Virus Bulletin
Copyright © 2016 Virus Bulletin
The platform selected for this month's comparative is Microsoft's Windows 8.1. When first released with the standard hype and fanfare it seemed like another fairly major step in the gradual expansion and improvement of the world's most popular platform, but in hindsight it joins Windows Vista as another temporary stopgap, killing time between two much more popular and successful versions of Windows. With the huge efforts being put into encouraging, cajoling and even tricking users into upgrading to Windows 10, and the bulk of the hold-outs being confirmed Windows 7 users, there seems little chance that we will be running another test on this platform. In itself, it's not a bad operating system, but in comparison with those either side, it has clearly failed to grab the attention and affection of users, and so is condemned to a slow and undignified death.
For those still tied to it for one reason or another, of course, it remains crucial to maintain a decent level of protection from malware. Therefore, we plough through the products available one more time to provide guidance for those in need.
Setting up Windows 8.1 is a fairly clean and easy process, although anyone wanting to build multiple matching machines may be mystified by its rather random approach to disk partitioning. For the purposes of this test we had to do little more than revive some images created for earlier comparatives, and update them with the latest testing tools and scripts. As usual, updates were kept to a minimum, and the bulk of the set‑up work went into preparing the sample sets.
Our main certification sets included the latest WildList available on the deadline day – the February 2016 list, released on the test deadline, 17 February. Our other test sets were given their usual clean-and-tidy routine, with the clean sets included in the certification process also frozen on the test deadline; they came to 775,000 files, 168GB.
Other sets were built according to our standard protocols, with performance test sets given no more than minor tweaks to keep the tests running as smoothly and repeatably as possible. With everything in place, we got down to working through the long list of participating products.
Main version: 2016, update 16
Update versions: 8.12.70.228, 8.12.74.126, 8.12.76.138
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 9 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Getting us under way this month is Avira's premium solution, which has a pretty strong record in our tests and generally does well. Once again stability was very strong indeed, with no problems even under heavy pressure. Detection was also pretty good and performance impact was light. The core certification sets presented no difficulties, and the first VB100 award of the month is neatly claimed by Avira.
Main version: 3.0.0.5
Update versions: 15.10.21.1/574606.2016021701/7.64530/6108993.20160217, 15.10.21.1/586674.2016041816/7.65196/6386339.20160418
Last 6 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 10 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
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Bitdefender-based ESTsoft has built up a healthy list of passes over the last few years, and put in a reasonable showing once again this month. However, due to some issues with the product's logging system, which seemed to collapse if required to record more than a handful of events, our additional detection figures proved somewhat unreliable, with the bulk of the usable data coming from a single usable run. Fortunately, the certification sets presented far fewer problems and were completed successfully, so we are able to record a VB100 pass for ESTsoft this month.
Main version: 5.0.9.1349
Update versions: 5.220/32.676, 33.099, 33.263, 33.423
Last 6 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 9 passed, 1 failed, 2 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Fortinet's business client solution has a solid record in our tests, and put in another good showing this month with no stability problems, decent detection rates, a noticeable but not overly intrusive impact on the system speed, and no problems in the certification sets, comfortably earning the product another VB100 award.
Main version: 8.1.5.1004
Update versions: 8.3.4.4
Last 6 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 5 no entry
Last 12 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 11 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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A newcomer to our tests this month, Hammock hails from Japan and provides a comprehensive business solution; the bulk of the malware-detection is provided by the Kaspersky engine. The product proved rather more complex to set up and operate than we are used to, but with some assistance from the developers we eventually got it running, and saw no stability issues, decent detection, acceptable performance impact and a good showing in our certification sets. Hammock's first VB100 award is well deserved.
Main version: 2.9.26
Update versions: 96169, 96601, 97058, 97627
Last 6 tests: 3 passed, 1 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 8 passed, 1 failed, 3 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 16
Stability: Fair
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Ikarus has been maintaining a good run of VB100 passes in the last few years, but this month returned to old habits, sprinkling false alarms through our clean sets. These included a handful of alerts about a DDoS trojan in a popular Linux tool and some issues with a CAD solution. Otherwise things went pretty well, stability was mostly OK although we did note a few crashes, mostly when not doing anything particularly stressful. The WildList set was well covered, but with that rash of false positives in the clean set no VB100 award is granted this month.
Main version: 5.8.0
Update versions: 5.8.0.0215/3.71, 5.8.1/5.8.1.0000
Last 6 tests: 3 passed, 2 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 8 passed, 2 failed, 2 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 161
Stability: Fair
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Another very regular product, and another which has recently had some problems with false positives. The Bitdefender engine, present in almost half of the products being tested this month, is integrated into the iSheriff product alongside the company's own technologies; it is a complete business product operated from a cloud portal. Stability was mostly fine, apart from a single incident during the performance tests where the product claimed the Internet was down and couldn't communicate with its control systems, rendering it unusable. The WildList sets were handled well, but once again we saw a barrage of false alarms, mainly on DLL files from major software houses including Dell and SAP, which means there is no VB100 award for iSheriff this month, despite a generally good showing.
Main version: 4.9.218.0
Update versions: 1.1.12400.0/1.213.6009.0, 1.1.12505.0/1.215.565.0, 1.215.1582.0, 1.215.2503.0
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 9 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Microsoft's business offering is essentially a set of management tools connected to the Defender solution, at the desktop level at least. It generally puts in a good performance, and this occasion was no different, with rock-like stability through the tests and decent detection rates across the board. Performance measures were mostly very close to our baselines taken with standard Defender active, although our set of activities was a little slower. With a clean run through the certification sets, another VB100 award goes to Microsoft.
Main version: 1.1.107.0
Update versions: 96169, 96599, 97075, 97627
Stability rating: Fair
Last 6 tests: 0 passed, 1 failed, 5 no entry
Last 12 tests: 0 passed, 3 failed, 9 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 2.75%
False positives: 47
Stability: Fair
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MSecure's products have appeared in a number of our tests in recent years, but haven't managed to achieve a pass in some time, mainly thanks to a rather glaring issue which meant the content of the extension list was largely ignored, meaning several of the most common malicious file types were not scanned by default on access. There were some other issues to note this month, including an unexpected restart and some logging inconsistencies, but the lingering detection problem was the most serious. Despite decent detection on demand, scores were very low indeed on access, and a glut of false positives in the clean sets confirms that there is no VB100 award for MSecure this time. A new and completely reworked product is promised for the near future, which should hopefully fare better.
Main version: 16.00
Update versions: 9.0.32.1 64Bit
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
Quick Heal's business product line has only been appearing in our tests for the last couple of years, but has a good string of passes accumulating already. Performance hit was not the lowest but not excessive, and detection was decent in the response tests. Some problems with the submission meant we could not gather a full set of RAP data, but other tests ran without problems and a VB100 award is well deserved.
Main version: 2015(15.0.5.5440)
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 6 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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Dual-engine TrustPort can usually be relied upon for some impressively high detection rates. This month, the product is included in the business category despite, according to its creators, being suitable for both home and office use. The only stability problem observed was an issue with the update button, which decided to stop functioning from time to time, but otherwise all was steady. Performance impact was impressively light for a product with such excellent coverage of malware, and with no problems in the clean sets a VB100 award is easily earned.
Main version: 2.0.4785.0
Update versions: 2.0.0.2261, 2.0.0.2708, 2.0.0.2725, 2.0.0.2737
Last 6 tests: 0 passed, 2 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 0 passed, 2 failed, 10 no entry
ItW on demand: 76.17%
ItW on access: 75.03%
False positives: 48
Stability: Fair
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We've seen Zillya! a few times before in our tests, with the standard required for VB100 certification not yet reached. This month it had a few, mostly fairly minor stability problems, mainly GUI freezes and crashes while scanning, and detection was fairly mediocre with low scores in our sets of recent samples. Quite a few WildList items went undetected, and we noted a fair number of false alarms in our clean sets, including classing a part of the Firefox browser as a worm. Thus no VB100 award is granted to ALLIT Service this month, although we are seeing steady improvement in the product.
Main version: 11.1.2253
Update versions: 160216-0, 160307-0, 160314-0, 160321-0
Last 6 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
Last 12 tests: 11 passed, 1 failed, 0 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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A regular strong performer, Avast's free edition put in another good showing with solid stability and strong detection levels. The only dent in this month's performance was a rather high impact on our set of activities, which took several times longer than the baseline, rather unusually for this product which has performed the same test pretty rapidly in the past. A clean run through our certification sets comfortably earns Avast another VB100 award.
Main version: 16.41.7442
Update versions: 4530/11630, 4540/11769, 11813, 4542/11858
Last 6 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
Last 12 tests: 12 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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AVG can proudly boast of being one of the few products with a clean sheet of passes in the last dozen tests. The product's performance this month was strong once again, with flawless stability under pressure, good detection rates and only a fairly heavy impact on our set of tasks to complain about. A VB100 award is well deserved, adding to that pleasingly unbroken chain of passes.
Main version: 2016, update 16
Update versions: 8.12.70.228, 8.12.74.126, 8.12.76.138
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Avira's free edition tends to only show up in our desktop tests, generally putting in the same sort of splendid performances as we see more regularly from the vendor's premium and corporate editions. This month was much the same, with pretty light performance hit, decent detection and a clean run through the main sets, earning Avira another VB100 award.
Main version: 20.0.25.1378
Update versions: 7.64536/6106005, 7.64780/5857537, 7.64852/5895401, 7.64913/6088530
Last 6 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
Last 12 tests: 12 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Bitdefender can also show off with an unbroken string of passes in all of our tests over the last two years, with the company's engine also playing a key part in many other successful products. This month there were no upsets, with another excellent showing across the board, although detection numbers were a shade lower than we're used to. The core sets were handled impeccably once again, and another VB100 award is well deserved.
Main version: 16.0.314.5
Update versions: 7.64537, 16.0.316.1/7.64780, 16.0.316.1/7.64853, 16.0.317.1/ 7.64913
Last 6 tests: 3 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
Last 12 tests: 7 passed, 0 failed, 5 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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BullGuard is one of the long list of products integrating Bitdefender's engine, something the firm has been doing very well for quite some time. It was another good job this month, with dependably good detection rates and minimal performance hit. The certification sets were nicely managed, earning BullGuard another VB100 award.
Main version: 14.1.048.000
Update versions: 8.6.0.97
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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Bucking the trend somewhat, Check Point bundles the Kaspersky engine alongside its own technology as part of the venerable Zone Alarm product line. It did well once again this month, with decent detection, although our set of tasks was a little slower than the baseline. The certification sets were properly dealt with, and a VB100 award is merited.
Main version: 19.2.0.151
Update versions: 7.62494, 19.4.0.239/7.64779, 7.64852, 7.64913
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 10 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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A somewhat newer name in our tests, CompuClever managed its first pass at the end of 2015 and is back for more. Once again using the Bitdefender engine, it put in a decent showing with low performance hit and decent scores. The RAP figures were a little lower than for some other Bitdefender users, but this is probably due to submission timing rather than anything more serious. The WildList and clean sets presented no problems, and a second VB100 award is earned by CompuClever.
Main version: 5.1.35
Update versions: 5.4.20
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 3 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 3 passed, 7 failed, 2 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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On the surface at least, CYREN's Command product remains one of the least changed for quite some time, with the simple and minimalist interface a very familiar sight on the VB test bench. Under the covers it has seen some serious work though, with the company's cloud look‑up system providing an impressive boost in detections over the last few years. This has often come at the expense of a higher false alarm rate, but this month there were no such problems; superb detection was recorded in the response sets, with the offline part of the RAP tests clearly demonstrating the importance of the cloud look‑ups. As usual, our set of tasks was fairly heavily slowed down, but a clean run through the certification sets earns CYREN another VB100 award.
Main version: 11.0.0.6131
Update versions: 3.5.0.656/11.0.1.12, 11.5.0.6191, 11.5.0.6191, 11.5.1.6247
Last 6 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 10 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
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Emsisoft has earned VB100 passes in all of our Windows tests in recent years, with only our annual visits to Linux missed out. This month we saw decent detections along the lines of others using the same Bitdefender engine, a very light impact on system speeds and a good showing in the core sets, earning the product another VB100 award.
Main version: 14.0.1400.1860 DB
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
Last 12 tests: 12 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
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Another product maintaining a flawless record of passes in all tests in the last few years, the eScan suite also includes the Bitdefender engine and scored predictably well, with low resource use but a fairly notable hit on our set of activities. The certification sets were dealt with well, and that perfect record of VB100 passes is maintained.
Main version: 9.0.349.14
Update versions: 13042, 13139, 13174, 9.0.375.0/13212
Last 6 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
Last 12 tests: 12 passed, 0 failed, 0 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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ESET's record in our tests speaks for itself, with an unbroken run of passes going way back into the past affirming the solid reliability of the company's products. There were a couple of very minor glitches this month, including a button offering a new version which seemed to do nothing, but otherwise all was as good as ever, with a light system footprint and strong detection, extending as usual to the certification sets which were brushed aside effortlessly to earn yet another VB100 award for ESET.
Main version: 8.3.36.16
Update versions: 8.12.58.254, 8.3.36.42/8.12.66.134, 8.3.36.54/8.12.69.118, 8.3.38.0/8.12.72.206
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 3 passed, 0 failed, 9 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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The PCKeeper brand has been popping up in our tests for some time under various different owners, and on this occasion returns for its second attempt under the Essentware umbrella. Bundling the Avira engine with a few additional tricks, it scored very well indeed in the response tests, dropping down a fair bit in the offline parts of the RAP tests. RAM usage was a touch high, but our set of activities was not too heavily slowed down, and a clear run through the certification sets earns the product another VB100 award.
Main version: 25.1.0.10
Update versions: AVA 25.5548/GD 25.6.373, AVA 25.5807/GD 25.6495, AVA 25.5879/GD 25.6535, AVA 25.5943/GD 25.6565
Last 6 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 9 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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When G Data changed from using two third-party engines to a combination of Bitdefender and the company's own in-house technology, we predicted some dropping off in detection rates from the superb heights we were used to. However, our prediction has repeatedly been proved wrong over the course of the last few tests, as the product continues to impress with its breadth of coverage. This month's performance was very strong once again with excellent detection rates in the RAP sets and a pleasingly low system speed impact. The core sets presented no difficulties, and G Data earns a VB100 award with another excellent showing.
Main version: 2016.02.17.01
Update versions: 4.0.0.10010, 2016.03.09(1), 2016.03.17(1), 2016.03.23(1)
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 10 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
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A fairly new name on our testing roster, Inca has already notched up a pass on its first attempt at VB100 certification, and returns this month for a second try. As with so many others, the product uses the Bitdefender engine, which as usual provided some dependable detection scores. Our set of tasks showed a significant slowdown, accompanied by very high use of CPU cycles, but the certification sets were nicely handled and a VB100 award is merited.
Main version: 15.1.0.288
Update versions: 9.213.18774, 15.1.0.289/9.214.18951, 9.214.19004, 9.218.19067
Last 6 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 1 no entry
Last 12 tests: 9 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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K7's 'Total' solution has been putting in some reliably classy performances in our comparatives over the last few years, with stability rarely challenged even by our most high-pressure tests. This month we saw another solid and dependable performance, with decent detection scores, very low resource use, and a fair but not excessive hit on our set of tasks. Good work in the certification sets easily earns K7 another VB100 award.
Main version: 16.0.1.445
Update versions: 16.0.1.445, 16.0.1.445(b), 16.0.1.445
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 9 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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There was just a single product from Kaspersky Lab this month, for a change. The Internet Security suite is a regular in our tests, with some good history, and this month it put in its usual strong showing. Stability was shaken only by a single incident where the interface locked up for ten minutes or so, but managed to straighten itself out without intervention. RAP data is absent once again. The core sets were cleanly dealt with, and a VB100 award is earned by Kaspersky.
Main version: 11.10.767.8917
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 3 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
Last 12 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 6 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Lavasoft's iconic Ad‑Aware brand is represented by two versions this month, starting off with the free edition. It had no stability problems at all and scored well in our detection tests, helped by that ever-present Bitdefender engine. Performance measures were once again a bit odd, with our set of tasks held up by regular pauses waiting for some input – during this time the local system was largely idle, hence the very low average CPU usage. This does not affect certification of course, which was comfortably earned after a clean run through the certification tests.
Main version: 11.10.767.8917
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 5 no entry
Last 12 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 11 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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The 'Pro' version of Ad-Aware has a similar look and feel to the free edition, with a slight tweak to the colour scheme to differentiate the two and a few extras thrown in under the hood. It put in a similar performance, with solid stability, strong detection, some issues with our set of tasks but no problems in the certification sets, earning Lavasoft another VB100 award this month.
Main version: 2.0.88.147
Update versions: 2.0.88.147, 2.0.89.148, 2.0.89.148
Last 6 tests: 0 passed, 2 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 0 passed, 4 failed, 8 no entry
ItW on demand: 21.22%
ItW on access: N/A
False positives: 1
Stability: Buggy
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Maya's products have made it into our reports on a couple of occasions so far, with several additional submissions having been discarded from other tests long before the final testing phases thanks to a number of stability problems. This month these problems raised their heads once more, with several crashes and freezes and, most significantly, no luck whatsoever in getting the on‑access component to work. On‑demand detection was rather feeble, and with no on‑access detection and a false positive in the clean sets to boot, we can only conclude that Maya still has some way to go before it reaches the required standard for VB100 certification.
Main version: 1.0.14.71740
Update versions: 0.14.24.6969, 1.0.18.72213/0.14.25.7107, 0.44.25.7145, 1.0.18.72737 Pro/0.14.25.7186
Last 6 tests: 1 passed, 1 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 1 passed, 1 failed, 10 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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NANO has impressed over the last few tests with a steady trend of improvement across the board, and this month it did well once again. Stability was impeccable, system impact quite acceptable, and detection pretty decent, including flawless coverage of the WildList sets. The clean sets have been a bit of a problem in previous tests, but this month all was clear there too. Thus, just a short time after we first started looking at this all-new product, NANO should be very proud to claim its first VB100 certification.
Main version: 16.0.2
Update versions: 16.1.0
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
A fairly regular participant in our tests over the last few years, Panda has been quietly building up a decent string of passes. The heavily cloud-dependent product scored pretty well in the online parts of the RAP test, with the offline parts of the test not compatible with the product's requirements. The product showed minimal memory usage, not too much CPU usage, and our set of tasks was not too heavily delayed. The certification sets were cleanly dealt with, and another VB100 award is earned by Panda.
Main version: 1.0.0.60
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 0 passed, 3 failed, 3 no entry
Last 12 tests: 1 passed, 5 failed, 6 no entry
ItW on demand: 88.25%
ItW on access: 62.53%
False positives: 101
Stability: Fair
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PC Pitstop's fairly unusual combination of whitelisting alongside a 'traditional' malware detection engine has proved pretty strong at flagging up malware over the last few years, balanced as one would expect with a rather higher than average rate of false positives. There were some false positives once again this month, although this still only represented 0.013% of our full clean sets, so they are likely to be fairly rare in the real world. The detection rate was strong and consistent across all sets, even without access to the Internet. Similar scores were recorded in the WildList sets, although somewhat lower than expected, which we suspect is due to an as-yet undiagnosed problem with fitting the product into our testing system – something we hope to resolve shortly, along with a handful of freezing issues we noted during testing. No VB100 certification is awarded to PC Pitstop this month.
Main version: 5.0.0.6221
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Qihoo's 360 brand continues to grow in stature around the world, and has a strong history in our tests of late. Its (optional) multi-engine approach has worked well, with pretty light system footprint by this month's standards. Detection rates were also good, and with no stability problems or issues in the certification sets, a VB100 award is comfortably earned.
Main version: X
Update versions: 16.00/9.0.24.4 64Bit
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 6 passed, 0 failed, 6 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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Our second product from Quick Heal this month has a very similar feel to its business cousin, producing similar results too. Stability was good, with only a very minor issue noted involving losing touch with our lab's Internet connection. Detection was good too, again there are no offline RAP scores thanks to issues with the submission. Performance measures showed fairly high resource usage and impact on our set of tasks, but nothing too severe. The core sets were covered nicely, and another VB100 award is earned by Quick Heal.
Main version: 1.2.0.6
Update versions: N/A
Last 6 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 5 no entry
Last 12 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 11 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
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Another newcomer to our tests, REVE is based in India and, like many companies these days, incorporates the Bitdefender engine into its product. There were some stability issues, including updating problems, crashes during scans, and failures to start tasks properly, but for the most part things ran smoothly. Detection was strong as one would expect, and slowdown and resource usage were minimal. With the certification sets dealt with easily, a VB100 award goes to REVE for the first time.
Main version: 11.2.26139.901
Update versions: 11.2.26147.901, 11.2.26152.901, 11.2.26157.901
Last 6 tests: 4 passed, 0 failed, 2 no entry
Last 12 tests: 8 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Solid
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Tencent's PC Manager managed another very stable and reliable performance this month, with no wobbles noted and pretty reasonable impact on system speed. Detection was decent, close to that of others using the same Bitdefender engine, and the core sets presented no difficulties, earning Tencent another VB100 award.
Main version: 9.3.4.3
Update versions: 3.9.2671.2-3.0/47274/7.64536, 47750/7.64784, 47946/7.64854, 48084/7.64915
Last 6 tests: 2 passed, 0 failed, 4 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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ThreatTrack's VIPRE was something of a revolution when it first emerged under then-owner Sunbelt Software, as one of the first completely new anti-malware engines to come to the market in many years. With the engine now retired in favour of that ever‑popular Bitdefender one, VIPRE carries on. This month's testing saw reasonable impact on the system, with the expected decent detection rates and just a single stability issue, a freeze during installation in one round of tests. The certification sets were covered properly, and a VB100 award goes to ThreatTrack.
Main version: 9.0.0.422
Update versions: 3.0.2.1015/2016.2.17.9, 2016.3.9.13, 2016.3.18.7, 2016.3.23.11
Last 6 tests: 3 passed, 0 failed, 3 no entry
Last 12 tests: 5 passed, 0 failed, 7 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Stable
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Total Defense is another name with a long and complicated history in our tests, and another product that is now built around the Bitdefender engine. This month we saw impressively low performance impact scores alongside the unsurprisingly decent detection levels. Stability was also decent, with just a few big scans crashing out, and a clean run over the core sets, earns Total Defense another VB100 award.
Main version: 3.3.96
Update versions: 3.64.0/5.23, 5.24, 5.25, 5.25
Last 6 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 5 no entry
Last 12 tests: 1 passed, 0 failed, 11 no entry
ItW on demand: 100.00%
ItW on access: 100.00%
False positives: 0
Stability: Fair
The final product to cover this month will be familiar to some regular readers, having been a regular participant up until a couple of years ago. At that point it used the now-defunct VirusBuster engine, which has since been replaced by that of Sophos in an otherwise fairly similar-looking product. We saw a number of stability issues, mainly scans getting stuck, and had some trouble getting enough detection data to be usable. In the end we gave up, so no detection numbers are listed. Resource usage was fairly low, but our set of tasks was quite seriously slowed down. The certification sets mercifully did complete without problems, well enough to earn UtilTool a VB100 award on its return to the fold.
This test report has been somewhat abbreviated to help clear a backlog, but hopefully includes enough detail to give some guidance as to which products are performing well and which need improvement. We saw another good rate of passes in this comparative, with a few products clearly falling short of the required standard, a couple hit by bouts of false positives upsetting otherwise good scores, and a couple very near but not quite there. For the most part though, we saw impressive performances, with speed measures particularly encouraging on this now well‑established platform.
The RAP scores were a little below the levels we normally see, which may be due to some adjustments to the way the sets are compiled, tweaking our methods for determining the significance of samples at selection time. In the very near future we hope to move this entire process over to the AMTSO RTTL (Real-Time Threat List), which should reduce the workload involved in determining how widespread a given sample is, as well as making it significantly more accurate. This will not be in the next test, which should closely follow the publication of this report, but should we hope be ready in time for our August comparative on Windows 10.
All tests were run on identical systems with AMD A6-3670K Quad Core 2.7GHz processors, 4GB DUAL DDR3 1600MHz RAM, dual 500GB and 1TB SATA hard drives and gigabit networking, running Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit Professional Edition.
