP I jettisoned any AV ever again. Or so I thought. With the rare exception of trying a few just to see how far they evolved. Third-Party programs filled in the void solidly by tethering to many various basic and stealth MS code (the undocumented functions) in advance of full penetration. Oh a entry might been attempted but all access to it's supporting crew were rendered INERT.

The one's I have installed over maybe 5 years ago was Panda and it was ok I guess if that ambition offered an user the results/protection expected.

I also almost settled on Qihoo 360 as it proved light, rapid, and reasonable detections plus additional features but it was no match for the debut of ransomewares. Just lucky my machines didn't get toasted, but that first and only incidence encouraged me to dump AV and latch on to specialized Third Party Solutions and never looked back.

More OT these periodic test results kind of prove which brands are keeping useful developments marching ahead for Windows 10.

 

Only if a user could identify FP and act accordingly. Non-experienced user could still choose clean or quarantine and result would be the same.

 

Depends on the product. I will call out Norton as a product that does not respect that setting in all cases and tends to delete the files anyway.

 

I can't say I remember seeing Defender delete any system files. It is frustrating when it deletes non executable files and you have to jump through hoops just to be able to save or move them but how much of an inconvenience that it varies by the individual.

 

I had the same experience with Norton along the years.

 

there were times when wsa users had their share of accidental file deletions too.

 

I experienced that back then. Never touched it again especially after they added the web filtering control thing.

 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/panda-antivirus-mistakenly-flags-itself-as-malware-breaks-pcs/#:~:text=An update to a number,malware, putting them in quarantine.&text=In an advisory, Panda said,the "incident to persist."

https://www.theregister.com/2015/03/11/panda_antivirus_update_self_pwn/

 

haven't heard of it lately. no one's talking about it anymore.

 

I guess people woke up from that bubble that it's actually better than conventional AVs. All it does is block so many files then you'd have to email their support for them to whitelist them then the machine will act normal. 2 years back I had ot keep on emailing support to whitelist this and whitelist that because they blocked everything and my system was having lots of issues. Then I ditched it the moment they introduced the web filtering. You see one of the reasons I liked it back then was that it was just a file scanner. I didn't want any HTTP scanning to slow down my internet or VPN even though you could disable that web filter, I didn't like the idea on top of the myriad of FPs. Also back then when I did use it, I had a 3 user license so a friend gave me his laptop to fix it. I formatted it and installed Webroot SecureAnywhere. After a week he calls and tells me his machine is acting weird and slow. I checked it, nothing, then I ran an offline scan with ESET and it found lots of viruses and PUPs.