Some AV Continue to Fail in Identifying Rootkit & Rectifying Infections

According to the new test results conducted by an independent anti-virus testing company, AV-Test.org, not a single anti-virus product cleared the test that could be ranked 'A', the highest rating, and some completely failed in certain categories like rootkit detection and fixing of malware infections, as reported by Darkreading on March 12, 2008.

As per observation by AV-Test, new malware keeps on appearing. In the last two months of 2008, January and February, a massive 1.1 Million pieces of distinct malware were discovered and these were found spreading across the Internet. The company also detected nearly 5.5 Million samples of malware in 2007, higher than 927,000 found in 2006.

Andreas Marx, CEO and Managing Director for German-based organization, AV-Test.org suggested that the company felt it would be good to initiate a test on malware-blocking software to examine the current level of efficacy of the products in light of the voluminous malware circulating wildly, as reported by Darkreading on March 12, 2008.

AV-Test conducted the tests based on the products' on-demand identification of malware, of spyware and adware, of false positives for every 100,000 files, of new and unfamiliar malware, detection of scanning speed, response duration to new and widespread malware, identification of active rootkits, and infection rectification.

Each product was featured with merits and demerits in different categories. While Forefront of Microsoft aced the test for false positives and scored 98% in infection remedying, it got the least rank of 'F' for its time duration of response to new and widespread malware attacks, taking over eight hours to complete it.

Sophos scored high getting all 'A's and 'B's in the tests by AV-Test.org. Symantec's Norton anti-virus also scored well with five 'A's, two 'B's and one 'C' in terms of the response duration to new malicious programs taking 4-6 hours. However, McAfee got As and Bs and two Cs in performance.

Computer Associate's eTrust VET received the lowest score among all the anti-malware products in spotting spyware and adware with just 56.5% of success rate. K7 Computing was close with a 59.5% success rate. However, K7 scored better in detecting malware with a 65.5% score while CA's eTrust VET achieved a greater success rate of 72.1%.

Related article: Some Suggestions to Deter ‘Windows Rot’

» SPAMfighter News - 3/24/2008