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2013 Consumer Security Products Performance Benchmarks (Edition 4)
M. Baquiran, D. Wren
PassMark Software
26 April 2013
4
totalprotectionsuites-may2013.docx
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................................................... 2
REVISION HISTORY............................................................................................................................................ 4
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................................... 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... 5
OVERALL SCORE ................................................................................................................................................ 6
PRODUCTS AND VERSIONS ............................................................................................................................... 9
INTERNET SECURITY SOFTWARE .................................................................................................................................. 9
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE ............................................................................................................................................ 10
TOTAL SECURITY SOFTWARE .................................................................................................................................... 10
PERFORMANCE METRICS SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 11
INTERNET SECURITY SOFTWARE (HDD) – TEST RESULTS ................................................................................. 14
BENCHMARK 1 – BOOT TIME ................................................................................................................................... 14
BENCHMARK 2 – SCAN TIME ................................................................................................................................... 15
BENCHMARK 3 – USER INTERFACE LAUNCH TIME ........................................................................................................ 16
BENCHMARK 4 – MEMORY USAGE DURING SYSTEM IDLE .............................................................................................. 17
BENCHMARK 5 – BROWSE TIME ............................................................................................................................... 18
BENCHMARK 6 – INTERNET EXPLORER LAUNCH TIME ................................................................................................... 19
BENCHMARK 7 – INSTALLATION TIME ........................................................................................................................ 20
BENCHMARK 8 – INSTALLATION SIZE ......................................................................................................................... 21
BENCHMARK 9 – REGISTRY KEYS ADDED .................................................................................................................... 22
BENCHMARK 10 – FILE COPY, MOVE AND DELETE ....................................................................................................... 23
BENCHMARK 11 – INSTALLATION OF THIRD PARTY APPLICATIONS ................................................................................... 24
BENCHMARK 12 – NETWORK THROUGHPUT ............................................................................................................... 25
BENCHMARK 13 – FILE FORMAT CONVERSION ............................................................................................................ 26
BENCHMARK 14 – FILE COMPRESSION AND DECOMPRESSION ........................................................................................ 27
BENCHMARK 15 – FILE WRITE, OPEN AND CLOSE ........................................................................................................ 28
BENCHMARK 16 – PE SCAN TIME ............................................................................................................................. 29
BENCHMARK 17 – FILE COPY DISK TO DISK ................................................................................................................ 30
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE (HDD) – TEST RESULTS ................................................................................................ 31
BENCHMARK 1 – BOOT TIME ................................................................................................................................... 31
BENCHMARK 2 – SCAN TIME ................................................................................................................................... 32
BENCHMARK 3 – USER INTERFACE LAUNCH TIME ........................................................................................................ 33
BENCHMARK 4 – MEMORY USAGE DURING SYSTEM IDLE .............................................................................................. 34
BENCHMARK 5 – BROWSE TIME ............................................................................................................................... 35
BENCHMARK 6 – INTERNET EXPLORER LAUNCH TIME ................................................................................................... 36
BENCHMARK 7 – INSTALLATION TIME ........................................................................................................................ 37
BENCHMARK 8 – INSTALLATION SIZE ......................................................................................................................... 38
BENCHMARK 9 – REGISTRY KEYS ADDED .................................................................................................................... 39
BENCHMARK 10 – FILE COPY, MOVE AND DELETE ....................................................................................................... 40
BENCHMARK 11 – INSTALLATION OF THIRD PARTY APPLICATIONS ................................................................................... 41
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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PassMark Software
BENCHMARK 12 – NETWORK THROUGHPUT ............................................................................................................... 42
BENCHMARK 13 – FILE FORMAT CONVERSION ............................................................................................................ 43
BENCHMARK 14 – FILE COMPRESSION AND DECOMPRESSION ........................................................................................ 44
BENCHMARK 15 – FILE WRITE, OPEN AND CLOSE ........................................................................................................ 45
BENCHMARK 16 – PE SCAN TIME ............................................................................................................................. 46
BENCHMARK 17 – FILE COPY DISK TO DISK ................................................................................................................ 47
TOTAL SECURITY SOFTWARE (HDD) – TEST RESULTS ....................................................................................... 48
BENCHMARK 1 – BOOT TIME ................................................................................................................................... 48
BENCHMARK 2 – SCAN TIME ................................................................................................................................... 48
BENCHMARK 3 – USER INTERFACE LAUNCH TIME ........................................................................................................ 49
BENCHMARK 4 – MEMORY USAGE DURING SYSTEM IDLE .............................................................................................. 49
BENCHMARK 5 – BROWSE TIME ............................................................................................................................... 50
BENCHMARK 6 – INTERNET EXPLORER LAUNCH TIME ................................................................................................... 50
BENCHMARK 7 – INSTALLATION TIME ........................................................................................................................ 51
BENCHMARK 8 – INSTALLATION SIZE ......................................................................................................................... 51
BENCHMARK 9 – REGISTRY KEYS ADDED .................................................................................................................... 52
BENCHMARK 10 – FILE COPY, MOVE AND DELETE ....................................................................................................... 52
BENCHMARK 11 – INSTALLATION OF THIRD PARTY APPLICATIONS ................................................................................... 53
BENCHMARK 12 – NETWORK THROUGHPUT ............................................................................................................... 53
BENCHMARK 13 – FILE FORMAT CONVERSION ............................................................................................................ 54
BENCHMARK 14 – FILE COMPRESSION AND DECOMPRESSION ........................................................................................ 54
BENCHMARK 15 – FILE WRITE, OPEN AND CLOSE ........................................................................................................ 55
BENCHMARK 16 – PE SCAN TIME ............................................................................................................................. 55
BENCHMARK 17 – FILE COPY DISK TO DISK ................................................................................................................ 56
INTERNET SECURITY SOFTWARE (SSD) – TEST RESULTS ................................................................................... 57
BENCHMARK 1 – BOOT TIME ................................................................................................................................... 57
BENCHMARK 2 – SCAN TIME ................................................................................................................................... 57
BENCHMARK 10 – FILE COPY, MOVE AND DELETE ....................................................................................................... 58
BENCHMARK 17 – FILE COPY DISK TO DISK ................................................................................................................ 58
DISCLAIMER AND DISCLOSURE ....................................................................................................................... 59
CONTACT DETAILS .......................................................................................................................................... 59
APPENDIX 1 – TEST ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................................ 60
APPENDIX 2 – METHODOLOGY DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................. 61
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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Rev
Revision History
Date
Edition 1
Initial version of this report.
Edition 2
Added newly tested products.
2 November 2012
Edition 3
Added newly tested products.
15 January 2013
Edition 4
Added newly tested products.
24 April 2013
Ref #
1
Document
What Really Slows Windows Down (URL)
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
31 August 2012
Author
O. Warner,
The PC Spy
Date
2001-2009
Page 4 of 70
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PassMark Software® conducted objective performance testing on fourteen (14) Internet Security software
products, sixteen (16) Antivirus software products, and five (5) Total Security software products on Windows 7
Ultimate Edition (64-bit) SP1 between July 2012 and February 2013. This report presents our results and findings
as a result of performance benchmark testing conducted for these consumer security products.
Subsequent editions of this report will include new products released for 2013 as they are made available. For
more details on which versions were tested, please see the section “Products and Versions”.
Note that throughout this report, categories marked with “(HDD)” and “(SSD)” were tested with a Hard Disk
Drive and a Solid State Drive used as the main boot drive respectively.
Testing was performed on all products using seventeen (17) performance metrics. These performance metrics
are as follows:
 Boot Time;
 Scan Time;
 User Interface Launch Time;
 Memory Usage during System Idle;
 Browse Time;
 Internet Explorer Launch Time;
 Installation Time;
 Installation Size;
 Registry Keys Added;
 File Copy, Move and Delete;
 Installation of Third Party Applications;
 Network Throughput (previously named “Binary Download Test”)
 File Format Conversion;
 File Compression and Decompression;
 File Write, Open and Close;
 PE Scan Time and; and
 File Copy Disk to Disk.
Testing in the SSD configuration was performed on five (5) Internet Security products using four (4) of the above
metrics. These performance metrics are as follows:
 Boot Time;
 Scan Time;
 File Copy, Move and Delete; and
 File Copy Disk to Disk.
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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PassMark Software assigned every product a score depending on its ranking in each metric compared to other
products in the same category.
In the following table the highest possible score attainable is 238; in a hypothetical situation where a product has
attained first place all 17 metrics. Internet Security products have been ranked by their overall scores:
Product Name
Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security 2013
215
Norton Internet Security 2013
168
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
161
SourceNext Virus Security
157
AVG Internet Security 2013
146
Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2013
124
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
120
ESET Smart Security 6
108
Avast! Internet Security 7
107
G Data InternetSecurity 2013
102
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
Panda Internet Security 2013
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Overall Score
101
100
BitDefender Internet Security 2013
92
McAfee Internet Security 2013
83
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In the following table the highest possible score attainable is 272; in a hypothetical situation where a product has
attained first place in all 17 metrics. Antivirus products have been ranked by their overall scores:
Product Name
Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus 2013
241
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
179
Norton AntiVirus 2013
165
AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013
158
Microsoft Security Essentials
155
avast! Pro Antivirus 7
145
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
143
Panda Antivirus Pro 2013
142
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE
141
Quick Heal Pro Antivirus 2013
135
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
135
G Data AntiVirus 2013
132
Trend Micro Titanium 2013
116
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 6
114
Avast! Free Antivirus 7
112
McAfee Antivirus Plus 2013
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Overall Score
96
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In the following table the highest possible score attainable is 85; in a hypothetical situation where a product has
attained first place in all 17 metrics. Total Security products have been ranked by their overall scores:
Product Name
Overall Score
Norton 360
68
Kaspersky PURE 2.0
57
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
48
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
43
McAfee Total Protection 2013
39
In the following table the highest possible score attainable is 20; in a hypothetical situation where a product has
attained first place in all 5 (SSD) metrics. Internet Security products have been ranked by their overall scores:
Product Name
Norton Internet Security 2013
16
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
15
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
12
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
11
McAfee Internet Security 2013
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Overall Score
6
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Unless otherwise specified, we have tested the full, retail release of the newest generation (2013 versions) of
security products. The names and versions of products which were tested can be found below from each
category table:
Release
Year
Product Version
Date Tested
Norton Internet Security 2013
2012
20.2.0.19
Dec 2012
G Data InternetSecurity 2013
2012
23.0.0.19
Jul 2012
Avast! Internet Security 7
2012
7.0.1456
Aug 2012
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
2012
16.16.0.1349
Aug 2012
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
2012
13.0.1.4190
Aug 2012
Panda Internet Security 2013
2012
18.00.01
Sep 2012
McAfee Internet Security 2013
2012
12.0.637
Sep 2012
AVG Internet Security 2013
2012
2013.0.2677
Sep 2012
Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security
2013
2012
6.0.1215
Oct 2012
Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet
Security 2013
2012
8.0.2.27
Oct 2012
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
2012
12.71 Build 102
Dec 2012
ESET, spol. s r.o.
ESET Smart Security 6
2012
6.0.308.0
Feb 2013
Trend Micro Inc.
Trend Micro Virus Buster Cloud
2012
6.0.1215
Feb 2013
SourceNext Virus Security Zero 2013
2012
12.2.0186
Feb 2013
Manufacturer
Symantec Corporation
G Data Software AG
Avast Software a.s.
SOFTWIN
Kaspersky Lab
Panda Security SL
McAfee, Inc.
AVG Technologies
Trend Micro Inc.
Webroot Inc.
F-Secure Corporation
SourceNext
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Product Name
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Manufacturer
Product Name
PassMark Software
Release Year
Product Version
Date Tested
Symantec Corporation
Norton AntiVirus 2013
2012
20.2.0.19
Dec 2012
G Data Software AG
G Data Antivirus 2013
2012
22.0.2.25
Aug 2012
Avast Software a.s.
avast! Pro Antivirus 7
2012
7.0.1456
Aug 2012
Microsoft Security Essentials
2012
4.0.1526.0
Aug 2012
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
2012
13.0.1.4190
Aug 2012
McAfee Antivirus Plus
2012
12.0.637
Oct 2012
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
2012
2013.0.2677
Oct 2012
Panda Antivirus Pro 2013
2012
12.0.0.1
Oct 2012
Trend Micro Titanium 2013
2012
6.0.1215
Oct 2012
Quick Heal Pro Antivirus 2013
2012
14.00.7.0.0.1
Oct 2012
avast! Free Antivirus 7
2012
7.0.1473
Oct 2012
Panda Security SL
Panda Clout Antivirus FREE 2013
2012
2.0.1
Oct 2012
Avira Operations
GmbH & Co. KG
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
2012
13.0.0.2832
Nov 2012
Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus
2013
2012
8.0.2.27
Oct 2012
ESET NOD32 Antivirus
2012
6.0.308.0
Feb 2013
AVG Free 2013
2012
2013.0.2793
Nov 2012
Release Year
Product Version
Date Tested
Norton 360
2012
20.2.0.19
Dec 2012
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
2012
6.0.1215
Oct 2012
Kaspersky PURE 2.0
2012
12.0.1.288
Aug 2012
BitDefender
BitDefender Total Security 2013
2012
16.16.0.1348
Aug 2012
McAfee, Inc
McAfee Total Protection 2013
2012
16.1.140
Dec 2012
Microsoft Corporation
Kaspersky Lab
McAfee, Inc.
Panda Security SL
Trend Micro Inc.
Quick Heal
Avast Software a.s.
Webroot Inc.
ESET, spol. s r.o.
AVG Technologies
Manufacturer
Symantec Corporation
Trend Micro Inc.
Kaspersky Lab
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Product Name
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We have selected a set of objective metrics which provide a comprehensive and realistic indication of the areas
in which an antivirus may impact system performance for end users. Our metrics test the impact of the antivirus
software on common tasks that end-users would perform on a daily basis.
All of PassMark Software’s test methods can be replicated by third parties using the same environment to obtain
similar benchmark results. Detailed descriptions of the methodologies used in our tests are available as
“Appendix 2 – Methodology Description” of this report.
This metric measures the amount of time taken for the machine to boot into the operating system. Security
software is generally launched at Windows startup, adding an additional amount of time and delaying the
startup of the operating system. Shorter boot times indicate that the application has had less impact on the
normal operation of the machine.
All antivirus solutions have functionality designed to detect viruses and various other forms of malware by
scanning files on the system. This metric measured the amount of time required to scan a set of clean files. Our
sample file set comprised a total file size of 982 MB and was made up of files that would typically be found on
end-user machines, such as media files, system files and Microsoft Office documents.
This metric provides an objective indication as to how responsive a security product appears to the user, by
measuring the amount of time it takes for the user interface of the antivirus software to launch from Windows.
To allow for caching effects by the operating system, both the initial launch time and the subsequent launch
times were measured. Our final result is an average of these two measurements.
This metric measures the amount of memory (RAM) used by the product while the machine and antivirus
software are in an idle state. The total memory usage was calculated by identifying all antivirus software
processes and the amount of memory used by each process.
The amount of memory used while the machine is idle provides a good indication of the amount of system
resources being consumed by the antivirus software on a permanent basis. Better performing products occupy
less memory while the machine is idle.
It is common behavior for security products to scan data for malware as it is downloaded from the internet or
intranet. This behavior may negatively impact browsing speed as products scan web content for malware. This
metric measures the time taken to browse a set of popular internet sites to consecutively load from a local
server in a user’s browser window.
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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This metric is one of many methods to objectively measure how much a security product impacts on the
responsiveness of the system. This metric measures the amount of time it takes to launch the user interface of
Internet Explorer 8. To allow for caching effects by the operating system, both the initial launch time and the
subsequent launch times were measured. Our final result is an average of these two measurements.
The speed and ease of the installation process will strongly influence the user’s first impression of the antivirus
software. This test measures the minimum installation time required by the antivirus software to be fully
functional and ready for use by the end user. Lower installation times represent antivirus products which are
quicker for a user to install.
In offering new features and functionality to users, antivirus software products tend to increase in size with each
new release. Although new technologies push the size limits of hard drives each year, the growing disk space
requirements of common applications and the increasing popularity of large media files (such as movies, photos
and music) ensure that a product's installation size will remain of interest to home users.
This metric aims to measure a product’s total installation size. This metric is defined as the total disk space
consumed by all new files added during a product's installation.
A large registry increases a machine’s use of resources. This may negatively impact system performance,
especially on much older machines. This test measures the amount of keys and values added to registry, after
rebooting the test machines, following a successful product installation. Lower numbers mean that a product has
added fewer keys during installation and had less impact on the registry.
This metric measures the amount of time taken to move, copy and delete a sample set of files. The sample file
set contains several types of file formats that a Windows user would encounter in daily use. These formats
include documents (e.g. Microsoft Office documents, Adobe PDF, Zip files, etc), media formats (e.g. images,
movies and music) and system files (e.g. executables, libraries, etc).
This metric measures the amount of time taken to install and uninstall third party programs. The installation
speed of third party applications may be impacted by antivirus behavior such as heuristics or real time malware
scanning.
The metric measures the amount of time taken to download a variety of files from a local server using the
HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is the main protocol used on the web for browsing, linking and data
transfer. Files used in this test include file formats that users would typically download from the web, such as
images, archives, music files and movie files.
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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This test measures the amount of time taken to convert an MP3 file to a WAV and subsequently, convert the
same MP3 file to a WMA format.
This metric measures the amount of time taken to compress and decompress different types of files. Files
formats used in this test included documents, movies and images.
This benchmark was derived from Oli Warner’s File I/O test at http://www.thepcspy.com (please see Reference
#1: What Really Slows Windows Down). This metric measures the amount of time taken to write a file, then
open and close that file.
All antivirus solutions have functionality designed to detect viruses and various other forms of malware by
scanning files on the system. This metric measured the amount of time required to scan a set of PE (Portable
Executable) files. Our sample file set comprised a total file size of 2.03GB and consisted of .exe (329MB), .dll
(920MB) and .sys files (827MB).
This test measures the amount of time taken to copy files between two local drives. The data set comprised a
total file size of 5.44GB, and the formats used included documents, movies, images and executables.
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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In the following charts, we have highlighted the results we obtained for Norton Internet Security in yellow. The
average has also been highlighted in blue for ease of comparison.
The following chart compares the average time taken for the system to boot (from a sample of five boots) for
each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower boot times are considered better performing
products in this category.
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
29.5
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
29.8
Webroot Internet Security 2013
31.5
McAfee Internet Security 2013
32.1
Norton Internet Security 2013
33.4
ESET Smart Security 6
33.8
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
34.1
Avast! Internet Security 7
34.7
Average
36.5
Panda Internet Security 2013
39.2
SourceNext Virus Security
39.7
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
41.5
G Data Internet Security 2013
43.4
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
43.4
AVG Internet Security 2013
45.1
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
5s
10 s
15 s
20 s
25 s
30 s
35 s
40 s
45 s
50 s
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The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6159 files (totaling 982 MB) for each
Internet Security product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and subsequent (Runs 25) scan times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in this category.
Norton Internet Security 2013
20.6
Webroot Internet Security 2013
21.4
G Data Internet Security 2013
22.5
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
30.5
McAfee Internet Security 2013
34.9
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
35.4
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
40.1
Average
42.8
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
43.3
ESET Smart Security 6
47.3
AVG Internet Security 2013
49.4
SourceNext Virus Security
58.0
Avast! IS 7
58.8
Panda Internet Security 2013
60.1
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
77.0
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
70 s
80 s
90 s
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The following chart compares the average time taken to launch a product’s user interface. Products with lower
launch times are considered better performing products in this category.
SourceNext Virus Security
120
Webroot Internet Security 2013
125
Norton Internet Security 2013
128
AVG Internet Security 2013
208
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
Avast! Internet Security 7
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
259
300
345
415
G Data Internet Security 2013
483
ESET Smart Security 6
487
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
Average
508
538
McAfee Internet Security 2013
799
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
896
Panda Internet Security 2013
0 ms
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
2455
500 ms
1,000 ms
1,500 ms
2,000 ms
2,500 ms
3,000 ms
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The following chart compares the average amount of RAM in use by an Internet Security product during a period
of system idle. This average is taken from a sample of ten memory snapshots taken at roughly 60 seconds apart
after reboot. Products with lower idle RAM usage are considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
3.4
Panda Internet Security 2013
15.5
Norton Internet Security 2013
15.5
Avast! Internet Security 7
16.4
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
37.3
SourceNext Virus Security
39.6
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
49.3
Average
58.6
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
80.1
G Data Internet Security 2013
82.5
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
85.3
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
90.4
AVG Internet Security 2013
90.4
McAfee Internet Security 2013
98.2
ESET Smart Security 6
0 MB
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
116.5
20 MB
40 MB
60 MB
80 MB
100 MB
120 MB
140 MB
Page 17 of 70
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The following chart compares the average time taken for Internet Explorer to successively load a set of popular
websites through the local area network from a local server machine. Products with lower browse times are
considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
37.1
SourceNext Virus Security
41.2
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
41.7
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
43.2
ESET Smart Security 6
43.3
Norton Internet Security 2013
44.0
Avast! Internet Security 7
44.8
Panda Internet Security 2013
49.6
Average
49.7
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
51.4
G Data Internet Security 2013
55.4
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
55.8
AVG Internet Security 2013
55.9
McAfee Internet Security 2013
59.1
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
73.0
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
70 s
80 s
Page 18 of 70
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The following chart compares the average launch times of Internet Explorer after rebooting the machine for
each Internet Security product we tested. Products with lower launch times are considered better performing
products in this category.
SourceNext Virus Security
994
AVG Internet Security 2013
1037
G Data Internet Security 2013
1527
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
1592
ESET Smart Security 6
1862
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
1932
Norton Internet Security 2013
1950
Average
2148
Webroot Internet Security 2013
2237
McAfee Internet Security 2013
2275
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
2319
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
2402
Avast! Internet Security 7
2547
Panda Internet Security 2013
3196
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
0 ms
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
4202
500 ms
1,000 ms 1,500 ms 2,000 ms 2,500 ms 3,000 ms 3,500 ms 4,000 ms 4,500 ms
Page 19 of 70
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The following chart compares the minimum installation time it takes for Internet Security products to be fully
functional and ready for use by the end user. Products with lower installation times are considered better
performing products in this category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
5.5
Norton Internet Security 2013
64.6
SourceNext Virus Security
66.4
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
150.6
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
158.1
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
201.0
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
201.0
Average
261.8
AVG Internet Security 2013
271.3
G Data Internet Security 2013
301.2
ESET Smart Security 6
347.6
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
364.2
Panda Internet Security 2013
377.6
Avast! Internet Security 7
463.6
McAfee Internet Security 2013
693.1
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
100 s
200 s
300 s
400 s
500 s
600 s
700 s
800 s
Page 20 of 70
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The following chart compares the total size of files added during the installation of Internet Security products.
Products with lower installation sizes are considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
64.4
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
Panda Internet Security 2013
240.5
325.7
McAfee Internet Security 2013
376.3
ESET Smart Security 6
383.0
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
388.0
SourceNext Virus Security
454.0
AVG Internet Security 2013
481.2
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
489.5
Average
492.6
Norton Internet Security 2013
529.2
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
596.4
G Data Internet Security 2013
726.4
Avast! Internet Security 7
745.7
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
0 MB
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
1095.7
200 MB
400 MB
600 MB
800 MB
1,000 MB
1,200 MB
Page 21 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the amount of Registry Keys created during product installation for each Internet
Security product tested. Products with lower key counts are considered better performing products in this
category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
825
SourceNext Virus Security
3600
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
4533
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
4693
Norton Internet Security 2013
4834
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
4945
Avast! Internet Security 7
5357
AVG Internet Security 2013
5402
ESET Smart Security 6
6422
Average
6686
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
6695
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
6945
Panda Internet Security 2013
7560
G Data Internet Security 2013
9166
McAfee Internet Security 2013
22632
0
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
Page 22 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to copy, move and delete several sets of sample files for
each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in
this category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
23.8
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
24.9
Norton Internet Security 2013
25.7
SourceNext Virus Security
26.0
Avast! Internet Security 7
26.3
G Data Internet Security 2013
26.8
AVG Internet Security 2013
28.0
Panda Internet Security 2013
28.6
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
28.7
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
30.0
ESET Smart Security 6
30.4
Average
30.6
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
32.2
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
45.9
McAfee Internet Security 2013
51.7
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
Page 23 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to install 3 different third party applications for each
Internet Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this
category.
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
95.9
SourceNext Virus Security
97.0
Webroot Internet Security 2013
98.5
Panda Internet Security 2013
101.8
AVG Internet Security 2013
104.8
ESET Smart Security 6
108.5
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
109.1
Norton Internet Security 2013
110.1
Avast! Internet Security 7
110.9
Average
114.2
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
120.0
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
121.6
McAfee Internet Security 2013
130.7
G Data Internet Security 2013
141.0
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
149.4
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
140 s
160 s
Page 24 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time to download a sample set of common file types for each Internet
Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
SourceNext Virus Security
10.3
Webroot Internet Security 2013
10.3
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
11.8
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
11.8
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
12.2
Avast! Internet Security 7
12.8
Norton Internet Security 2013
13.8
AVG Internet Security 2013
15.0
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
16.7
McAfee Internet Security 2013
19.7
ESET Smart Security 6
21.6
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
23.8
Average
33.0
G Data Internet Security 2013
79.2
Panda Internet Security 2013
202.2
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
Page 25 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time it takes for five sample files to be converted from one file format
to another (MP3  WMA, MP3  WAV) for each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower times are
considered better performing products in this category.
AVG Internet Security 2013
75.6
SourceNext Virus Security
75.9
ESET Smart Security 6
75.9
Webroot Internet Security 2013
76.0
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
76.1
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
76.2
Norton Internet Security 2013
76.3
McAfee Internet Security 2013
76.4
G Data Internet Security 2013
76.5
Average
76.5
Panda Internet Security 2013
76.8
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
77.1
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
77.4
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
77.4
Avast! Internet Security 7
78.0
74 s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
75 s
75 s
76 s
76 s
77 s
77 s
78 s
78 s
79 s
Page 26 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time it takes for sample files to be compressed and decompressed for
each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in
this category.
AVG Internet Security 2013
79.8
Webroot Internet Security 2013
80.3
Norton Internet Security 2013
80.9
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
82.2
Panda Internet Security 2013
84.2
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
84.4
Avast! Internet Security 7
84.6
SourceNext Virus Security
85.8
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
85.9
G Data Internet Security 2013
86.1
Average
86.7
ESET Smart Security 6
87.3
McAfee Internet Security 2013
94.9
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
98.3
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
99.8
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
Page 27 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time it takes for a file to be written to the hard drive then opened and
closed 180,000 times, for each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better
performing products in this category.
Webroot Internet Security 2013
15.3
AVG Internet Security 2013
16.4
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
18.1
Panda Internet Security 2013
25.7
Norton Internet Security 2013
28.9
Avast! Internet Security 7
40.6
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
63.1
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
71.1
McAfee Internet Security 2013
74.5
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
101.1
ESET Smart Security 6
125.1
Average
222.8
G Data Internet Security 2013
405.3
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
1027.9
SourceNext Virus Security
1105.7
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
200 s
400 s
600 s
800 s
1,000 s
1,200 s
Page 28 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6351 portable executable files (totaling
2076 MB) for each Internet Security product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and
subsequent (Runs 2-5) scan times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in
this category.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
35.6
G Data Internet Security 2013
68.0
Webroot Internet Security 2013
76.5
AVG Internet Security 2013
78.0
McAfee Internet Security 2013
80.2
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
89.3
Norton Internet Security 2013
92.5
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
96.5
ESET Smart Security 6
108.8
Average
110.9
Avast! Internet Security 7
114.4
SourceNext Virus Security
115.4
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
191.9
Panda Internet Security 2013
198.0
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
207.9
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
Page 29 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to copy a total of 8,501 files, with a total file size of 5.44GB
files, from one local drive to another local drive for each Internet Security product tested. The test was
performed 5 times, and the average of all 5 runs was taken as the result. Products with lower times are
considered better performing products in this category.
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
109.8
F-Secure Internet Security 2013
114.9
AVG Internet Security 2013
116.4
Webroot Internet Security 2013
118.2
Norton Internet Security 2013
122.2
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013
122.7
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
124.6
G Data Internet Security 2013
125.4
Avast! Internet Security 7
125.8
Trend Micro Virus Buster 2013
131.8
Average
136.2
Panda Internet Security 2013
143.6
ESET Smart Security 6
147.8
SourceNext Virus Security
149.8
McAfee Internet Security 2013
254.1
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
300 s
Page 30 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
In the following charts, we have highlighted the results we obtained for Norton AntiVirus in yellow. The average
has also been highlighted in blue for ease of comparison.
The following chart compares the average time taken for the system to boot (from a sample of five boots) for
each Antivirus product tested. Products with lower boot times are considered better performing products in this
category.
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
28.1
ESET Antivirus 6
29.4
avast! Antivirus 2013
30.8
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
31.5
Norton AntiVirus 2013
33.4
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
33.5
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
33.9
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
34.2
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
34.6
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
34.7
avast! Free Antivirus 7
35.1
Average
35.4
Panda Antivirus 2013
36.9
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
39.5
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
41.4
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
42.2
G Data AntiVirus 2013
47.8
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
Page 31 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6159 files (totaling 982 MB) for each
Antivirus product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and subsequent (Runs 2-5) scan
times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in this category.
G Data AntiVirus 2013
21.0
Norton AntiVirus 2013
21.6
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
22.8
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
28.5
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
29.5
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
37.3
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
44.4
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
44.5
Average
46.3
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
49.0
Panda Antivirus 2013
54.8
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
56.8
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
57.4
avast! Antivirus 2013
60.0
avast! Free Antivirus 7
62.9
ESET Antivirus 6
71.8
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
79.0
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
70 s
80 s
90 s
Page 32 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to launch a product’s user interface. Products with lower
launch times are considered better performing products in this category.
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
61
ESET Antivirus 6
92
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
126
Norton AntiVirus 2013
201
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
225
avast! Free Antivirus 7
250
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
avast! Antivirus 2013
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
Average
303
326
438
487
612
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
678
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
699
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
784
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
853
G Data AntiVirus 2013
1126
Panda Antivirus 2013
0 ms
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
3137
500 ms
1,000 ms
1,500 ms
2,000 ms
2,500 ms
3,000 ms
3,500 ms
Page 33 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average amount of RAM in use by an Antivirus product during a period of
system idle. This average is taken from a sample of ten memory snapshots taken at roughly 60 seconds apart
after reboot. Products with lower idle RAM usage are considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
3.2
avast! Free Antivirus 7
11.0
avast! Antivirus 2013
13.1
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
Panda Antivirus 2013
G Data AntiVirus 2013
35.3
38.1
46.0
55.2
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
58.7
Norton AntiVirus 2013
59.1
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
Average
62.3
66.7
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
76.4
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
77.0
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
83.1
ESET Antivirus 6
107.4
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
123.7
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
0 MB
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
217.5
50 MB
100 MB
150 MB
200 MB
250 MB
Page 34 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken for Internet Explorer to successively load a set of popular
websites through the local area network from a local server machine. Products with lower browse times are
considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
34.2
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
35.9
Panda Antivirus 2013
36.1
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
36.4
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
38.1
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
41.5
ESET Antivirus 6
41.9
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
43.3
avast! Antivirus 2013
44.4
Norton AntiVirus 2013
45.4
avast! Free Antivirus 7
48.6
G Data AntiVirus 2013
52.2
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
56.7
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
58.1
Average
59.7
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
113.6
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
229.4
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
Page 35 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average launch times of Internet Explorer after rebooting the machine for
each Antivirus product we tested. Products with lower launch times are considered better performing products
in this category.
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
1065
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
1128
ESET Antivirus 6
1765
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
1771
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
1877
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
1940
Average
2048
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
2096
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
2132
Panda Antivirus 2013
2201
G Data AntiVirus 2013
2291
avast! Antivirus 2013
2291
Norton AntiVirus 2013
2293
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
2356
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
2440
avast! Free Antivirus 7
2483
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
0 ms
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
2642
500 ms
1,000 ms
1,500 ms
2,000 ms
2,500 ms
3,000 ms
Page 36 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the minimum installation time it takes for Antivirus products to be fully functional
and ready for use by the end user. Products with lower installation times are considered better performing
products in this category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
5
Norton AntiVirus 2013
72
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
123
avast! Antivirus 2013
143
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
146
Panda Antivirus 2013
167
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
201
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
201
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
220
Average
229
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
239
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
268
G Data AntiVirus 2013
305
avast! Free Antivirus 7
321
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
344
ESET Antivirus 6
376
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
532
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
100 s
200 s
300 s
400 s
500 s
600 s
Page 37 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the total size of files added during the installation of Antivirus products. Products
with lower installation sizes are considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
3.5
47.8
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
231.1
250.3
ESET Antivirus 6
317.3
Panda Antivirus 2013
321.2
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
363.6
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
372.6
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
396.1
avast! Antivirus 2013
423.8
Average
430.8
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
479.5
Norton AntiVirus 2013
524.5
avast! Free Antivirus 7
529.2
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
529.2
G Data AntiVirus 2013
690.6
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
0 MB
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
1413.0
200 MB
400 MB
600 MB
800 MB
1,000 MB
1,200 MB
1,400 MB
1,600 MB
Page 38 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the amount of Registry Keys created during product installation for each Antivirus
product tested. Products with lower key counts are considered better performing products in this category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
495
avast! Antivirus 2013
2719
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
2969
ESET Antivirus 6
3303
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
4028
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
4541
avast! Free Antivirus 7
4837
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
4994
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
5045
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
5076
Norton AntiVirus 2013
5251
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
5276
Average
5490
Panda Antivirus 2013
6359
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
6363
G Data AntiVirus 2013
7071
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
19516
0
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
Page 39 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to copy, move and delete several sets of sample files for
each Antivirus product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this
category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
24.3
Norton AntiVirus 2013
25.2
G Data AntiVirus 2013
25.6
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
26.2
avast! Antivirus 2013
27.1
avast! Free Antivirus 7
27.3
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
27.4
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
27.8
Panda Antivirus 2013
29.6
Average
29.8
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
29.9
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
30.3
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
30.4
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
30.6
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
32.4
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
37.6
ESET Antivirus 6
45.9
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
5s
10 s
15 s
20 s
25 s
30 s
35 s
40 s
45 s
50 s
Page 40 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to install a third party application for each Antivirus
product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
Panda Antivirus 2013
101.3
G Data AntiVirus 2013
101.4
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
102.1
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
102.6
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
103.1
avast! Antivirus 2013
108.4
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
109.0
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
109.1
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
109.2
Average
109.5
avast! Free Antivirus 7
110.0
Norton AntiVirus 2013
110.4
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
112.2
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
113.2
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
119.7
ESET Antivirus 6
120.0
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
120.3
90 s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
95 s
100 s
105 s
110 s
115 s
120 s
125 s
Page 41 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time to download a sample set of common file types for each
Antivirus product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
10.4
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
10.4
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
10.5
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
10.8
Panda Antivirus 2013
11.2
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
11.7
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
12.2
Norton AntiVirus 2013
13.2
avast! Antivirus 2013
13.3
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
14.1
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
14.6
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
14.7
avast! Free Antivirus 7
15.1
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
19.0
Average
21.9
ESET Antivirus 6
23.8
G Data AntiVirus 2013
144.7
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
140 s
160 s
Page 42 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time it takes for five sample files to be converted from one file format
to another (MP3  WMA, MP3  WAV) for each Antivirus product tested. Products with lower times are
considered better performing products in this category.
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
75.7
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
75.8
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
75.8
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
75.9
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
75.9
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
76.0
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
76.1
Panda Antivirus 2013
76.4
Norton AntiVirus 2013
76.5
G Data AntiVirus 2013
76.7
Average
76.7
ESET Antivirus 6
77.4
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
77.5
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
77.6
avast! Antivirus 2013
77.8
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
78.0
avast! Free Antivirus 7
78.3
74 s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
75 s
75 s
76 s
76 s
77 s
77 s
78 s
78 s
79 s
Page 43 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time it takes for sample files to be compressed and decompressed for
each Antivirus product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this
category.
G Data AntiVirus 2013
78.2
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
79.5
Norton AntiVirus 2013
80.3
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
81.0
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
81.3
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
84.7
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
84.9
avast! Free Antivirus 7
85.1
Average
85.2
Panda Antivirus 2013
85.7
ESET Antivirus 6
85.9
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
85.9
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
86.0
avast! Antivirus 2013
86.9
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
87.1
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
90.9
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
99.7
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
Page 44 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time it takes for a file to be written to the hard drive then opened and
closed 180,000 times, for each Antivirus product tested. Products with lower times are considered better
performing products in this category.
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
15.1
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
16.4
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
17.9
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
23.8
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
24.3
Panda Antivirus 2013
24.8
avast! Free Antivirus 7
26.7
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
27.1
Norton AntiVirus 2013
28.3
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
33.4
avast! Antivirus 2013
33.5
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
38.4
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
72.0
Average
72.5
ESET Antivirus 6
101.1
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
271.8
G Data AntiVirus 2013
404.8
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
300 s
350 s
400 s
450 s
Page 45 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6351 portable executable files (totaling
2076 MB) for each Antivirus product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and
subsequent (Runs 2-5) scan times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in
this category
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
33.5
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
51.5
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
66.1
G Data AntiVirus 2013
69.1
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
71.3
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
76.9
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
77.8
Norton AntiVirus 2013
90.9
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
93.5
Average
96.3
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
111.8
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
112.3
avast! Antivirus 2013
115.5
ESET Antivirus 6
118.1
avast! Free Antivirus 7
118.6
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
143.8
Panda Antivirus 2013
190.9
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
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The following chart compares the average time taken to copy a set of files from one local drive to another local
drive for each Antivirus product tested. The test was performed 5 times, and the average of all 5 runs was taken
as the result. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0
102.2
G Data AntiVirus 2013
111.2
Trend Micro Antivirus 2013
113.0
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
115.1
AVG Anti-Virus 2013
117.3
Webroot AntiVirus 2013
117.9
Norton AntiVirus 2013
121.7
Avira Antivirus Free 2013
121.9
avast! Free Antivirus 7
123.9
AVG AntiVirus Free 2013
123.9
avast! Antivirus 2013
124.1
Average
130.3
Panda Antivirus 2013
135.4
Quick Heal Antivirus 2013
139.6
ESET Antivirus 6
143.7
McAfee AntiVirus 2013
166.7
Panda Cloud Antivirus FREE 2013
206.9
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
Page 47 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
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In the following charts, we have highlighted the results we obtained for Norton 360 in yellow. The average has
also been highlighted in blue for ease of comparison.
The following chart compares the average time taken for the system to boot (from a sample of five boots) for
each Total Security product tested. Products with lower boot times are considered better performing products in
this category.
McAfee Total Protection 2013
33.4
Norton 360
33.5
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
34.3
Average
34.4
Kaspersky PURE
35.0
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
35.9
32 s
33 s
33 s
34 s
34 s
35 s
35 s
36 s
36 s
37 s
The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6159 files (totaling 982 MB) for each Total
Security product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and subsequent (Runs 2-5) scan
times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in this category
Norton 360
21
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
42
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
43
McAfee Total Protection 2013
48
Average
49
Kaspersky PURE
89
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
70 s
80 s
90 s 100 s
Page 48 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
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The following chart compares the average time taken to launch a product’s user interface. Products with lower
launch times are considered better performing products in this category.
Norton 360
112
McAfee Total Protection 2013
327
Average
559
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
765
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
778
Kaspersky PURE
814
0 ms
100 ms 200 ms 300 ms 400 ms 500 ms 600 ms 700 ms 800 ms 900 ms
The following chart compares the average amount of RAM in use by a Total Security product during a period of
system idle. This average is taken from a sample of ten memory snapshots taken at roughly 60 seconds apart
after reboot. Products with lower idle RAM usage are considered better performing products in this category.
Norton 360
25.6
Kaspersky PURE
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
62.9
79.1
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
92.7
Average
103.4
McAfee Total Protection 2013
0 MB
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
256.3
50 MB
100 MB
150 MB
200 MB
250 MB
300 MB
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2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
The following chart compares the average time taken for Internet Explorer to successively load a set of popular
websites through the local area network from a local server machine. Products with lower browse times are
considered better performing products in this category.
Norton 360
42.2
Kaspersky PURE
50.5
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
53.4
Average
57.6
McAfee Total Protection 2013
69.2
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
72.9
0s
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
70 s
80 s
The following chart compares the average launch times of Internet Explorer after rebooting the machine for
each Total Security product we tested. Products with lower launch times are considered better performing
products in this category.
McAfee Total Protection 2013
1599
Norton 360
1853
Kaspersky PURE
1989
Average
2162
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
2238
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
0 ms
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
3130
500 ms
1,000 ms
1,500 ms
2,000 ms
2,500 ms
3,000 ms
3,500 ms
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The following chart compares the minimum installation time it takes for Total Security products to be fully
functional and ready for use by the end user. Products with lower installation times are considered better
performing products in this category.
Norton 360
59
Kaspersky PURE
194
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
238
Average
292
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
294
McAfee Total Protection 2013
673
0s
100 s
200 s
300 s
400 s
500 s
600 s
700 s
800 s
The following chart compares the total size of files added during the installation of Total Security products.
Products with lower installation sizes are considered better performing products in this category.
Kaspersky PURE
292.3
McAfee Total Protection 2013
355.3
Norton 360
356.7
Average
540.2
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
549.2
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
0 MB
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
1147.2
200 MB
400 MB
600 MB
800 MB
1,000 MB
1,200 MB
1,400 MB
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The following chart compares the amount of Registry Keys created during product installation for each Total
Security product tested. Products with lower key counts are considered better performing products in this
category.
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
5134
Norton 360
5539
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
6321
Kaspersky PURE
7961
Average
9651
McAfee Total Protection 2013
23302
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
The following chart compares the average time taken to copy, move and delete several sets of sample files for
each Total Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this
category.
Norton 360
25.6
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
28.4
Kaspersky PURE
28.8
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
31.5
Average
34.2
McAfee Total Protection 2013
56.5
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
Page 52 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
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The following chart compares the average time taken to install a third party application for each Total Security
product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
Norton 360
104.2
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
105.4
Kaspersky PURE
109.9
Average
112.0
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
113.7
McAfee Total Protection 2013
126.8
0s
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
140 s
The following chart compares the average time to download a sample set of common file types for each Total
Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
11.9
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
13.5
Norton 360
13.6
Average
14.8
Kaspersky PURE
15.2
McAfee Total Protection 2013
19.8
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
5s
10 s
15 s
20 s
25 s
Page 53 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
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The following chart compares the average time it takes for five sample files to be converted from one file format
to another (MP3  WMA, MP3  WAV) for each Total Security product tested. Products with lower times are
considered better performing products in this category.
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
75.9
Kaspersky PURE
76.5
Average
76.6
McAfee Total Protection 2013
76.6
Norton 360
76.6
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
77.3
0s
10 s
20 s
30 s
40 s
50 s
60 s
70 s
80 s
90 s
The following chart compares the average time it takes for sample files to be compressed and decompressed for
each Total Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this
category.
Kaspersky PURE
80.5
Norton 360
80.5
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
84.7
Average
89.4
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
97.4
McAfee Total Protection 2013
103.7
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
Page 54 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
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The following chart compares the average time it takes for a file to be written to the hard drive then opened and
closed 180,000 times, for each Total Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better
performing products in this category.
Kaspersky PURE
25.1
Norton 360
28.4
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
71.5
McAfee Total Protection 2013
81.6
Average
230.5
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
945.9
0s
100 s
200 s
300 s
400 s
500 s
600 s
700 s
800 s
900 s 1,000 s
The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6351 portable executable files (totaling
2076 MB) for each Total Security product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and
subsequent (Runs 2-5) scan times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in
this category
Kaspersky PURE
68
McAfee Total Protection 2013
83
Norton 360
93
Average
93
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
106
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
114
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
20 s
40 s
60 s
80 s
100 s
120 s
Page 55 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
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The following chart compares the average time taken to copy a set of files from one local drive to another local
drive for each Total Security product tested. The test was performed 5 times, and the average of all 5 runs was
taken as the result. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
Trend Micro Maximum Security 2013
109
Kaspersky PURE
116
Bitdefender Total Security 2013
124
Norton 360
141
Average
153
McAfee Total Protection 2013
276
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
300 s
Page 56 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
In the following charts, we have highlighted the results we obtained for Norton Internet Security 2013 in yellow.
The average has also been highlighted in blue for ease of comparison.
The following chart compares the average time taken for the system to boot (from a sample of five boots)for
each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower boot times are considered better performing
products in this category.
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
7.9
Norton Internet Security 2013
8.8
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
9.2
Average
9.3
BitDefender Internet Security 2013
9.8
McAfee Internet Security 2013
10.7
0s
2s
4s
6s
8s
10 s
12 s
The following chart compares the average time taken to scan a set of 6159 files (totaling 982 MB) for each
Internet Security product tested. This time is calculated by averaging the initial (Run 1) and subsequent (Runs 25) scan times. Products with lower scan times are considered better performing products in this category
Norton Internet Security 2013
10
BitDefender Internet Security 2013
13
McAfee Internet Security 2013
25
Average
25
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
37
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
42
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
5s
10 s
15 s
20 s
25 s
30 s
35 s
40 s
45 s
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2013 Consumer Security Products
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The following chart compares the average time taken to copy, move and delete several sets of sample files for
each Internet Security product tested. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in
this category.
Norton Internet Security 2013
7.4
BitDefender Internet Security 2013
9.0
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
10.2
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
11.5
Average
13.4
McAfee Internet Security 2013
29.0
0s
5s
10 s
15 s
20 s
25 s
30 s
35 s
The following chart compares the average time taken to copy a set of files from one local drive to another local
drive for each Internet Security product tested. The test was performed 5 times, and the average of all 5 runs
was taken as the result. Products with lower times are considered better performing products in this category.
BitDefender Internet Security 2013
84.6
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
84.7
Trend Micro Internet Security 2013
94.6
Average
130.3
Norton Internet Security 2013
164.7
McAfee Internet Security 2013
222.7
0s
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
50 s
100 s
150 s
200 s
250 s
Page 58 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
This report only covers versions of products that were available at the time of testing. The tested versions are as
noted in the “Products and Versions” section of this report. The products we have tested are not an exhaustive
list of all products available in these very competitive product categories.
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information presented in this report is accurate, PassMark
Software Pty Ltd assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or out-of-date information and shall not be
liable in any manner whatsoever for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages resulting
from the availability of, use of, access of, or inability to use this information.
Symantec Corporation funded the production of this report, selected the test metrics and list of products to
include in this report, and supplied some of the test scripts used for the tests.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
PassMark Software Pty Ltd
Suite 202, Level 2
35 Buckingham St.
Surry Hills, 2010
Sydney, Australia
Phone + 61 (2) 9690 0444
Fax
+ 61 (2) 9690 0445
Web
www.passmark.com
An electronic copy of this report can be found at the following location:
http://www.passmark.com/tpsreport13
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Page 59 of 70
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PassMark Software
For our testing, PassMark Software used a test environment running Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) SP1 with the
following hardware specifications:
CPU:
Intel Core i7 920 Quad Core @ 2.67GHz
Video Card:
nVidia GeForce 8800 GT
Motherboard:
Intel x58 Motherboard
RAM:
6GB DDR3 RAM
HDD :
Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM
Network:
Gigabit (1GB/s) switch
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Page 60 of 70
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PassMark Software
As with testing on Windows Vista, Norton Ghost was used to create a “clean” baseline image prior to testing.
Our aim is to create a baseline image with the smallest possible footprint and reduce the possibility of variation
caused by external operating system factors.
The baseline image was restored prior to testing of each different product. This process ensures that we install
and test all products on the same, “clean” machine.
The steps taken to create the base Windows 7 image are as follows:
1.
Installation and activation of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition.
2.
Disabled Automatic Updates.
3.
Changed User Account Control settings to “Never Notify”.
4.
Disable Windows Defender automatic scans to avoid unexpected background activity.
5.
Disable the Windows firewall to avoid interference with security software.
6.
Installed Norton Ghost for imaging purposes.
7.
Disabled Superfetch to ensure consistent results.
8.
Installed HTTP Watch for Browse Time testing.
9.
Installed Windows Performance Toolkit x64 for Boot Time testing.
10.
Installed Active Perl for interpretation of some test scripts.
11.
Install OSForensics for testing (Installation Size and Registry Key Count tests) purposes.
12.
Disabled updates, accelerators and compatibility view updates in Internet Explorer 8.
13.
Update to Windows Service Pack 1
14.
Created a baseline image using Norton Ghost.
PassMark Software uses tools available from the Windows Performance Toolkit version 4.6 (as part of the
Microsoft Windows 7 SDK obtainable from the Microsoft Website) with a view to obtaining more precise and
consistent boot time results on the Windows 7 platform.
The boot process is first optimized with xbootmgr.exe using the command “xbootmgr.exe -trace boot –
prepSystem” which prepares the system for the test over six optimization boots. The boot traces obtained from
the optimization process are discarded.
After boot optimization, the benchmark is conducted using the command "xbootmgr.exe -trace boot -numruns
5”. This command boots the system five times in succession, taking detailed boot traces for each boot cycle.
Finally, a post-processing tool was used to parse the boot traces and obtain the BootTimeViaPostBoot value. This
value reflects the amount of time it takes the system to complete all (and only) boot time processes. Our final
result is an average of five boot traces.
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Page 61 of 70
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Scan Time is the time it took for each product to scan a set of sample files. The sample used was identical in all
cases and contained a mixture of system files and Office files. In total there were 6159 files whose combined size
was 982 MB. Most of these files come from the Windows system folders. As the file types can influence scanning
speed, the breakdown of the main file types, file numbers and total sizes of the files in the sample set is given
here:
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
File Extension
Number of Files
File Size
.dll
.exe
.sys
.gif
.doc
.wmf
.png
.html
.nls
.jpg
.ini
.ico
.mof
.ax
.xls
.ime
.drv
.txt
.chm
.cpl
.mfl
.inf
.hlp
.imd
.py
.msc
.vbs
.xml
.rtf
.ocx
.tsp
.com
.xsl
.h
.vsd
.scr
.aw
.js
.zip
.lex
.ppt
.acm
.wav
Total
2589
695
332
302
281
185
149
126
80
70
59
58
43
39
38
35
31
31
30
29
29
26
22
20
20
18
18
18
16
16
14
14
14
13
12
12
12
12
11
9
9
9
7
6159
490MB
102MB
23MB
1MB
64MB
2MB
2MB
1MB
6MB
1MB
2MB
<1MB
6MB
4MB
3MB
5MB
1MB
1MB
6MB
4MB
3MB
2MB
3MB
18MB
<1MB
1MB
1MB
1MB
62MB
4MB
1MB
<1MB
<1MB
<1MB
2MB
2MB
2MB
1MB
25MB
10MB
4MB
1MB
5MB
982
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2013 Consumer Security Products
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This scan was run without launching the product’s user interface, by right-clicking the test folder and choosing
the “Scan Now” option. To record the scan time, we have used product’s built-in scan timer or reporting system.
Where this was not possible, scan times were taken manually with a stopwatch.
For each product, five samples were taken with the machine rebooted before each sample to clear any caching
effects by the operating systems.
In 2009, we noticed many more products showing a substantial difference between the initial scan time (first
scan) and subsequent scan times (scans 2 to 5). We believe this behavior is due to products themselves caching
recently scanned files.
As a result of this mechanism, we have averaged the four subsequent scan times to obtain an average
subsequent scan time. Our final result for this test is an average of the subsequent scan average and the initial
scan time.
The launch time of a product’s user interface was taken using AppTimer (v1.0.1006). For each product tested, we
obtained a total of fifteen samples from five sets of three UI launches, with a reboot before each set to clear
caching effects by the operating system. When compiling the results the first of each set was separated out so
that there was a set of values for the initial launch after reboot and a set for subsequent launches.
We have averaged the subsequent launch times to obtain an average subsequent launch time. Our final result
for this test is an average of the subsequent launch average and the initial launch time.
In some cases, AppTimer did not correctly record the time taken for UI launch. For instance, some applications
would open their window and look like they were ready, but then continued to be unresponsive. Where the
measurement from AppTimer appeared inaccurate, we have taken the time manually with a stop watch.
AppTimer is publically available from the PassMark Website.
The Perflog++ utility was used to record process memory usage on the system at boot, and then every minute
for another fifteen minutes after. This was done only once per product and resulted in a total of 15 samples. The
first sample taken at boot is discarded.
The PerfLog++ utility records memory usage of all processes, not just those of the anti-malware product. As a
result of this, an anti-malware product’s processes needed to be isolated from all other running system
processes. To isolate relevant process, we used a program called Process Explorer which was run immediately
upon the completion of memory usage logging by PerfLog++. Process Explorer is a Microsoft Windows
Sysinternals software tool which shows a list of all DLL processes currently loaded on the system.
We used a script in conjunction with HTTPWatch (Basic Edition, version 6.1) to record the amount of time it
takes for a set of 106 ‘popular’ websites to load consecutively from a local server. This script feeds a list of URLs
into HTTPWatch, which instructs the browser to load pages in sequence and monitors the amount of time it
takes for the browser to load all items on one page.
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
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For this test, we have used Internet Explorer 9 (Version 9.0.8112.16421) as our browser.
The set of websites used in this test include front pages of high traffic pages. This includes shopping, social,
news, finance and reference websites.
The Browse Time test is executed five times and our final result is an average of these five samples. The local
server is restarted between different products and one initial ‘test’ run is conducted prior to testing to install
Adobe Flash Player, an add-on which is used by many popular websites.
The average launch time of Internet Explorer interface was taken using AppTimer. This test was practically
identical to the User Interface launch time test. For each product tested, we obtained a total of fifteen samples
from five sets of three Internet Explorer launches, with a reboot before each set to clear caching effects by the
operating system. When compiling the results the first of each set was separated out so that there was a set of
values for the initial launch after reboot and a set for subsequent launches.
For this test, we have used Internet Explorer 8 (Version 8.0.6001.18783) as our test browser.
We have averaged the subsequent launch times to obtain an average subsequent launch time. Our final result
for this test is an average of the subsequent launch average and the initial launch time.
This test measures the minimum Installation Time a product requires to be fully functional and ready for use by
the end user. Installation time can usually be divided in three major phases:
 The Extraction and Setup phase consists of file extraction, the EULA prompt, product activation and user
configurable options for installation.
 The File Copy phase occurs when the product is being installed; usually this phase is indicated by a progress
bar.
 The Post-Installation phase is any part of the installation that occurs after the File Copy phase. This phase
varies widely between products; the time recorded in this phase may include a required reboot to finalize the
installation or include the time the program takes to become idle in the system tray.
To reduce the impact of disk drive variables, each product was copied to the Desktop before initializing
installation. Each step of the installation process was manually timed with a stopwatch and recorded in as much
detail as possible. Where input was required by the end user, the stopwatch was paused and the input noted in
the raw results in parenthesis after the phase description.
Where possible, all requests by products to pre-scan or post-install scan were declined or skipped. Where it was
not possible to skip a scan, the time to scan was included as part of the installation time. Where an optional
component of the installation formed a reasonable part of the functionality of the software, it was also installed
(e.g. website link checking software as part of an Internet Security Product).
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Page 64 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
Installation time includes the time taken by the product installer to download components required in the
installation. This may include mandatory updates or the delivery of the application itself from a download
manager. We have noted in our results where a product has downloaded components for product installation.
We have excluded product activation times due to network variability in contacting vendor servers or time taken
in account creation.
A product's Installation Size was previously defined as the difference between the initial snapshot of the Disk
Space (C: drive) before installation and the subsequent snapshot taken after the product is installed on the
system. Although this is a widely used methodology, we noticed that the results it yielded were not always
reproducible in Vista due to random OS operations that may take place between the two snapshots. We
improved the Installation Size methodology by removing as many Operating System and disk space variables as
possible.
Using PassMark’s OSForensics we created initial and post-installation disk signatures for each product. These
disk signatures recorded the amount of files and directories, and complete details of all files on that drive
(including file name, file size, checksum, etc) at the time the signature was taken.
The initial disk signature was taken immediately prior to installation of the product. A subsequent disk signature
was taken immediately following a manual update and system reboot after product installation. Using
OSForensics, we compared the two signatures and calculated the total disk space consumed by files that were
new, modified, and deleted during product installation. Our result for this metric reflects the total size of all
newly added files during installation.
This test measures the amount of keys and values added to registry, after rebooting the test machine following a
successful product installation. The test was conducted using PassMark’s OSForensics, to count the number of
keys, errors and values that were added under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS. The Create Signature
feature is used to take a before and after signature of these folders, and the signatures are then compared so
that the new keys can be identified.
We used a single script in testing Benchmarks 10-15. The script consecutively executes tests for Benchmarks 1015. The script times each phase in these benchmarks using CommandTimer.exe and appends results to a log file.
This test measures the amount of time required for the system to copy, move and delete samples of files in
various file formats. This sample was made up of 812 files over 760,867,636 bytes and can be categorized as
documents [26% of total], media files [54% of total] and PE files (i.e. System Files) [20% of total].
The breakdown of the main file types, file numbers and total sizes of the files in the sample set is shown in the
following table:
File format
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Number
Size (bytes)
Page 65 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
PassMark Software
DOC
8
30,450,176
DOCX
4
13,522,409
PPT
3
5,769,216
PPTX
3
4,146,421
XLS
4
2,660,352
XLSX
4
1,426,054
PDF
73
136,298,049
ZIP
4
6,295,987
7Z
1
92,238
JPG
351
31,375,259
GIF
6
148,182
MOV
7
57,360,371
RM
1
5,658,646
AVI
8
78,703,408
WMV
5
46,126,167
MP3
28
191,580,387
EXE
19
2,952,914
DLL
104
29,261,568
AX
1
18,432
CPL
2
2,109,440
CPX
2
4,384
DRV
10
154,864
ICO
1
107,620
MSC
1
41,587
NT
1
1,688
ROM
2
36,611
SCR
2
2,250,240
SYS
1
37,528,093
TLB
3
135,580
TSK
1
1,152
UCE
1
22,984
EXE
19
2,952,914
DLL
104
29,261,568
AX
1
18,432
CPL
2
2,109,440
CPX
2
4,384
DRV
10
154,864
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2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
ICO
1
107,620
MSC
1
41,587
NT
1
1,688
ROM
2
36,611
SCR
2
2,250,240
SYS
1
37,528,093
TLB
3
135,580
TSK
1
1,152
UCE
1
22,984
Total
812
760,867,636
This test was conducted five times to obtain the average time to copy, move and delete the sample files, with
the test machine rebooted between each sample to remove potential caching effects.
This test measured how much time was required to install and uninstall a third party application. For this test,
CommandTimer.exe timed how long it took to install and uninstall the following applications on the test
machine:



Firefox 3.6.3 (11,909 KB) (MSI File)
Microsoft .NET 3.5 (34,121 KB) (MSI File)
Steam (1,551 KB) (MSI File)
This test was conducted five times to obtain the average time to install/uninstall the above third party
programs, with the test machine rebooted between each sample to remove potential caching effects.
This benchmark measured how much time was required to download a sample set of binary files of various sizes
and types over a 100MB/s network connection. The files were hosted on a server machine running Windows
Server 2008 and IIS 7. CommandTimer.exe was used in conjunction with GNU Wget (version 1.10.1) to time and
conduct the download test.
The complete sample set of files was made up of 553,638,694 bytes over 484 files and two file type categories:
media files [74% of total] and documents [26% of total]. The breakdown of the file types, file numbers and total
sizes of the files in the sample set is shown in the following table:
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
File format
Number
Size (bytes)
JPEG
343
30,668,312
GIF
9
360,349
PNG
5
494,780
MOV
7
57,360,371
RM
1
5,658,646
AVI
8
78,703,408
Page 67 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
WMV
5
46,126,167
MP3
28
191,580,387
PDF
73
136,298,049
ZIP
4
6,295,987
7Z
1
92,238
Total
484
553,638,694
This test was conducted five times to obtain the average time to download this sample of files, with the test
machine rebooted between each sample to remove potential caching effects.


This test measured how much time was required to convert five (5) different MP3 files into WAV files and
subsequently, convert the same MP3 samples into a WMA files. The total size of the five (5) MP3s used was
25,870,899 bytes.
To encode the MP3 into another format, we used an application called ffmpeg.exe. The format conversion
process was timed using CommandTimer.exe.
This test was conducted five times to obtain the average conversion speed between these formats, with the test
machine rebooted between each sample to remove potential caching effects.
This test measured the amount of time required to compress and decompress a sample set of files. For this test,
we used a subset of the media and documents files used in the File Copy, Move and Delete benchmark.
CommandTimer.exe recorded the amount of time required for 7zip.exe to compress the files into a *.zip and
subsequently decompress the created *.zip file.
This subset comprised 1,218 files over 783 MB. The breakdown of the file types, file numbers and total sizes of
the files in the sample set is shown in the following table:
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
File Type
File Number
Total Size
.xls
13
9.23 MB
.xlsx
9
3.51 MB
.ppt
9
7.37 MB
.pptx
11
17.4 MB
.doc
17
35.9 MB
.docx
19
24.5 MB
.gif
177
1.10 MB
.jpg
737
66.2 MB
.png
159
48.9 MB
.mov
7
54.7 MB
Page 68 of 70
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2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
.rm
1
5.39 MB
.avi
46
459 MB
.wma
11
48.6 MB
.avi
46
459 MB
.wma
11
48.6 MB
Total
1218
783 MB
This test was conducted five times to obtain the average file compression and decompression speed, with the
test machine rebooted between each sample to remove potential caching effects.
This benchmark was derived from Oli Warner’s File I/O test at http://www.thepcspy.com (please see Reference
#1: What Really Slows Windows Down).
For this test, we developed OpenClose.exe, an application that looped writing a small file to disk, then opening
and closing that file. CommandTimer.exe was used to time how long the process took to complete 180,000
cycles.
This test was conducted five times to obtain the average file writing, opening and closing speed, with the test
machine rebooted between each sample to remove potential caching effects.
This test measures the on demand scan times of a file set comprised only of executable files (.exe, .dll and .sys
files). We performed five scans of the sample file set, with a machine restart between each scan to remove
possible caching effects. The time taken to scan the files is taken from an antivirus product’s scan logs, or where
logs are not available, manually with a stopwatch. Scans were launched by right clicking on the folder to be
scanned.
A breakdown of the sample file set is as follows:
File Type
Number
File Size
of Files
Sys Files
2174
329MB
Dll Files
2037
920MB
Exe Files
2140
827MB
Total
6351
2076MB
The final result is calculated as an average of the five samples.
This test measures the amount of time taken to copy files between two local drives. The data set comprised of
8,501 files with a total file size of 5.44GB, and the formats used included documents, movies, images and
executables. A breakdown of the sample file set is given below:
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Page 69 of 70
26 April 2013
2013 Consumer Security Products
PassMark Software
File
Number
Extension
of Files
.jpg
2903
588MB
.dll
773
25MB
.exe
730
197MB
.gif
681
63MB
.wav
430
260MB
.sys
501
79MB
.png
451
27MB
.mp3
333
2157MB
.wma
585
925MB
.docx
267
81MB
.avi
247
1079MB
.doc
160
57MB
.xls
329
132MB
.ppt
97
148MB
.zip
14
177MB
Total
8501
5995MB
File Size
A total of five runs of this test were performed, with a machine restart between each run. The time taken to
copy files was measured and recorded by CommandTimer.exe. All the files were copied between a folder on the
local drive and a 2
nd
folder on a different drive. Files were deleted from the 2
nd
drive once the copy was
complete. The final result is calculated as an average of the five samples
Performance Benchmark
Edition 4
Page 70 of 70
26 April 2013