Emsisoft 
Emsisoft Earns VB100 Grade A Certification with No False Positives
In its first VB100 evaluation of 2026, Emsisoft Anti-Malware has again met the certification criteria, achieving a Grade A detection rating and a perfect 0.000% false positive rate.
The VB100 test remains a rigorous measure of fundamental security efficacy. For home users, this independent validation translates directly to trustworthy protection that avoids disruptive false alarms.
What the VB100 measures and why it matters
The VB100 certification, managed by Virus Bulletin since 1998, is not a competitive ranking but a pass/fail benchmark with graded nuance. It answers two specific questions about a security product’s static detection layer:
- Does it correctly identify at least 75% of recent, common Windows malware?
- Does it misidentify legitimate software as malicious no more than 0.05% of the time?
Failure to meet either threshold results in an automatic fail. Performance above the pass mark is graded from A+ (≥99.5% detection) down to D (≥75%). Emsisoft’s Grade A requires a 97% detection rate or higher. The entire process is conducted in compliance with the AMTSO Standard, ensuring methodological transparency and reproducibility.
March 2026 test results
The March evaluation used VB100 methodology version 1.7 on a standard Windows 11 Pro (64-bit) platform. The certification set contained 1,640 samples of “common and prevalent Windows malware recently observed in the wild,” all of which were Windows PE executables. The clean set remained a formidable challenge: 100,000 legitimate program files, a mix of widely and less widely used software.
Emsisoft’s performance data:
| Metric | Result |
| Malware detection rate | 97.80% (Grade A) |
| Malware samples detected | 1,604 / 1,640 |
| False positive rate | 0.000% |
| False alarms on clean files | 0 / 100,000 |
Read the full report here.
Test methodology: On-demand scanning focus
The test report includes a note stating that all measurements are based on on-demand scanning. This occurs when a product’s real-time protection is not compatible with the specific VB100 test automation. It does not indicate a deficiency in the product. Rather, it means the evaluation focused strictly on the product’s ability to identify malware when a user or scheduled scan is initiated. The static detection engine, which is the core subject of the VB100 certification, remains the same regardless of the trigger.
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The March 2026 VB100 test result is a clear, objective data point. Emsisoft Anti-Malware continues to deliver on the essential promise of antivirus software: accurate detection of common threats with no disruption to legitimate programs. This successful test continues Emsisoft’s documented pattern of VB100 certification. An unbroken series of passed test indicates a stable, mature detection engine that is consistently maintained against an evolving threat landscape.
