I was going to post this when this site disappeared two weeks ago.
Symantec has withdrawn from AVComparatives testing for 2012 because it refused to participate in the latest File Detection test (formerly known as the "On Demand" test) which is a very difficult test but an important "core" one. Evidently, Symantec knew it would do poorly and asked to not be tested just for this one test. Picking and choosing which tests a vendor will do is not allowed. They must participate in all tests or none at all.
IBK explains further both at his site and in a thread at Wilders Security forum.
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www.wilderssecurity.com/ ··· t=322233»
www.av-comparatives.org/ ··· dID=1060»
www.av-comparatives.org/ ··· ion-test