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AV testing: Is your antivirus app doing its job?

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Curt:
Regarding AntiVirus for various computer systems:
go to http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/av-testing-is-your-antivirus-app-doing-its-job/ and start reading.  :up:

Protection test - March to July 2015:




Quite a surprise: The bests in this particular test were BitDefender, Kaspersky and Panda!  :o
Microsoft Security Essential was just as bad as TT_Vipre and Lavasoft.

However:
Once again Agnitum’s Outpost Security Suite, winner of several VB100 awards, was not part of the test.


AV testing: Is your antivirus app doing its job?
By Lincoln Spector on July 22, 2015 in Top Story   

Using savvy security software is an important part of staying safe online. But just how effective is it? You can’t depend on your experience — or mine.

The best source for information on the competency of anti-malware apps comes from a handful of independent, virus-testing organizations. Here’s one example.

If asked, I can tell you the qualities of a word processor, photo editor, backup program, or other app; all I need to judge them is time, experience, and some hands-on testing. I can tell you whether a program is easy to use and discuss features both cool and pointless. But evaluating anti-malware apps is an entirely different game.

Sure, I could truthfully tell you that I’ve used Avira for five years without a single infection. But when it comes to security software, one person’s experience is meaningless. It’s like saying that smoking is safe because George Burns lived to be 99 — it’s an anecdote, not a statistic. It’s akin to trying to prove a negative; i.e., I haven’t been infected so it must be working (up until the day some hacker takes over your system).

Malware testing is not only difficult, it’s potentially dangerous. After all, it requires keeping and safely applying a massive collection of nasty viruses, Trojans, and so forth. That type of testing is beyond all but highly experienced security researchers.

Fortunately, there are organizations that are up to the task — and who are willing to publish their testing results to the public:
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/av-testing-is-your-antivirus-app-doing-its-job/ -WindowsSecrets.com
--- End quote ---

This read made me worry about my use of MSE => 90% is not much. When the upgrade to Win 10 is done, I really should reinstall Outpost!

Now go and read, and then come back and tell:

What AV-system do you use?   :tellme:  Did these test results made you reconsider?

Tuxman:
Is your antivirus app doing its job?
--- End quote ---

Hint: No.

And there's close to no reason to reconsider not using snake-oil malware.

tomos:
Is your antivirus app doing its job?
--- End quote ---

Hint: No.

And there's close to no reason to reconsider not using snake-oil malware.
-Tuxman (July 23, 2015, 03:29 AM)
--- End quote ---

trying to tease out that last sentence -
Is it:
Anti-virus = Malware
and you dont use it

You dont use anything? (ich mach's ohne ? :p)
Curious:
Is that because you're expert enough to cope with anything that happens?
or you think they wont stop anything?
or your system is really secure anyway?
or... ?

Tuxman:
Is it:
Anti-virus = Malware-tomos (July 23, 2015, 04:20 AM)
--- End quote ---

True.

Is that because you're expert enough to cope with anything that happens?
or you think they wont stop anything?
or your system is really secure anyway?-tomos (July 23, 2015, 04:20 AM)
--- End quote ---

Depending on my machine, all of that.

I'm "expert enough" to avoid lame malware by not clicking on suspicious links, also I use NoScript to block the vast majority of current malware infections.

Also, AV software does not stop anything. According to a 2012 Symantec paper, malware is around for about one year before it's actually found. I guess this has not changed much by now.

Finally, I avoid using insecure operating systems (Linux, OSX) wherever I can.

tomos:
^thanks for the answer :up:

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