Security software program reviews: How we test
Software is tested against many threats
Ease of use
We install each security software package on a ‘fresh’ PC, then rate how easy it is to install, navigate and update. Points are deducted for confusing or overbearing alerts.
Antivirus
We rate how well the security software responds when faced with test viruses hidden in various guises, including in email attachments, over the web and in zipped (compressed) form.
Anti-spyware
We take a ‘real-world’ approach by downloading packages known to contain spyware programs and seeing if the software removes them or prevents them from being installed.
PC cleanup
We assess how well the software is able to clean up an infected PC. However, this is only a snapshot test and we can't tell from this how well a program will react to a threat that has yet to emerge.
Anti-spam
We measure how smart the software is at filtering junk email on its first attempt.
Good junk email filters can be ‘trained’ over time to look for common patterns found in spam emails such as words used, colours and attachment types, but because of time restraints we were unable to conduct a long-term test on the anti-spam filters’ effectiveness.
Anti-phishing
We test each package's anti-phishing feature, checking whether it stops us from visiting a spoof site.
Parental control
We assess the effectiveness of the suite's parental control functions by checking whether they block a range of adult websites. We focus on ease of use and look at how well the program interacts with both the parent and the child.
Backup
We test the effectiveness and ease of using the bundled backup programs.