SECURITY
80 MARCH2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE385
W
hilethequalityof theprotection
you getis themostimportant thing
aboutsecuritysoftware,it’snot
necessarilytheonly thing youshould consider:
there’salso price,featuresand thenumberof
supporteddevicesto take intoaccount.
This year,we’vebeen veryimpressed bythe
calibreofthesecurity softwarethat we’ve
tested.Whenlookingat thepaid-for software,
F-SecureSafe,TrendMicroInternetSecurity,
ComodoInternetSecurity,KasperskyInternet
Security,SophosHome Premiumand
SymantecNortonSecurity allprotectedagainst
everysinglethreat. Justbelowthat, McAfee
InternetSecurity andEsetInternetSecurityonly
allowed asinglepiece of malwarethrough
their defences; CheckPointZoneAlarm did,
too, althoughit wasfar less successful at
outrightblockingattacks. Basedonthis, if
you currently have anyoftheseapplications,
then you canconsideryourself safe,and
mayonlywanttochange yourpackagewhen
your subscriptionisupforrenewal.
Forthose runningfreesoftware,Microsoft
Windows Defenderwasthesurprisewinner,
only beingcompromised once, whileAvira
FreeSecurity Suite,AvastFreeAntivirusand
AVGAntivirusFreeEdition wereall
compromised twice. Assuch, Windows
Defenderis thebest basicprotection
applicationat themoment, butthe
competition isn’tfar behind.You’ll getbetter
protectionby paying forsoftware,but if you
don’twantto, thefreesoftwarewe’ve tested
herehasadecentlevelof protection.
Beyondrawprotection,we tookseveral
factorsintoaccountforfreeandpaid-for
packages,allowing ustocomeupwith our
finalrecommendations.First, welookedat
how thesoftwaredealt withlegitimate
software:howannoyingwaseachapplication
at blocking applicationsthat should be
allowed?Then, we lookedat theTotal
Accuracy,whichincludesmorenuanced
scoringforhow an applicationblockedor
neutralisedathreat, andhowitcleanedup
afterwards, andincludedthelegitimate
softwarescores,too. Thisgivesusabetter
overall pictureofnotjusthow goodthe
securitysoftwareis,butalsohow itfeels to
havetouseit.
Ourtableonpage 82 has allofthespecs
forthesecuritysoftware.Eachsecurity package
issoldin severaldifferentversions,so toget
thepossible featuresthat we’velisted,you may
need toupgrade to adifferentpackage.To try
tomake thingseasier,we’velookedat price,
featuresandsupport,and havethen
recommendedwhatwebelieveisthebest
versionnear thebottomofthetable.Ifyou
need additionalfeaturesor supportformore
devices,you canbuy an alternative version.
Withthat said,here areourtopchoices.
THEBEST SECURITY SOFTWARE
PROTECTION IS IMPORTANT, BUTTHERE AREOTHER FEATURES TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING SECURITY
SOFTWARE.HERE, WE ROUNDUPOUR TOPCHOICES BASEDONPROTECTION, FEATURES ANDPRICING
MICROSOFTWindows Defender
★★★★★
Free•Included with Windows 10
Itfeelsstrange toberecommending Windows Defender,given how
poorlythesoftwarehasperformedin previous years. Now,however,
thestoryisdifferent,and WindowsDefenderhad thebest results of any
of thefreesoftwarewetested,blocking 98threats,neutralisingoneand
only being compromised once.
One of theissues withWindowsDefenderwasthat itusedtobe
veryheavy-handedwhendealing withlegitimate software,butthat
statistic haschanged thisyear,too,withthesoftwarescoring highand
allowinglegitimate applications tobeinstalled. Asaresult,the Total
Accuracy Rating scoreof1,126 puts WindowsDefendersixth outof all
thesoftwarewetested.
Giventhesimple interface andthefact that WindowsDefenderis
built intoWindows10,PCusers canrest safewiththis application.Ifyou
need more featuresandthebest overallprotection,takealookat oneof
thepaid-forsuites, butDefenderisotherwise agreat choice.
AVAST Free Antivirus
★★★★★
Free•From http://www.avast.com
WhileWindows
Defenderwasour
surprisetop-choice
forfreesoftware,
AvastFreeAntivirus
wasn’tfar behind.
Giventhat Windows
Defenderisbest on
Windows 10,if you
haveadifferent
operatingsystem,you’ll needadifferentfreesecurity suite.
This packageblocked95threats,neutralisedthreeandallowedtwo
tocompromise thetestsystem. It didn’tfilteroutanyof ourlegitimate
software,and asaresultgave us aTotal AccuracyRatingof 1,112 –the
bestof therestofthefreesoftware.
Withthislatestversion,thesoftware isfar less annoying,and the
irritatingpop-upsthat triedtopersuade youto buythepaid-forversion
aregone.In fact,thenew interface nowmakesitfar clearerasto what’s
in thefreeversioncomparedto thepremiumone.It’sslightlyfrustrating
that performing ascanalso looks forperformanceissues, whichrequire
an upgrade tofix,butthat’saminorcomplaint.
Ifyou needprotection foran operating systemotherthan Windows
10,AvastFreeAntivirusisagood choice,butyou’llgetbetterprotection
if youupgrade to apaid-forsuite.
FREE SECURITY SOFTWARE
