Total accuracy ratings can range from a maximum of 400 down to -1000: Microsoft Security Essentials scored a paltry 30 in this arena, while other products such as Norton Internet Security 2013 - which scored 388.5 - almost reached the maximum score. Awards are handed out for programs that perform to a decent standard, ranging from AAA to C, however Microsoft Security Essentials performed so poorly that it didn't qualify for any of the awards. All the other products gained an award, and five of them gained at least an A.

Next up was the protection ratings, which ranked a product on how it performed at handling malware only. Here points were awarded for neutralizing and defending against malware, while points were removed if a threat managed to run on a system; the best attainable score here was 300 and the worst was -500. Microsoft Security Essentials scored -70, the only program to score negatively, while most other programs scored between 250 and 300.