AV-TEST Awards 2017: the Best Security Solutions of the Year
The AV-TEST awards are now an established institution in the IT industry. This year, the Institute is now presenting its internationally recognized awards for the seventh time. In competing for the title of the best IT security products of the year 2017, which programs, apps and security solutions garner the top rankings? Who are the top finishers in the categories of PROTECTION, PERFORMANCE, USABILITY, REPAIR and ANDROID SECURITY?
The awards – a year of peak performance
There are many IT security products on the market. And as the regular tests by the AV-TEST Institute prove, many of them are good, and some are even excellent. Yet in order to earn an AV-TEST award, that's not enough. The "World Champion" title is reserved to the absolute top products offering performance that sets new standards in IT security and making a significant contribution towards prevention. These products continuously excel in the laboratories of the AV-Test Institute over the entire test season, demonstrating peak performance in the test categories of protection, performance, usability, repair and Android security. And they do so from start to finish: In six two-month intervals, these IT products for home users and corporate users are required to outperform the competition.
Fierce competition, festive ceremony
This year, the AV-Test Institute is greeting its guests at the 2017 award ceremony in the UK's capital. On March 21, the official presentation of the fiercely-competitive awards for IT security will take place in London's Docklands on the River Thames. The representatives of the winning IT security products for the year 2017 will convene at the Royal Victoria Dock and board the Sunborn London Yacht Hotel to accept the total of 16 awards during the festive ceremony.
Just how competitive the race was for the title of the best IT security products of the year 2017 can already be seen by the large number of competitors: The Windows-based field included a total of 16 corporate solutions, along with 21 security products for end users. The Android-based field featured even 31 security applications submitted to the demanding tests of the independent IT security institute. How close the competition for the title ended up can be seen by the fact that six out of nine award categories yielded more than one winner.
Winners: the laureates of 2017
The three manufacturers Bitdefender, Kaspersky Lab and Symantec excelled with outstanding test results in the categories of PROTECTION, PERFORMANCE (speed), USABILITY, REPAIR and ANDROID SECURITY, thus sweeping the awards of the 2017 test year. Here are the winning products in each category:
AV-TEST Best Protection 2017 Award
The awards for best protection on Windows systems went to the manufacturers Bitdefender and Symantec, both in terms of products for end users and products for corporate users. Bitdefender receives the awards for outstanding protection delivered by its products "Internet Security" and "Endpoint Security". In terms of risk protection, Symantec not only defends its top position of last year with the products "Norton Security" and "Endpoint Protection", but is even able to achieve a top finish with yet another product: Because the manufacturer also offers "Endpoint Protection Cloud", an additional top-class IT security solution for companies.
AV-TEST Best Performance 2017 Award
According to the latest studies, performance often plays the decisive role for companies when selecting IT security products (Crisp Research, September 2017). Accordingly, the AV-TEST Performance Awards are far more than a distinction; they are also a clear sales argument. The products from the manufacturers Bitdefender and Kaspersky demonstrated strong protection with minimal reduction of system resources within the one-year test period. For this, AV-TEST is honoring "Bitdefender Internet Security" and "Bitdefender Endpoint Security", as well as "Kaspersky Lab Internet Security" and "Kaspersky Lab Small Office Security", with the Best Performance 2017 Award.
AV-TEST Best Usability 2017 Award
The lowest false alarm rate, and thus proof of the best usability rating in the test year 2017 was delivered by the products from Kaspersky Lab. End users who protect their PCs with "Kaspersky Lab Internet Security" receive a significantly lower number of unsettling false warnings than the users of solutions from other manufacturers. The same applies to the "Endpoint Security" corporate product from Kaspersky. That is why both products receive the AV-TEST Best Usability 2017 Award.
AV-TEST Best Repair 2017 Award
In case of a malware infection, far more is at stake than the loss of personal data or the failure of affected systems. That is why it is imperative, in case of emergency, to regain control over the infected systems as quickly as possible. The products "Bitdefender Internet Security" and "Kaspersky Lab Internet Security" prove to be the best form of assistance in such desperate situations. The "Kaspersky Lab Virus Removal Tool" also demonstrated a superb rescue capability. All three products earn the Best Repair 2017 Award.
AV-TEST Best Android Security 2017 Award
Mobile devices under Android have now become a lucrative target of cybercriminals. Safely warding off infected apps for the Google operating system is among the ever-increasing challenges of IT security. In the 2017 test year, the apps "Bitdefender Mobile Security" and "Symantec Norton Mobile Security" managed to perfectly protect corporate users deploying a BYOD strategy, along with the ever-growing number of private devices. Both security apps and therefore two manufacturers receive the Best Android Security 2017 Award.