Windows 7: MSE vs. Kaspersky, Panda, Avira, Symantec.....

Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0, the Redmond-based company’s free basic offering for customers running genuine Windows platforms is one of the best security solutions available on the market, according to tests performed by AV-Comparatives. The tests, which are designed to assess the proactive detection capabilities of a range of antivirus products, reveal that Microsoft Security Essentials manages to outperform many of its rivals, including paid products.

AV-Comparatives froze the product’s updates on February 10, 2010 and evaluated the antivirus with malware samples, which appeared between February 11 and 18. The purpose of the assessment was to see how various security solutions would manage to fight malicious code that they didn’t have viral signatures for. AV-Comparatives underlines that only the on-demand detection capabilities of the various AV products were tested.

Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0, formerly codenamed Morro, succeeded in detecting no less than 59% of the malware samples thrown at it. Only three security solutions did better, TrustPort Antivirus 2010 with a 63% detection rate, Panda Antivirus Pro 2010 also with 63%, and G DATA AntiVirus 2010 with 61%. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 detected 59% of the new samples of malicious code, just like MSE.