Study: Antivirus programs can’t be trusted
August 16, 2010 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Security
All businesses use antivirus software to keep malicious programs off the company network. But a study shows why those applications should just be one part of an over-all security strategy.
On average, antivirus programs detect just 19% of malware on the first day it appears, according to a recent study by web intelligence firm Cyveillance. The passage of time helps, but not as much as you might think — after 30 days, detection rates improve to just 61%.
Antivirus vendors have criticized the study, because it only looked at signature-based malware detection (in which the software uses virus definitions to block specific pieces of software) and ignored other methods that proactively block malicious code before the definitions have been updated.
But even if the apps catch more more viruses than the study claims, its point is still worth noting: New viruses are created every day, and it’s impossible for security software to keep up. Cyveillance urges companies to boost their defenses by training users on safe computing habits.
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Tags: antivirus programs, Cyveillance, malware
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August 17th, 2010 at 9:58 am
[...] line: Antivirus software can’t do enough to keep up with emerging threats. Other recent studies have offered the same [...]