AV-Test's Paid Vs. Free" AV Product Comparison Shows Comodo Scores Better Than Norton/Symantec at Protecting the Computer

Comodo, announced the results of a paid vs. free Antivirus (AV) test comparison of paid Norton™/Symantec™ software to free Comodo® software. The testing which focused on completely new viruses - which were not yet detected by traditional or “in the cloud” signatures - was conducted by AV-Test, the Independent IT-Security Institute.

The findings of this independent, dynamic test show that Comodo scored 100 percent for the overall detection and protection while Norton/Symantec scored only 90 percent. The testing was conducted using 30 “zero day” malware samples on Windows XP (SP3). In addition, further false positive tests using well-known clean software were conducted (focusing on the download, installation, use and online update of the clean applications), but no false positives were generated during the testing.

The recent study was conducted in compliance with a Symantec executive's statement in the press to Comodo encouraging Comodo to submit its software to this independent testing lab to determine which is better.

Additionally, Comodo has joined AV-Test's comprehensive “Product Review and Certification” program and submitted its free security solution for more exhaustive testing in the areas of protection, repair and usability. The results of the 4th quarter testing, which will run continuously over a three-month period, will be available by the end of January, 2011.

With more than 15 years of experience in the area of anti-virus research and data security, AV-Test is a highly respected software testing facility in the industry. Every year they perform more than 2,500 product tests of anti-virus, anti-spyware, personal firewalls and related products on behalf of vendors, integrators (OEM), corporate users and magazines.

The study was conducted using Comodo® Internet Security Premium Free 5.0.162636.1135 and Norton™ Internet Security 2011 (18.1.0.37).

To find out more and download Comodo Internet Security for free, visit
http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/free-internet-security.php

The AV-Test GmbH was founded by Andreas Marx, Oliver Marx and Guido Habicht in Magdeburg in 2004 and has constantly grown since then. Their team consisting of 17 employees has more than 15 years of experience in the area of anti-virus research and data security. Up to date with the latest proficiency and development within the IT-security branch, AV-Test is one of the worldwide leading providers of test scenarios analyzing effectiveness, behavior and speed of IT-security solutions.

National and international magazines as well as all renowned vendors of security software are counted among their business partners. Due to the modern equipment of their test laboratories, including more than 200 client and server systems, AV-Test is able to run complex tests and test scenarios of single products, technical components or do comparing analyses fast and professionally. Currently they have access to 300 Terabytes of testing data (this includes several million malware samples and clean files).