German antivirus test lab AV-Test.org started a new series of tests this August aimed at certifying antivirus products for use on specific operating systems. The August test used Windows 7 while a just-completed test challenged the same vendors under Windows XP SP2. A comparison of results from the two tests reveals some surprising disparities in protection.
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Researchers rated each product on protection, repair, and usability. “Protection” encompasses both static and dynamic malware detection, including zero-day attacks; while “repair” refers to the product’s ability to remediate malware infestation and remove rootkits. The “usability” assessment includes a rating of the product’s effect on system performance and any false positives. Each test used the most recent products, meaning that some products changed version between or during the tests.
Products received a rating from 0 to 6 in each of the three categories, with a total score of 12 points required for certification. Click on the link below to see comparative results from both tests.
Antivirus product ratings from AV-Test.org
Quite a few products scored significantly lower under Windows XP than they did under Windows 7. For Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 that meant the difference between achieving certification and missing that goal. The fact that many of these products upgraded to a newer version before or during the XP-based test didn’t seem to help them.
On the flip side, PC Tools scored significantly better under the Windows XP test. Trend Micro has significantly updated their protection, but both of these tests used last year’s Trend Micro suite. This product was much more successful under XP, so much so that it received certification for XP but not for Windows 7.
Kaspersky, Panda, and Norton Internet Security 2011 shared the top score in the Windows 7 test, each with a total of 16 points and no score below 5. Only Norton stayed on top in the Windows XP test. Kaspersky’s total dropped to 14 points and Panda’s to 13. F-Secure stayed totally consistent, receiving the exact same scores in both tests for a near-the-top total of 15.5 points.
It seems clear from these results that Windows XP is more vulnerable to malware attack than Windows 7 and hence more difficult to protect. PCMag’s own testing regimen for antivirus programs uses Windows XP exclusively, both because it’s more vulnerable and because the numerous virtual machines involved can be much smaller when Windows XP is the operating system. If you’re still using Windows XP, check the chart above to make sure you’ve got appropriate security protection.