Editorial Policy

How I Test

Thirty days is the minimum testing window, not the target. Most suites on this site run for six months or more before I write anything about them. The reason is practical: a suite that scans fast on install can slow a machine noticeably by week three, once scheduled full scans start competing with active work. CPU load patterns that looked acceptable at day seven can look very different at week eight. First impressions in antivirus are unreliable, so I don't publish them.

Every subscription is purchased out of my own pocket. No vendor review copies, no early access arrangements, no sponsored placements. If a product underperformed during testing, the review reflects that.

What I Measure

Scan duration is tracked as a trend across the testing window rather than a single benchmark number, because scan times tend to drift as the install matures and the definition database grows. CPU usage during full scans gets noted (the tower fan audibly pitch-shifts past 80% load, which makes it easy to track without instrumenting anything). RAM at idle is measured because a suite sitting in the tray at 400 MB is a materially different product from one at 80 MB.

Definition update frequency gets explicit attention: a product updating less than once daily is falling behind the live threat landscape. Renewal pricing is tracked because intro discounts expire. The year-two price is what most people actually pay, and I surface that number rather than the promotional one. Upsell prompts for tune-up features or bundle upgrades get logged as cost signals, not feature observations.

Where independent lab data from AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, or SE Labs exists for a suite I've tested, I include it as a cross-reference. When my results and the lab data point in different directions, I explain which I trust more and why. Lab conditions measure detection rates on standardized sample sets. My setup measures what the software does to a working machine in daily use. Those two things sometimes agree and sometimes don't.

Affiliate Relationships

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click through and buy a subscription, I receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate relationships don't determine which products get reviewed or how they're rated. A suite that failed in testing gets an honest write-up regardless of whether it has an affiliate program.

Get in Touch

Questions or corrections: contact page.