Antivirus Software

Protection

Shows how well the product protected against live exploits from websites.

On access

Shows how well the product protected automatically against live exploits from websites and local drives.

On demand

Measures effectiveness scanning "on demand" for malware, both online and offline.

Ease of use

Ease of use covers installation, changing settings, interacting with the software.

Messages, interface

Provides easy to access, clear and concise messages.

Help

Provides clear, useful instructions on a particular setting or activity in the software.

Advertising

A measure of its service provider upselling products in the user interface.

Data privacy

A measure of how its service provider collects, shares, and uses your data, and the user’s ability to control the flow of their data. Analysis is based on evaluation of publicly-available material.

Use of resources

Measures the software's use of memory, boot-up time impact and tendency to slow computer operation during a scan.

USB drive threats

Shows how well the product detected, blocked and removed malware on external drives.

Firewall

Firewall shows how well the software and its firewall stopped rogue connections to and from the Internet. For products without a built-in firewall, the default Windows firewall was enabled.

Threat blocking

Threat blocking shows how well the product protected automatically against live exploits from websites and local drives.

Anti-malware

Measures effectiveness for scanning "on demand" for malware, both online and offline.

Anti-phishing

Anti-phishing measures the ability to block websites known to host malware or fraud.

Response to threats

Response to threats indicates effectiveness of the suggested or default response to a detected threat.

Malware scan

Malware scan measures effectiveness scanning the PC on demand for malware, both online and offline.