Windows 10: What independent AV testing company is your best recommendation

I know of AV-Comparatives but what other "Independent" companies are out there? I've tried Google but all I get are Jone Doe's top ten AV for PC protection type ads. Which ones are Verifiable, ones that don't have the CEO of a specific company on the board of the company doing the testing? Which ones don't take bribes of some sort to give better ratings.
I've tried Kasperskey (it was ranked best at the time) but it bogged my sys. down terribly and had other op issues as well. McAfee was offered free from my IP but had real bad issues freezing up requiring reinstalling problems and when I called C.Support all they could do for the longest time was try selling me extra crap and in their context of speech on the phone I could clearly tell I was not talking to a tech, just salesperson under terrible pressure to sell. (Poor guy, after I got through w/him I think he went and got drunk and cried a lot)
I'm using AVG Internet Security Trial w/most of the bells and whistles for now and it seems ok, I know a lot of people think it's a lame duck but it actually seems pretty good.
Any recommendations w/specifics of why would be appreciated.*Shock

:)

 

How to fix the Wrong estimate time on battery life using Windows 10?

I'd still have it tested INDEPENDENTLY. Slip-ups do occur even in the best companies

 

Windows defender is switched off and I cannot get it going again.

I think another AV app would probably be your best bet at this point, Glenys – and then you can always think about heading down the recovery road later on if you have any problems with the new app. But I really do appreciate your perseverance with
this issue – because that’s the only way that any of us can ever get a glimpse of what’s going on behind the screens.



I don’t really have any recommendations for specific AV products, but I do recommend reviewing the AV lab tests as part of the decision-making process. The weight that you place on the results of the
file detection and real-world protection tests will naturally depend on the level of risk involved in your browsing habits, the nature and scope of your online financial transactions, and
the recency and completeness of your data backups.

 

My common sense. LOL... I'm using Windows Defender with Malwarebytes Premium and I watch the address bar when visiting sites and I don't download anything risky. I haven't been infected with anything since 2004 when I was new to the interweb. LOL

 

Took your advice and added adw to the list (all free versions) and just diligently run them at least once a day and the PC is running a whole lot better than w/the so called Pro , advanced, super, ultra, what have you security suites. So I have Win Defender, MalwareBytes free and Adw free. I must say adw seems to find malware better, quicker and does a better job at totally eliminating the programs, files, and traces of the Pups and more serious threats than the larger more complex av scanning progs.
Thankx for the advice.
P.S. any suggestions for the settings in Adw cleaner?*sarc

 

Don't take test labs results as a ultimate truth , those tests are just an approximation given in a certain time with certain malware. Also their methodology doesn't reflect real world usage because they disable some features of the OS , which are enabled by default on every Windows.