Avast Antivirus came through with a top score of 96% and zero false alarms encountered

This just in — Avast Antivirus has been awarded the top score for AV-Comparatives’ 2021 Anti-Phishing Certification Test. Every year, AV-Comparatives publishes the results of their phishing protection test, which evaluate the protection provided against phishing websites. These deceptive websites can pose a serious threat to anyone using the internet, as they attempt to steal some of our most sensitive information.

Further reading:
A phishing story: The growing threat to your business
4 tips to avoid being phished
Spearphishing scams disguise malicious files as Covid-19 data

AV-Comparatives carried out their anti-phishing test using Avast Antivirus, which came through with a top score of 96% and zero false alarms encountered. In order words, no other security product scored higher than Avast Antivirus in the test. Furthermore, since our Avast Business Antivirus leverages the same technology and engine, it therefore utilizes the same anti-phishing capabilities to keep you and your customers safe online. 

Test procedure and test cases

For this test, AV-Comparatives simulated the common situation in which users rely on the anti-phishing protection provided by their security products while browsing the web (or checking their webmail accounts; anti-spam features are not considered, as they are not within the scope of this test). The test took place between June 28 and July 5, 2021. Here are the two main details and requirements of the test:

• A total of 260 phishing URLs were tested as soon as AV-Comparatives discovered them.
• Each one of the URLs had to be active/online at time of testing and attempt to get personal information.

What types of phishing campaigns were tested?

The phishing campaigns targeted various types of personal data, including login credentials for PayPal, online banking and credit cards, email accounts, Dropbox, eBay, social networks, online games and other online services.

The set of legitimate online banking websites for the false alarm test consisted of 250 clean URLs (all of them using HTTPS and showing a login form) from all over the world.

To read through the full details of Avast's award in the Anti-Phishing Certification Test, check out the report on AV-Comparatives' website.