We won the top award at AV-Comparatives, a leading European test lab, after outscoring 14 competitors across a series of rigorous tests.
Our win comes from exceptional results in categories including malware detection, targeted attack prevention, and impact on system performance.
We are an independent test lab, providing rigorous testing of security software products. We were founded in 2004 and are based in Innsbruck, Austria.
At the end of every year, AV-Comparatives releases a Summary Report to comment on the various consumer anti-virus products tested over the course of the year, and to highlight the high-scoring products of the different tests that took place over the twelve months. Please bear in mind that this report considers all the Consumer Main-Test Series of 2023, i.e. not just the latest ones. Comments and conclusions are based on the results shown in the various comparative test reports, as well as from observations made during the tests (https://www.av-comparatives.org/consumer/test-methods/).
Tested Products
The following vendors’ products were included in AV-Comparatives’ Public Consumer Main-Test Series of 2023 and had the effectiveness of their products independently evaluated. We are happy that this year’s tests helped several vendors to find critical and other bugs in their software, and that this has contributed to improving the products.
Management Summary
Tests
In 2023, AV-Comparatives subjected 16 consumer security products for Windows to rigorous investigation. All the programs were tested for their ability to protect against real-world Internet threats, identify thousands of recent malicious programs, defend against advanced targeted attacks, and provide protection without slowing down the PC.
Results and Awards
Whilst all of the programs in our test reached an acceptable level overall, some programs outperformed others. For details, please see “Overview of levels reached during 2023”. In order to recognise those products that achieve outstanding scores in our tests, we have given a number of end-of-year awards that highlight the best results in each test, and overall. The Product of the Year, Outstanding Product and Top Rated Awards are based on overall performance in the Public Consumer Main-Test Series; there are also Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for each individual test type. Please see the Award Winners section for more details of the awards. The 2023 Product of the Year Award goes to Kaspersky. Bitdefender receives the Outstanding Product Award. Avast, AVG, Avira, ESET and G Data win Top-Rated Awards.
Overview of tested products
Here we provide a summary for each of the programs tested, with a note of each one’s successes during the year. Although the user interface does not affect any awards, we have noted some of the best UI features as well.
Avast takes a Top-Rated Product Award in 2023, after reaching Advanced+ level in six out of seven tests, and Advanced for the remaining test. It also receives Gold Awards for the Real-World Protection Test and Malware Protection Test. It has a very clean, modern interface, and the setup wizard offers ideal options for both expert and non-expert users.
AVG receives a Top-Rated Product Award for 2023, having reached Advanced+ level in six out of seven tests, and Advanced in the remaining test. It also wins Gold Awards for the Real-World Protection Test and Malware Protection Test. It has a touch-friendly interface and good setup options.
Avira gets a Top-Rated Product Award in 2023, after reaching Advanced+ level in six out of seven tests. It also receives Silver Awards for the Malware Protection Test and Performance Test. The program features a modern, touch-friendly interface, and deleted the source malware files on an external drive in our USB copy check.
Bitdefender is AV-Comparatives’ Outstanding Product of 2023, having received the highest Advanced+ Award in all seven tests this year. It took the Gold Award for the Advanced Threat Protection Test, and also wins a Silver Award for the Real-World Protection Test, plus a Bronze Award for the Malware Protection Test. Its well-designed user interface includes a customisable home page, and external drives are automatically scanned on connection.
ESET receives a Top-Rated Product Award this year, after receiving five Advanced+ and one Advanced Awards in seven tests. It also takes the Gold Award for Low False Positives, a Silver Award for the Advanced Threat Protection Test, and a Bronze Award for the Performance Test. Reviewers were impressed with the clear and simple layout of the GUI, and ease of use.
F-Secure was successful this year, reaching Advanced level in five out of six tests. It excelled in terms of very rapidly deleting malware samples on USB drives and network shares, thus preventing any chance of them being copied to the system. Testers also noted an easy-to-navigate interface, along with helpful explanations of features.
G Data takes a Top-Rated Product Award for 2023, having reached Advanced+ level in four of the year’s tests, and Advanced for the other three. It also receives Bronze Awards for the Real-World Protection Test, Malware Protection Test, and Advanced Threat Protection Test. Reviewers noted its proactive scanning of external drives, detailed status display, and excellent access control.
K7 gets the Gold Award for the Performance Test this year, and also took two Advanced+ and two Advanced Awards in the 2023 tests. Its highly sensitive on-access protection detects malware on external drives or network shares as soon as they are opened. Reviewers noted optimal access control, and a simple, easy-to-use interface.
Kaspersky is AV-Comparatives’ Product of the Year for 2023, having taken the highest Advanced+ award in all seven tests. It additionally receives Silver Awards for the Real-World Protection Test, Malware Protection Test, and Advanced Threat Protection Test along with Bronze Awards for Low False Positives and the Performance Test. In our checks, source malware samples were deleted from USB drives network shares and network shares before they could be copied.
McAfee takes a Gold Award for the Malware Protection Test this year. It also received five Advanced+ and one Advanced Awards in the 2023 tests. Its user interface is clean, modern and touch friendly, and the McAfee Firewall co-ordinates perfectly with Windows’ settings.
Microsoft received two Advanced+ and two Advanced Awards in the year’s tests. The product is integrated into Windows 10, and has a simple, unobtrusive interface. Its sensitive on-access protection deletes malware on external drives and network shares when these are opened.
Norton received three Advanced+ and three Advanced Awards in this year’s tests. It has a well-designed overall user experience, with detailed malware information accessible from alerts. Access control options are excellent, and its firewall co-ordinates perfectly with Windows’ settings.
Panda received two Advanced+ Awards in this year’s tests. Reviewers noted its simple interface, and the security-blog feature, which lets you read articles on various IT-security related topics. Although it is a free product, upselling is very subtle and unobtrusive.
TotalAV takes the Silver Award for Low False Positives, and a Bronze Award for the Malware Protection Test, this year. It also got three Advanced+ and two Advanced Awards in the 2023 tests. It very rapidly deletes malware samples on USB drives, thus preventing any chance of them being copied to the system. Malware alerts are informative, and let you manage multiple detections from a single dialog box.
Total Defense took two Advanced+ and two Advanced Awards in this year’s tests. Its user interface stands out for its simplicity. External drives are automatically scanned on connection, and the program windows lets you see all the other devices you have installed with the same account.
Trend Micro received two Advanced+ Awards in this year’s tests. The user interface presents a simple overview, but allows easy access to advanced options. It deleted source malware samples from a USB drive and network share in our checks. Its persistent malware and status alerts stand out, and the online manual is clear and easy to read.
Applicability of results to Windows 11
We used the current released build of Windows 10 for the Consumer Main Series Tests, as well as for the User-Experience Reviews, in 2023. As at December of this year, statistics show that a good two-thirds of Windows users are running Windows 10. We also note that Windows 10 is compatible with the great majority of PC hardware in current use. However, Windows 11 is gaining in popularity, and is now usually provided with new consumer PCs. Windows 11 is fully supported by all the vendors participating in this year’s tests. Considering the similarities between Windows 10 and Windows 11 in terms of core system operations and security architecture, the conclusions derived from our assessments for Windows 10 can confidently be extended to Windows 11. The fundamental principles governing the effectiveness of anti-virus software against diverse threats are equally applicable to these two Windows versions, ensuring the relevance of our test results to both operating systems. When Windows 11, or a subsequent version of Windows, gains a position of dominance in the market, we are committed to adapting our testing environment accordingly. This will ensure that our evaluations are always aligned with prevalent operating systems, maintaining the relevance of our assessments to the evolving technological ecosystem.
Advice on Choosing Computer Security Software
There is no such thing as the perfect security program, or the best one for all needs and every user. Being recognized as “Product of the Year” does not mean that a program is the “best” in all cases and for everyone: it only means that its overall performance in our tests throughout the year was consistent and unbeaten. Before selecting a security product, please visit the vendor’s website and evaluate their software by downloading a trial version. Our awards are based on test results only and do not consider other important factors (such as available interface languages, price, and support options), which you should evaluate for yourself.
Overview of levels reached during 2023
AV-Comparatives provides a wide range of tests and reviews in comprehensive reports (https://www.av-comparatives.org/consumer/test-methods/). Annual awards for 2023 are based on the Public Consumer Main-Test Series: Real-World Protection Test, Performance Test, Malware Protection Test, False-Alarm Test and the Advanced Threat Protection Test.
All the programs tested are from reputable and reliable manufacturers. Please note that even the STANDARD level/award requires a program to reach a good standard, although it indicates areas which need further improvement compared to other products. ADVANCED indicates that a product has areas which may need some improvement, but is already very competent. Below is an overview of awards reached by the various anti-virus products in AV-Comparatives’ Consumer Main-Test Series of 2023.