How we test
We get hands-on with every single product in the group test, ensuring that its features and interface all work as they’re supposed to and highlighting any friction points. However, long-term testing with live malware samples is required to evaluate how genuinely effective any given antivirus solution is at protecting your system against malicious software.
For this, we turn to data produced by three well-regarded anti-malware testing houses. Specifically, SE Labs in the UK, AV-Test in Germany and AV-Comparatives in Austria. All three publish their test data and methodologies, making them available to the public, as well as the press and industry professionals.
Data for this group came from the following tests: AV-Test Windows 10 antivirus software for home users, June 2025 (tinyurl. com/375avtest); AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, July-August 2025 (tinyurl. com/375avcomp); and SE Labs Home Anti-Malware Protection Report 2025 Q2 (tinyurl.com/375selabs).
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UK-based SE Labs’ test results are available to all
We’ve used the most recent available test data in all cases. Where a specific product isn’t tested, we use results for products using the same malware detection engine. In cases where a product has not been tested recently by all labs, we’ve referred back to historic test data to provide insight into its long-term performance.
In evaluating test data, we place the greatest weight on “real-world” testing, in which antivirus software is exposed to live malware samples in a realistic scenario, such as web exposure, rather than flat file scans of a large collection of malware samples.
We also take into account performance impacts, measured by AV-Test, and false positive identifications of legitimate software and websites.