Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 has been awarded the highest Advanced+ rating by AV-Comparatives. This achievement follows several months of intensive testing by the independent laboratory that saw several popular home computer security solutions up against real-world threats.

While preparing the real-world protection test procedure, AV-Comparatives experts paid special attention to imitating situations which the user and security solution could face in real life. The experts clicked dangerous links and downloaded and ran malicious programs, in an attempt to simulate activities which could be dangerous for Internet users. All the installed protection solutions mainly used their default settings because, in the real-world, the majority of users do not interfere with the operation of an antivirus product. During the testing the products received all necessary software and antivirus database updates. Testing was conducted on a Windows XP Service Pack 3 platform with several older versions of popular applications. This was to mirror the fact that few users promptly install a new OS version or update installed software, creating further security risks as the older versions often contain errors that can be used to infect the system.

The antivirus products were able to use their entire protection efforts to neutralise the threat at any stage of the attack: when a dangerous link was clicked, in the course of verifying downloaded malware, or at the time of its launch. A product failed the test if a malicious program penetrated the system unchecked and started its destructive activity. If the security solution prompted user intervention, the experts deliberately approved the dangerous actions and evaluated subsequent events. If a malicious program infected the system, the solution was penalised. In addition, the test evaluated the number of false positives. The experts visited known secure sites and downloaded legitimate applications. If the security solution blocked access to the site, did not allow an application to be downloaded or just warned the user of a false threat, it received penalty points. Products with lots of false positives received a lower score in the overall testing.

Useful links

• Read the full report
• More information about Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
• Previous AV-Comparatives Real World Protection Test results
• More information about dangerous URLs and other cyberthreats

Further information (external website)