Microsoft Security Essentials is not as effective as you may think. Here’s a summary of the last two AV testing evaluations carried out by AV-Test.org.
There mare any anti-virus programs available to install, some are free, like Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and others, like Trend Micro, Kaspersky and the like are paid with free versions available providing less features such as real time scanning.
Are paid ones any better than free AVs? A better option is to run Malwarebytes. We’ll conclude a little later.
AV-Test Results
AV-Test.org is an is an independent test center based in Germany where they carry out tests to evaluate which anti viruses can withstand a variety of malware. This particular test involved approximately 12,327 different malware, along with 153 emulated zero-day attacks, on Windows 7 machines.
Out of the 28 tested AV programs tested, Microsoft fared poorly by failing to protect its own operating system. In fact it came in last compared to all their 27 competitors. These tests were carried out in December 2014 and they measured usability, performance and protection, which resulted in classifications.
This is not the first time Microsoft came last here. They’ve also come last in the previous run of tests in 2013. They had gained top marks for MSE usability and were above averaged in performance but scored a big fat zero in the most critical part, to protect against malware!
Microsoft’s Perspective
In defense of Microsoft’s AV-test results, Joe Blackbird, representing Microsoft, wrote in a blog about it. He spoke out against the malware attacks tested by AV-Test, and stated that they’re unlikely to occur in the wild to pose a major risk to users. To support his statement, he mentioned that 94% of the samples carried out in the test were not picked up by MSE and didn’t even end up infecting their systems, hence not posing a serious risk.
Overall, Microsoft has made it clear that the AV-test results in the past does things differently as opposed to prioritizing their protection based on actual real malware threats.
Are paid anti-virus programs any better than the free ones?
Based on AV-test results, it seems like it’s highly likely. However, not all paid solutions offer the best protection. For instance, McAfee Internet Security is a paid solution and it was not far off from being the worst in protecting from the list of Malware threats. They were next to last on the list, with being only slightly better than MSE.
The highest rated AV from the test results to offer the best protection against malware attacks is Kaspersky, which happens to be a paid solution.
You do not need to necessarily go out and spend money on an AV. However, if you do run MSE, a better option is to run Malwarebytes, which is effective and free.
For more ways to secure your data and systems, contact your local IT professionals.
