As of: March 8, 2024, 6:37 a.m
By: Kai Hartwig, Sandra Sporer
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An antivirus program can ward off malware.
However, Stiftung Warentest only gave one tested program the grade “Very Good”.
Kassel – In the digital age you constantly have to fend off threats such as Trojans, phishing emails or computer viruses.
Just clicking on the wrong link can trigger a fatal chain reaction.
And fall into the trap of fraudsters.
To avoid such situations, you should have effective antivirus software installed on your laptop or computer.
The current test from Stiftung Warentest offers helpful guidance here.
28 antivirus programs for Windows, Mac and Android at Stiftung Warentest – only one “Very good”
The consumer magazine put 28 antivirus programs through their paces and found that free versions can also offer good protection.
The antivirus programs tested were suitable for the Windows, Android and Mac operating systems.
However, first place and the only top grade of “Very Good” went to a paid program.
Although the Apple operating system is rarely the target of malware, there is still a high risk of falling for a phishing email.
Some scammers even specifically target Apple users, such as iCloud phishing, in which the service's login details are intended to be stolen via a scam email.
The programs were confronted with various types of malware, which, according to Stiftung Warentest, represent real and current threats.
Some of the threats were only a few days old at the time of testing.
The evaluation also took into account how user-friendly the programs are and how much strain they put on the computer.
An antivirus program is intended to ward off malware on the laptop.
Stiftung Warentest has now tested several products.
© Bianco Blue/IMAGO
Free product at the forefront – test winner costs 40 euros annually
The antivirus program G Data Internet Security took first place and received a “Very Good” rating in all three tested categories.
It has a GDPR-compliant data protection declaration and costs 40 euros per year for a single license.
For Mac users, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is the best choice.
It received a rating of “Good” (grade 1.9) and costs 29 euros per year for a single license.
However, Stiftung Warentest found significant deficiencies in the data protection declaration.
The best free option was Bitdefender Antivirus Free for Windows, although significant flaws in the privacy policy were also found here.
Nevertheless, it received a rating of “Good” (grade 1.6).
Windows Bitdefender is also available in a paid version that costs 35 euros per year for a single license.
A paid upgrade can be worthwhile as you often receive less or no advertising and additional functions are added.
Windows Defender, which is already preinstalled in Windows 10 and 11, only received a “satisfactory” rating.
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Stiftung Warentest removes three Kaspersky products from the test due to security concerns
The three Kaspersky products tested received no rating from Stiftung Warentest.
The reason for this is a warning from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), which has advised against using the Russian manufacturer's products since March 2022.
This was triggered by the conflict with Russia after the country attacked Ukraine.
The notice at the time noted that “antivirus software has broad system privileges.”
Numerous products are regularly tested by the experts at Stiftung Warentest.
The testers also take a closer look at food.
Recently, in a fish stick test by Stiftung Warentest, only two of 19 products were convincing.
(kh/sp)
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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