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With lots of the things you buy, it’s easy enough to make an informed decision: read up on car specs, check a banana’s ripeness, try on a jacket. With security software, you can’t know much — until something goes horribly wrong. Sure, we can tell you Kaspersky Lab’s security software is great, and we test it over and over again (we do!), but hey, we’re biased. You have to figure all companies are biased in favor of their own products, and that’s why independent testing entities are critically important to informed consumers. They have no horse in the race, and they take pains to make their testing methodologies fair and transparent.
Independent testers may test a product at the behest of a company, but the clearest value for consumers comes from independent competitive testing: a group of products performing the same tests to see where each ranks. That is why for the sake of our users, we are very pleased to announce that in a recent assessment of 16 security solutions by independent testing agency MRG Effitas, Kaspersky Internet Security received the sole Level 1 certification of the bunch.
For MRG Effitas’ 360 Degree Assessment & Certification for Q2 2016, the agency evaluated security solutions on their ability to protect endpoints from a live infection, as well as to detect and remediate in case of infection.
The tests are designed for realism, for example attempting malware infections through a browser or USB drive. Malware types include Trojans, backdoors, ransomware, potentially unwanted applications, financial malware and “other” — in total, 399 in-the-wild samples. And speed matters.
The time components of the testing — detection and remediation — set each product to scan every 30 minutes over a 24-hour period. To attain Level 1 certification, a product had to detect and block every threat either immediately on exposure (including behavior protection), or within the 24-hour window. Kaspersky Internet Security was the only product to meet that challenge.
The Level 2 certification requires detection and disinfection of at least 97% of the test malware cases within 24 hours; only four solutions achieved that level. The other 11 products failed the certification testing.
Another key finding: Kaspersky Internet Security provided 100% immediate protection against ransomware.
Commenting on that, Timur Biyachuev, director of antimalware research at Kaspersky Lab, said: “At Kaspersky Lab, we know how important it is for our users to be able to protect what matters most to them, whether that’s protecting their data from ransomware, or their money from banking Trojans. This is why we work so hard to develop the best possible security solutions for our users, and we are proud that Kaspersky Internet Security has been awarded yet another independent commendation. This test is not the first time our work has been acclaimed — our products were awarded 60 first places in independent tests and reviews last year. These awards reflect our devotion to making the Internet a better, and safer place for everyone.”
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