Stiftung Warentest tests virus protection: if you think good virus protection has to be expensive, you're wrong. These programs are good, but there is a catch.
- The Stiftung Warentest examined 28 virus protection programs.
- One provider was particularly convincing.
- The differences between antivirus software for Windows and Mac are big.
Dortmund - If you want to be safe on the Internet , you need a good antivirus. It protects against data theft, Trojans and other malware . According to Stiftung Warentest , Internet users do not have to spend a lot of money on good virus protection , reports RUHR24.de *. Even some free programs were able to convince in the fight against viruses .
What is the best virus protection? This is how the Stiftung Warentest tested it
To find the best software , the experts at Stiftung Warentest examined 28 programs, including 19 for Windows computers and nine for Apple's MacOS operating system. The software had to endure a lot in the test.
It was checked whether the programs could filter out all 40,000 hidden malicious ones from more than 80,000 files. The foundation also questioned how well the various providers protect against data theft . Some antivirus programs were particularly convincing and achieved an overall rating of 1.5.
Avira convinces Stiftung Warentest and is a big surprise
The two Windows test winners are software from Avira . The surprise: Their free program "Free Security Suite" did just as well at Stiftung Warentest as the paid Antivirus Pro, for which 35 euros are due in a year.
In general, free programs were convincing in the test. The free offers "AVG Antivirus Free" and "Avast Free Antivirus " also performed very well at 1.5. The "Windows Defender", which is preinstalled by Microsoft as standard, came second to last with a grade of 2.6. You can find the entire results on the homepage of the Stiftung Warentest.
Stiftung Warentest: Free antivirus with minor weaknesses
But the experts also see problems with the free offers: According to Stiftung Warentest, advertising is annoying, especially with the " Avira Free Security Suite". In addition, the free alternative slows down the system a bit more than the payment option.
Video: "Avast" virus protection spies on the preferences of its users
The "Avast Free Antivirus " has to be critically noted that the company was recently caught selling user data. According to the Stiftung Warentest, however, this is not prohibited - and the company has said it has now stopped selling.
Virus protection at Apple: This is what the Stiftung Warentest recommends
Apple computers are better protected against malware than Windows customers even without antivirus . Nevertheless, the experts at Stiftung Warentest also recommend the use of virus protection programs for the Mac operating system.
On the one hand, they can easily infect Windows computers without appropriate protection. On the other hand, the programs improve protection against phishing , i.e. unwanted data theft, and some particularly aggressive viruses .
Are you using the #Microsoft integrated #virus protection?
In this video we show some of the new features of Windows #Defender Security Centerhttps: //t.co/frrySLCRou pic.twitter.com/Izck0mqcDm
Antivirus protection for Apple customers better
According to the Stiftung Warentest, test winners are two chargeable offers in this case: the "Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac" (grade 2.8; 40 euros per year) and the "Eset Cyber Security Pro" (grade 3.0; 35 euros per year). However, it becomes clear that the antivirus software for Apple computers is generally worse than the Windows competition.
A tip from the Stiftung Warentest , however, applies to both Windows and Apple users: Most virus scanners work best when they have an internet connection. Then dangers can be recognized particularly effectively.
* RUHR24.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
mn
