SMB security, the best antivirus for Windows of August 2017

According to AV-TEST, the best antivirus for Windows 7 are Office Scan by Trend Micro and two protection programs by Kaspersky Lab

The computer security of small and medium-sized enterprises passes above all through antivirus. The market offers various protection programs, more or less all of which are very good. Which ones should you choose? AV-TEST has carried out a research on which are the best antivirus programs for companies using Windows 7.

Antivirus programs are one of the most important elements to block the constant cyber attacks that threaten companies and often for an SME they represent the only system to protect its own computer security. It is therefore essential to choose the most suitable antivirus for your needs. Not all of them offer the same performance, just as some are more suitable for certain threats. AV-TEST, a German company that carries out tests on computer security programs, has compared the main antivirus programs for Windows 7, an operating system that still continues to be used by many companies.

The best antivirus programs for Windows 7

The antivirus programs were evaluated based on three criteria: protection, performance and usability. In the period analyzed, which runs from July to August 2017, three antivirus programs got the highest score: Office Scan by Trend Micro, Endpoint Security 10.3 and Small Office Security 5 by Kaspersky Lab. The Russian company, placing two protection programs on the top step, still confirms itself as one of the best. All three antivirus programs achieved a total of 18 points, which is the maximum score: 6 in protection, 6 in performance and 6 in usability.

In second place, according to AV-TEST research, is Bitdefender's Endpoint Security, which collects a total of 17.5 points. Compared to previous antivirus programs, Bitdefender's program scores 0.5 points less in terms of usability.

Down to third place with 17 points are Seqrite's Endpoint Security and Control 17, Sophos' Endpoint Protection 10.7 and two antivirus programs from Symantec, Endpoint Protection 14.0 and Endpoint Protection Cloud 22.9 and 22.10. All of the antiviruses earn 6 points in protection, 5, 5 in performance and 5.5 in usability.

In AV-TEST's rankings, Microsoft's System Center Endpoint 4.10 scores just 14 points, or 5 in protection, 5 in performance and 4 in usability.