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Anti-Malware

Anti-malware - antivirusAnti-malware products are not 100% effective, as evidenced by our anti-malware tests. In fact, some seem to be falling behind the bad guys.

Why? Because the bad guys are smart and aggressive. And remember, cybercriminals need only find one open door to get in, whereas defenders need to protect all the doors.

NSS Labs’ innovative tests are designed to inform end-users about how products truly perform against today’s motivated attackers. We perform tests on security products so organizations can understand what is and isn’t being protected, and accurately assess the risk and take steps to mitigate it.

When NSS Labs publishes its uncensored, real-world results of endpoint protection products (AV), some vendors try to discredit the tests. One of their objections was that we recommend against buying products that scored on the bottom third of our test. Sorry, we unabashedly believe malware protection should indeed be the key purchasing criteria for an AV product.

The many years of self-congratulatory testing and certification by vendor-funded organizations are a part of the industry, but can be dangerous when they convey a false sense of security to buyers as they do now. Meanwhile, end-users can stay well informed about what products do - and more importantly - what they DO NOT do, by reading our subscriber-funded research and test reports. If a vendor is complaining about our test, chances are they did poorly on an important metric. Learn what some vendors don’t want you to see by reading our independent anti-malware test reports.

Reports

This group test report analyzes some of the common methods used by cyber criminals to circumvent or evade detection by antimalware or Endpoint Protection Products (EPP). Tested vendors include: AVG, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Norman, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro. Learn More »

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Socially-engineered malware can make its way onto a PC in many different ways. This test report summarizes the protection against multiple attack vectors offered by 10 leading Endpoint Protection Products (EPP).Tested vendors include: AVG, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Norman, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro. Learn More »

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This group test summary evaluates the effectiveness of corporate Endpoint Protection Products (EPP). The testing addressed relevant threat vectors to corporate end-user PCs, including exploits against software vulnerabilities, socially-engineered malware attacks from various vectors and an in-depth analysis of anti-evasion techniques. This document summarizes those test findings. Tested vendors include: AVG, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Norman, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro. Learn More »

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Independent test of the Huawei Symantec DSE System for malware and exploit detection. Learn More »

Free

This free resource is provided to help consumers make fact-based decisions when purchasing internet security software. Find out which Anti-Virus products scored the best. Tested products include: AVG Internet Security 9, ESET Smart Security 4, F-Secure Internet Security 2010, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011, McAfee Internet Security, Microsoft Security Essentials 2, Norman Security Suite, Panda Internet Security 2011, Sunbelt VIPRE Antivirus Premium 4, Symantec Norton Internet Security 2010, Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security. Learn More »

Free

This update to our Q3 2009 report re-tests the same 10 leading enterprise endpoint security products against socially-engineered malware and shows which products increased and decreased in their protection of this threat. Vendors tested include: AVG, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Norman, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro. Learn More »

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This Q2 2010 report evaluates the effectiveness of the Norman Network Protection (NNP) appliance against socially-engineered malware. Learn More »

Free

In this free report, seven popular consumer endpoint security products are evaluated against their ability to protect against the Windows Internet Explorer vulnerability exploited in the Operation Aurora attack. Learn More »

Free

What is your best defense against cyber-crime? Which is the best antivirus or endpoint protection product? In July and August 2009, NSS Labs put 10 corporate-grade products from leading vendors through our Live Testing for 17 days. Learn More »

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Which products are keeping up with cybercriminals in the anti-malware arms race? In July and August 2009, NSS Labs put 9 consumer grade products from leading vendors through our Live Testing for 17 days. Learn More »

Free

This report examines the performance impact of host-based security products. Learn More »

Free

NSS Labs conducted a series of tests of popular endpoint protection products to evaluate their ability to protect clients from exploits targeting the IE vulnerability. Learn More »

Free

Comprehensive testing of the Solidcore S3 Control Embedded software against our Host Malware Protection test methodology, under the use case of a standalone, embedded point of sale system. Learn More »

Free