McAfee is proud to be recognized with the SE Labs Home Anti-Malware Award 2026, one of the most respected independent recognitions in consumer cybersecurity. This marks the second year in a row that McAfee is being recognized with the Home Anti-Malware Award, proving our continued excellence and efficiency.
Now in its eighth year, the SE Labs Awards honor cybersecurity providers delivering outstanding protection across consumer, small business, and enterprise markets. And McAfee has earned top recognition in the Home Anti-Malware category two years in a row.
What Are the SE Labs Awards?
SE Labs is an independent cybersecurity testing and certification organization. Unlike awards based on self-reported data or marketing claims, SE Labs recognition is grounded in:
- Continuous public testing: Products are evaluated through ongoing, real-world assessments, not one-time snapshots
- Private assessments: Winners are also evaluated through confidential testing that mirrors actual threat environments
- Eight years of credibility: The SE Labs Awards have built a track record as a trusted benchmark for both consumers and industry professionals
This makes the SE Labs Award a comprehensive measure of real-world security performance, not just lab scores.
What the Home Anti-Malware Award Means
The Home Anti-Malware category specifically recognizes consumer security products that demonstrate exceptional ability to detect, block, and remedy malware threats targeting everyday users.
Winning this award means McAfee’s protection performed at a level SE Labs considers outstanding, not just effective on paper, but proven against the kind of threats real households face: ransomware, trojans, spyware, phishing-delivered payloads, and more.
Simon Edwards, Founder and CEO of SE Labs, offered this comment on the 2026 winners:
“The SE Labs Awards recognises the vendors that are making a real difference in keeping systems secure. Winning an award is a significant achievement. It reflects not only strong product performance in our tests but also the commitment of the teams behind the technology. Congratulations to McAfee on its success.”
Independent Validation. Not a Marketing Claim
There’s an important distinction between a company saying its product is effective and an independent lab proving it.
SE Labs operates separately from the vendors it tests. Its methodology is transparent, its testing is repeatable, and its results are used by journalists, analysts, and buyers to make real purchasing decisions.
When SE Labs names McAfee a winner, that recognition carries the weight of a process that can’t be paid for or manufactured.
That’s what makes this award meaningful, and what separates it from a badge a company designs for itself.
How McAfee Fights Malware
Malware today doesn’t just arrive as a suspicious download. It hides in phishing texts, fake links, malicious QR codes, and compromised websites. And by the time most people realize something is wrong, the damage is already done.
McAfee is built to stop threats at every point in that chain.
Scam Detector flags suspicious texts, emails, links, QR codes, and even deepfake videos before you engage
Secure VPN keeps your data private, especially on public Wi-Fi
Web Protection helps block risky sites, even if you do accidentally click
Password Manager doesn’t just help you make unique, strong passwords, it keeps them stored and organized for you
Device Security helps detect malicious apps or downloads
Identity Monitoring alerts you if your personal info shows up where it should not, so you can act fast
Personal Data Cleanup helps remove your information from sites selling it.
Online Account Cleanup assists in taking down your old, forgotten accounts across the web
Social Privacy Manager helps you monitor and change privacy settings across your social platforms in just a few clicks
Together, these protections are designed to address the broader range of online risks people face every day.
Which McAfee Plans Include This Protection?
The same AI-powered threat protection that earned the SE Labs Home Anti-Malware Award is available across every major McAfee plan:
- McAfee+ Premium
- McAfee+ Advanced
- McAfee+ Ultimate
- McAfee Total Protection
- McAfee LiveSafe
Whether you’re protecting one device or an entire household, you’re getting independently verified, award-winning malware protection under the hood.
Ready to get protection recognized by the industry’s toughest independent testers? Explore McAfee+ Plans →
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