Kaspersky Lab has been awarded ‘Product of the Year’ by the respected independent testing laboratory, AV-Comparatives, based on overall test results from the year 2011. The award is based on the findings of nine different comparative tests of consumer anti-virus solutions conducted over the year, which in Kaspersky Lab’s case means two products - Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Kaspersky Internet Security. Significantly, Kaspersky Lab was the only participant to have been awarded the highest grade - Advanced+ - in all nine tests.

In deciding on the winner in the nomination of ‘Product of the year’, AV-Comparatives’ experts evaluated solutions level of detection of malicious programs and effectiveness of heuristic algorithms, the number of false positives, resource usage, how well an infected system is treated, and effectiveness in ‘real-world’ user scenarios. Each of these parameters was assessed objectively based on the results in the respective tests carried out during the year. Consequently, for the third time in the history of the annual awards, Kaspersky Lab won ‘Product of the year’.

Throughout 2011 Kaspersky Lab products participated in nine comparative tests of either anti-virus solutions or Internet security suites. In each, the solutions’ different functional characteristics for protecting a computer from today’s threats were evaluated. In all tests both Kaspersky Lab solutions received Advanced+, with excellent results in the two principle indicators of any consumer security solution’s quality - effectiveness of malware detection and minimal false positives. AV-Comparatives also highly praised Kaspersky Lab’s products’ ability to fully cure systems infected with malware and their overall minimal resource usage.

Particular commendation in AV-Comparatives’ annual review report was reserved for Kaspersky Internet Security. The review of the product highlighted its easy installation, its full operability in Windows’ safe mode, and the quality of online user support. The program’s new user interface and comprehensive technical documentation were also highly commended.

Commenting on receiving AV-Comparatives’ prestigious annual award, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and founder of Kaspersky Lab, said: “We’ve been having our products independently tested by AV-Comparatives for several years now, never missing a single test. We’ve never been afraid to learn about our mistakes through such testing, in fact just the opposite - we want to know quickly so that we can do all we can to swiftly remedy them. In the past we got quite a few critical comments from testing lab experts; it was based on these that we improved our products. Our products being recognised as of the highest quality based on 2011’s different comparative tests, with top marks in each, is an achievement we can be truly proud of. The more so since the independence, expertise and conscientiousness of AV-Comparatives has no equal.”

Andreas Clementi, Chairman of AV-Comparatives, said: “This year, we have decided to recognise all those products with excellent overall results by giving them the new ‘AV-Comparatives Top Rated’ award. However, we still have only one ‘Product of the Year’. The 2011 award goes to Kaspersky Lab. Their security products do not all depend on just one technology, but provide all-round protection using a wide range of different mechanisms, including, for example, heuristics, behavioural detection, cloud features, signatures, and others, without being over-dependent on individual components. As a result, the user is protected in all computing scenarios, even when offline. The cloud is used as a sensible addition to the other technologies, not as a replacement for them. Kaspersky Lab products also offer a variety of tools and features in its products, e.g., for cleaning infected PCs. As a result, Kaspersky Lab was the only vendor to receive the Advanced+ award in every single test conducted by AV-Comparatives in 2011, making it the clear winner of the ‘Product of the Year’ award.”

The full AV-Comparatives 2011 summary report can be found on the testing laboratory’s website.

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