How we test and rate security solutions
This page explains how we reach the recommendations on this site: the criteria we use, where our data comes from, how we make money, and what we do not do. It is the yardstick you can use to judge what you read here.
The criteria that matter
Every solution is judged on five concrete aspects, in the same order of importance for all products.
- ✓Detection: how well the product catches known and unknown threats, according to published results from independent labs.
- ✓System impact: how much it slows down boot, file copying, browsing and gaming.
- ✓Features actually included in the plan: ransomware protection, protected payments, VPN, password manager, parental controls, breach monitoring.
- ✓Price against protection: not the lowest price, but how much coverage you get for what you pay, comparing first year and renewal.
- ✓Clarity and support: understandable terms, transparent renewal, someone to talk to when you need it.
Where our data comes from
For detection performance we rely on the public tests of independent industry labs such as AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives, and on vendors' official documentation for features, plans and terms. We do not print prices on the page: they change too often, so the buttons always take you to the vendor's official page, where you see the figure valid at that moment.
The quiz: how the result is calculated
The quiz scores each product from four answers: number of devices, operating system, budget and type of use. Each answer weighs differently on each product, following the criteria above. The winner is the highest score for your profile, not the highest payout: the scores are fixed and are not adjusted by affiliate programmes.
How this site makes money
Antivirus Scout is free for its readers and is funded by affiliate commissions: if you buy after clicking one of our links, we receive a percentage from the vendor, at no extra cost to you. Commissions decide neither the ranking nor the quiz result, and we always state the weaknesses of every product, including the ones that pay us most.
What we do not do
- ✓We do not invent reviews, scores or user testimonials.
- ✓We do not publish test results that cannot be verified in public sources.
- ✓We do not recommend products we would not install on our own computers.
- ✓We do not hide affiliate links: they are disclosed on our transparency page.
Updates and corrections
We revise guides and comparisons when products, plans or terms change, and we correct what turns out to be wrong. If you find a mistake or outdated information, write to us: reports are read and, when justified, the page is corrected.
Who is behind this
Antivirus Scout is an independent editorial project, run by the Antivirus Scout editorial team and published by Nightwave Studio, which also develops free Windows software such as PC Nuovo. We are not resellers and we have no agreements that tie our content to any vendor.