Triple E Key Awards

Changes to the scoring system are in progress so this page will be changing. It's still worth reading though.

The Triple E Key Awards are very simple.

The top three Internet security suites win the Platinum, Gold, and Silver key awards based on the three "E" word criteria: Effective, Easy, and Efficient.

For Effective, the suites are rated according to the testing labs results. I will have no opinion in this category; I'll just let the results speak for themselves. Unfortunately, the three labs don't test the same set of products. Also, there are various tests to choose from so I chose certain tests for these initial rankings. I'll try to add new information as it becomes available.

Some tests were actually done to a standalone product that is also a component of the suite (such as anti-virus). I don't think that's a huge issue so I treated them as equals. For products that are tested by all three labs, I'll give a score based on the tests I've chosen. For the rest, I'll just report the results of the labs that did test them and you can decide for yourself.

To get one of the Triple E Key awards or an overall score, a suite had to be tested by all three labs. Otherwise, I just report the lab awards they did get and let you interpret.

The Details

For the "Effective" category, I'll use a point system based on the labs' results. Blocking new malware is weighted more heavily than detecting existing malware for AV-Test and AV-Comparatives tests. False positives will either hurt or help the score as well although it's built into AV-Comparative points and given to AV-Test results separately. Here's how it's broken down:

• AV-Test Detection Rate: number of points = percent * 100 * 0.8 weighting factor
• AV-Test Blocking Rate: number of points = percent * 100 * 1.0 weighting factor
• AV-Test False Positives = 0 points for "many", 5 points for "few", 10 points for "almost none" and 20 points for "none"
• AV-Comparatives Detection Rate = 100 points for "Advanced Plus", 90 points for "Advanced", and 80 points for "Standard" * 0.8 weighting factor
• AV-Comparatives Blocking Rate = 100 points for "Advanced Plus", 90 points for "Advanced", and 80 points for "Standard" * 1.0 weighting factor
• Virus Bulletin = 25 points for a "pass" and 0 points for a "fail" on each operating system

The specific lab tests used were:

• AV-Test: Comprehensive "Real World" Zero-Day Malware Blocking Test published Dec 17, 2009
• AV-Comparatives: Retrospective/Proactive Test November 2009
• AV-Comparatives: On-demand Comparative August 2009
• Virus Bulletin: Windows Vista--Aug 2009 and Windows 7--Dec 2009

For the Easy and Efficient categories of the Triple E Key Awards, I'll give my opinions and a few tips. Then I'll assign a letter grade for these sections based purely on my opinion. Then, you can use the points from the Effective category for a starting point and consider the commentary on the other areas to help you decide which product is right for you.

The Wrap Up

The test system used in these reviews was:

• AMD Turion X2 at 1.8GHz
• 768 MB Ram
• 16 MB Video Ram
• Windows XP Pro SP2

Taking all this into account, here's a simple breakdown of how the Triple E Key Awards rate the suites:

Effective means:

• Stops and removes malware:
  
  
  1. while browsing
  2. while downloading
  3. in email
  4. in Instant Messaging
• Stops hackers (via the firewall and other features)

Easy means:

• Easy to install/remove
• Easy to set up and use
• Easy to get help (chat, phone, FAQ, help, etc)

Efficient means:

• Does not slow your computer to the point that it interferes with other computing tasks
• Is a good value (cost efficient)

So, each review is a combination of reasonably objective rating via the labs' results and my subjective thoughts on other features and performance. Though I've given awards this way, it's really up to your taste when it comes to choosing a product. I believe any of the high scoring suites would be a good choice. Take it for what it's worth to you.