Microsoft Security Essentials may not have done well in recent independent tests, but it's now the global leader in security suite market share for the first time since it debuted in 2009, says Opswat's latest study.
Opswat gauges usage by looking at the software installed on computers running their AppRemover program. The data came from more than 150,000 computers.
When asked about the differences between Opswat's numbers and research and analysis firm NPD, Opswat marketing manager Elisse Lockhart wrote in an e-mail, "Our data looks at all applications installed on machines and aggregates various versions of products, so that can include people who are using very old applications. I believe NPD's report only looks at new sales, so they would capture more of the upcoming products than the software that people already have installed."
Although the report is imperfect, it does provide a snapshot of the security software running on a large number of Windows computers. While Avast remains on top of the global vendor list, with their free suite and two paid upgrades, they've been bumped to second place in single-product comparisons between MSE and Avast Antivirus Free.
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Microsoft gobbles up AV ground | Internet security and firewall - CNET Reviews
