Endpoint Security Face-off: Testing Business Protection in 2026

Innsbruck-based AV-Comparatives has released its Business Security Test results for the second quarter of 2026, evaluating 16 industry-leading endpoint solutions. The assessment prioritized real-world efficacy, measuring how products handle live web-based malware, pre-existing threats, and the potential for disruptive false alarms.

Performance varied across the cohort, which included vendors such as CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Sophos, and Trellix. Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and Elastic led the real-world protection category with a 99.8 percent success rate across 400 test cases. In the dedicated malware detection segment, Elastic achieved a flawless 100 percent detection rate. Notably, all 16 participants avoided false alarms on common business software, a metric essential for maintaining administrative stability. Regarding system overhead, ESET and Kaspersky demonstrated the lowest impact on machine speed, effectively balancing security depth with operational efficiency.

Fifteen of the sixteen tested products earned the AV-Comparatives Approved Business Product Award for July 2026. Beyond raw detection, the report challenges the universal application of Zero Trust architectures on standard workstations. While these features benefit locked-down environments, the study suggests that for general business use, native Windows protections like Attack Surface Reduction rules frequently offer a more practical equilibrium between security and daily usability.