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March 12, 2000 | Text: Markus Selinger | Awards
AV-TEST Awards 2025: celebrating the very best of IT security products
In the labs of AV-TEST, there was a whole raft of security products to be tested and certified in 2025. The test candidates had to prove their merits under Windows, Mac or Android in the categories for consumer users and corporate users. For the best in the field of protection products, the AV-TEST Institute grants its coveted awards, now for the 15th time. In total, the experts conferred the special 25 awards on 12 manufacturers across 11 test categories. The awards are presented in the areas of Protection, Performance, Usability and Advanced Protection under Windows, along with Mac Security and Android Security. With these accolades, the institute recognizes the best solutions from the 2025 test year and, in doing so, honors the manufacturers for their strong research and development work.
AV-TEST Awards 2025:
celebrating the very best of IT security products
Robust cybersecurity against ransomware, stealer malware and spyware
A glance at the latest malware statistics might well cause distress among consumer users and corporate users. For Windows systems alone, the malware samples registered in the AV-ATLAS database in the period of 2024 to 2025 grew from 920 to 995 million – that is an increase of just over 8 percent. Which means that on the day of the awards ceremony at the beginning of March 2026, it probably will already have exceeded one billion.
Although the numbers are alarmingly high, the IT security products demonstrate through their certifications that there are robust security solutions on the market which already have the known and even brand-new malware samples under control. Despite the high number of digital malware samples, the manufacturers have the expertise and the means to fend off the nearly countless attackers mostly without exception. The certification tests conducted in the AV-TEST labs are proof of this. In the cycles of tests throughout the entire year, the experts in the lab evaluate the protection products for Windows, Mac or Android for consumer users and corporate users. By means of the clearly defined test scenarios, all of the values recorded in the annual time period are comparable, showing whether a product protects effectively over the long haul, or whether its good performance was only a snapshot. If a solution withstands the grueling and valid tests, it also receives a certificate for tested security: the coveted AV-TEST seal of approval.
These seals are very important, as they underscore the status of the manufacturers' security products as being tested and certified. This also provides companies with the right answers at their fingertips when it comes to fulfilling statutory requirements, i.e. for the supply chain or in connection with regulations such as the Cyber Resilience Act, DORA or NIS2.
The high hurdles along the path to an award
In order for a manufacturer’s product to be nominated for an award, it has to overcome several hurdles. First, the respective product has to have completed all of the year-long certification tests in its category. All solutions for Windows or Mac are divided up into groups of consumer users and corporate users. The Android tests only involve apps for consumer users.
In each test, the experts at AV-TEST evaluate the products in the three categories of Protection (protection function), Performance (speed) and Usability (user-friendliness). In the category of protection under Windows, the testers naturally only deploy Windows malware, and under Apple MacOS they use specialized MacOS malware. Also when evaluating false alarms, the testers use data and applications that match the corresponding platform. As already mentioned, these tests are standardized and thus comparable throughout the entire year.
Only the ATP tests – Advanced Threat Protection tests – are conceived differently. In those test, the experts use 10 current scenarios with the latest ransomware and infostealers, also implementing their known attack strategy. Over the course of the test, each step is documented as to whether the protection solution detected the attacker and blocked it outright or in later steps.
In all tests – except ATP – the products can achieve up to 18 points for their protection score, and above a minimum point score they receive a certificate for tested security. In the ATP tests, up to 35 points are achievable, and the minimum score for a certificate is 75 percent of the maximum point score.
All test scores over the entire year quickly reveal which products and solutions have earned an award for their performance.
For the 15th time: 25 awards recognize 12 manufacturers for their achievements
After one year, a vast amount of test data and point scores achieved have been tabulated. AV-TEST feeds this data into an evaluation matrix. The decision on choosing the award winners is made on the basis of consistent peak performance. The manufacturers themselves ensure their nomination through continuously strong scores. Among the categories, the evaluation can result in a tie, which means that an award will be granted to several manufacturers.
AV-TEST grants awards in 11 categories for consumer users and corporate users. Only Android is an exception to this, with an award solely in the category of consumer users. These are the categories:
- Best Protection 2025
- Best Performance 2025
- Best Usability 2025
- Best Advanced Protection 2025
- Best MacOS Security 2025
- Best Android Security 2025
AV-TEST Best Protection 2025 Award
Bitdefender Total Security
For the best malware detection and defense, protection products receive the 2025 Award for Best Protection. All manufacturers demonstrated with their solutions throughout the test year of 2025 how securely they protect a Windows system against attacks. After analysis of the test data, the winner among them has been determined: The 2025 Award in the test category of Best Protection for consumer users goes to the security package Total Security from Bitdefender.
Bitdefender Business Security
Protection at a Windows endpoint in a corporate environment is extremely important, which is why it is recognized by the 2025 Award for Best Protection. In the test year of 2025, many products participated in the tests, achieving test scores, some of which also exceeded the industry standard. In the end, it turned out that in this category only one product garnered the coveted award. The Best Protection 2025 Award for Corporate Users goes to Bitdefender Business Security.
AV-TEST Best Performance 2025 Award
McAfee Total Protection
A protection solution is naturally required to deliver the highest level of protection. At the same time, it is essential that the solution does not slow down the operating system in its daily routines. In the performance tests under Windows, the AV-TEST lab team therefore examines the impact that a protection solution has on the system resources. For its minimal system load, with simultaneously high protection, McAfee Total Protection consistently achieved high test scores and thus earned the Best Performance 2025 Award for Consumer Users.
Seqrite Endpoint Protection
In corporate environments, resource-hungry protection products on office PCs can lead to difficulties in daily processes and even to extra costs. That is why the testers in the AV-TEST lab want to find out which solutions do not hinder office PCs. In the test year 2025, the Seqrite solution always performed best here, receiving the Best Performance 2025 Award for Corporate Users for its product Endpoint Protection.
AV-TEST Best Usability 2025 Award
Avast Free Antivirus
AVG Internet Security
Avira Security
F-Secure Total
Kaspersky Premium
Norton 360
TotalAV Premium
McAfee Total Protection
Windows users can always expect peak performance from their protection product. This goes not only for malware protection, but also for false alarms. To prevent this, the system protection must be able to distinguish perfectly between harmless and dangerous files and applications. For their extremely professional work with zero false alarms, AV-TEST is presenting the Best Usability 2025 Awards for Consumer Users to Avast Free Antivirus, AVG Internet Security, Avira Security, F-Secure Total, Kaspersky Premium, Norton 360, TotalAV Premium and McAfee Total Protection.
Kaspersky Small Office Security
Kaspersky Endpoint Security
If a false alarm is triggered in a company, it can shut down entire departments and keep internal or external support staff totally occupied. Should this happen on a frequent basis, it may reduce awareness for emergencies. A successful ransomware attack may then be dismissed as a supposed false alarm, losing valuable time during which action should actually be taken. For the best annual performance in all Windows tests and the most precise detection with no false alarms, AV-TEST is presenting the Best Usability 2025 Award for Corporate Users to Kaspersky Small Office Security and Kaspersky Endpoint Security.
AV-TEST Best Advanced Protection 2025 Award
McAfee Total Protection
Good protection software consists of more than simply a malware detection engine. Within one product, many modules work hand in hand and in this way may stop a malware threat that has broken through in the first wave in the second line of defense. These are precisely the scenarios examined in the Advanced Threat Protection tests, in 10 live attacks with ransomware and infostealers. In the 2025 test year, McAfee's product showed in the ATP tests that it is particularly strong in this category. For its consistently strong results, AV-TEST is giving the Best Advanced Protection 2025 Award for Consumer Users to McAfee Total Protection.
Kaspersky Small Office Security
Kaspersky Endpoint Security
Microworld eScan Enterprise EDR
If a ransomware or infostealer attack is successful, it can have devastating effects on the company: The data is usually gone, followed up by extortion with a demand for ransom – and the need to explain everything to authorities and customers. In the worst case, the company could face insolvency. This is why an advanced defense is extremely important if perhaps an attacker has initially gone undetected. Many protection solutions have internal modules that can analyze the behavior and activate additional defensive tools. The Advanced Threat Protection tests, ATP tests for short, use 10 real-life scenarios to examine how well protection solutions can still save a failed detection. Based on their perfect protection performance in all test scenarios, the AV-TEST Institute is presenting the following manufacturers and products with the Best Advanced Protection 2025 Award for Corporate Users: Kaspersky Endpoint Security, Kaspersky Small Office Security and Microworld eScan Enterprise EDR.
AV-TEST Best Android Security 2025 Award
Bitdefender Mobile Security
Android, the world's most widely used mobile operating system, is installed on roughly 4 billion mobile devices. Many consumer users often don't know that their basic device is an inviting target for cyberattacks. Mobile devices are indeed very popular with attackers. If they are infected following a successful attack, they can be integrated into botnets, harnessed for sending spam and phishing messages and even enslaved to mine cryptocurrency. Add to this the fact that they are available 24/7. The market offers many good apps for protecting Android devices, many of which can be found in AV-TEST's routine tests. Bitdefender Mobile Security stood out as the best protection app in the 2025 test year, garnering the Best Android Security 2025 Award for Consumer Users.
AV-TEST Best MacOS Security 2025 Award
Avast Security
AVG AntiVirus
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
Kaspersky Premium
Norton 360
Whereas some Apple fans and Mac users ignored the use of protection software for their system in the past, they have since been forced to reconsider, not least due to the one million MacOS malware samples. Good security packages are now in high demand, and it is vital to identify the best one. The ongoing tests in the AV-TEST laboratories facilitate this. The testers examined and evaluated a number of security software applications for MacOS systems. A total of five protection packages qualified for an award in the 2025 test year. The Best MacOS Security 2025 Award for Consumer Users goes to the products Avast Security, AVG AntiVirus, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, Kaspersky Premium and Norton 360.
CrowdStrike Falcon Pro
Many companies often also have endpoints with MacOS running as a system alongside Windows PCs. In terms of importance, protecting PCs with MacOS in a heterogeneous network is on par with safeguarding PCs with Windows. That is why the lab at AV-TEST includes in every test series an evaluation of how well the security solutions protect the workstation PCs against special MacOS malware. Over the entire test year 2025, the Falcon Pro product geared towards corporate users performed exceptionally well. For this outstanding performance, the AV-TEST institute presents the Best MacOS Security 2025 Award for Corporate Users to CrowdStrike for its product Falcon Pro.