AV-Comparatives File Detection Test March 2014

[SherKaan]

I fully agree with what you said.
I personally don't have a proof that companies pays them but I do know that many vendors don't get enough information about the tests and that many times they can't re-produce the tests by their own.
As you said "There is no proof at all that any AV software will protect every single user better than other AV software in the same way" - I agree again. I don't think they can proof that one AV is better than another. I don't know exactly on which system they are using and what settings of windows/AV they are testing on. Protection is changed on every computer and with every user. Protection is getting changed by what a user clicks/change in windows/AV settings.

See, you also don't have a proof to justify your allegation. Then again, it's just an assumption. There are many people out there who think AV-C is the only genuinely trust-worthy organization out there.

Therefore, I see no point of this discussion anymore.

 

[Thunderbold]

Norton not on the list right?

 

[Venustus]

Norton not on the list right?

Yes they didnt want to participate in all the tests so they were not included!

 

[Littlebits]

See, you also don't have a proof to justify your allegation. Then again, it's just an assumption. There are many people out there who think AV-C is the only genuinely trust-worthy organization out there.

Therefore, I see no point of this discussion anymore.

I have been involved in the computer malware removal business for many years and I can plainly see these AV tests mean nothing since sometimes on my customer systems the ones with the highest detection rate according to the testing sites are more badly infected than then ones with the lower scores. All these AV testing sites do is give users a false representation of how the AV's can protect them.

It makes no difference which AV you decide to use, if you are a careless user then you still will get infected even with the AV with the highest detection scores on all of the AV testing sites. One infection equals failure, there are no AV's that have a detection rate higher than about 70% even if there was an AV included all of the AV engines in one program. AV testing sites just use small samples, it is impossible to test every single malware distributed in the wild. Many of the samples that are not tested is what users get infected with.

Even though none of us have access to AV testing sites income, it makes you wonder who pays for the testing. It certainly costs money to have the staff and systems to conduct these tests also hosting site payments to stay online. We know that most users never donate to free projects, so they get money from some source. Other than AV software vendors, who else would pay a AV testing sites? AV vendors are the only ones that benefit from receiving higher scores, nobody else does.

The only way you can get to the truth is ask someone that works in the malware removal business and they will let you know that no matter what AV their customers use, it depends on their habits to how badly their systems get infected. In other words, no AV protects all users the same way, this is a bad misconception started by AV testing sites.

Enjoy!!

 

[illumination]

Not only does it depend on the system tested and settings as mentioned above, but also one thing not taken into account is that all suites/av's have their good and bad days, one day when they can achieve high detection rates may not be the same the day after and so forth. Since we do not have direct access to their test to thoroughly examine exactly how they come about their results it would be hard to say either way. As littlebits suggested though, this gives potential users a false sense of security thinking product A is the best of the breed and will protect them from all. None of them are foolproof.

 

[nissimezra]

thats the way it is these days, everything people buy are based on review
cameras DPR, imaging-resource.com, photozone...........
AV avtest av comp........
and the goes on and on to a lot of other products

 

[Venustus]

I have referenced this before but I will post it again!
http://eugene.kaspersky.com/2013/05/09/av-test-certification-devalued/

 

[illumination]

thats the way it is these days, everything people buy are based on review
cameras DPR, imaging-resource.com, photozone...........
AV avtest av comp........
and the goes on and on to a lot of other products

True, but a smart buyer would go test the products themselves to see how they suite their needs, and not rely on reviews so much.

 

[nissimezra]

True, but a smart buyer would go test the products themselves to see how they suite their needs, and not rely on reviews so much.

camera is just an example
how can you compare cameras yourself? You can't coz u r not going to have access to every camera in the market

AV'S
What do you mean test it themselves? how many people do you know that will download pack of viruses to their pc?
well not a lot, not everyone knows what VM is, I know people that all they do is using skype coz they don't know anything else. or just to watch photos, or just to follow the news. well those people rely on reviews and they are most of the users.
I worked in IT and I met people that are working many years on computers or on specific software, they don't even know how to install the software that they are working on. I'm not talking about sys restore or anything like that.

that's the market that these test aiming to, not for us.

good night

 

[illumination]

camera is just an example
how can you compare cameras yourself? You can't coz u r not going to have access to every camera in the market

You go to the store that carries the product, ask for a demonstration or to be able to test/try yourself. It is the only way i buy products, i test them first. One does not go to a car lot and pick out a car before test driving, and should do the same with any product they plan to purchase.

AV'S
What do you mean test it themselves? how many people do you know that will download pack of viruses to their pc?
well not a lot, not everyone knows what VM is, I know people that all they do is using skype coz they don't know anything else. or just to watch photos, or just to follow the news. well those people rely on reviews and they are most of the users.
I worked in IT and I met people that are working many years on computers or on specific software, they don't even know how to install the software that they are working on. I'm not talking about sys restore or anything like that.

that's the market that these test aiming to, not for us.

good night

As for AV's/ security suites, they come with 30 day trials for a reason, it is to test and see how the product serves your uses and needs.
Of course novice users are not going to test malware to see its detection rates. If product "A" has high detection rates, but makes their pc sluggish when browsing, how long do you think they will keep that software.. What if they do a lot of video/photo editing and the security hampers their software for doing so?


As stated above, it is best to test security software on your machine and for your uses, to see how well it fits.. Going for a product just because some site says it is the best, is not always the best

 

[Oxygen]

delete
Attached Files for me

Lol this probably is what they do.

 

[nissimezra]

You go to the store that carries the product, ask for a demonstration or to be able to test/try yourself. It is the only way i buy products, i test them first. One does not go to a car lot and pick out a car before test driving, and should do the same with any product they plan to purchase.



As for AV's/ security suites, they come with 30 day trials for a reason, it is to test and see how the product serves your uses and needs.
Of course novice users are not going to test malware to see its detection rates. If product "A" has high detection rates, but makes their pc sluggish when browsing, how long do you think they will keep that software.. What if they do a lot of video/photo editing and the security hampers their software for doing so?


As stated above, it is best to test security software on your machine and for your uses, to see how well it fits.. Going for a product just because some site says it is the best, is not always the best

How do you test a camera? making 10 photos and then take it to the pc to see the result?

I spent over a year to learn basic photography, no way my friend u can have an idea about the camera from testing it in store for 10 minutes.

As for AV
again it's all depend who the user is, coz I know a lot of users that are willing to pay you just to install software like skype or AV, so the test are more for people who have only basic knowledge and want to have an idea which product will give them best protection, or speed or whatever.
for the paranoid people, and with what they know MSE is more than enough

night

 

[illumination]

How do you test a camera? making 10 photos and then take it to the pc to see the result?

I spent over a year to learn basic photography, no way my friend u can have an idea about the camera from testing it in store for 10 minutes.

I do a little photography myself, and after awhile, you can tell a lot about a camera in ten minutes my friend.

As for AV
again it's all depend who the user is, coz I know a lot of users that are willing to pay you just to install software like skype or AV, so the test are more for people who have only basic knowledge and want to have an idea which product will give them best protection, or speed or whatever.
for the paranoid people, and with what they know MSE is more than enough

night

Again refer to my previous posts above about how said products could have good days and bad days as far as detection capabilities go, then refer to the posts concerning said testing methods of products. It all goes hand in hand. You can not look at product "a" in their test, and know how it will run with your system and your uses.

BTW protection and detection are 2 very different things. Seen many a time where a product detects something it can not remove.

 

[nissimezra]

I do a little photography myself, and after awhile, you can tell a lot about a camera in ten minutes my friend.

you can only tell that it fit your hands nothing more.

 

[illumination]

you can only tell that it fit your hands nothing more.

By demonstration, that means turning it on, and getting a look into the OS of the camera, its functions, capabilities.. All info of what the camera can do is listed in it, takes less then 10 minutes to go through the OS and get an idea of what the camera can do.