Antivirus News

According to Natalya Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, Microsoft is unlikely to be at the vanguard of anti-virus, despite the securityenhancements of Vista and its standalone anti-malware product, OneCare.

Kasperksy claims there are three reasons why the software giant will struggle to muscle in on anti-virus vendors�?? territory.

Firstly, Microsoft�??s poor reputation in the securityfield. Says Kaspersky: �??Microsoft solutions are still perceived as being insecure or full of securityloopholes. The loopholes in Windows and MS Office applications are due, above all, to their extraordinary popularity �?? hackers across the world are always going to hack programs used by the majority. Given this, I am afraid that Microsoft�??s new anti-virus solutions may suffer the same fate, as virus writers will create malware that is designed primarily to evade detection by OneCare.�?�

Secondly, Kaspersky points to the speed at which anti-virus vendors must respond to new threats as another of Microsoft�??s weaknesses. �??All vendors face the same dilemma �?? either detect the maximum possible number of malicious programs, even at the risk of false positives; or avoid false positives at the risk of failing to detect malicious programs.

�??Just remember the media frenzy which broke out when Microsoft’s anti-virus flagged Gmail as being malicious. Given Microsoft�??s brand and reputation, it simply cannot afford to make such high-profile mistakes. As Microsoft will need to check each potential false positive with its legal department, response times to new threats will, inevitably, be slow.�?�

Finally, Kaspersky highlights detection rates as crucial to the commercial success of any anti-virus product. �??The detection rate is a very important characteristic of any anti-virus product. When OneCare was put through its paces by AV-Test GmbH at the University of Magdeburg as recently as September and November, the results from both tests indicated a detection rate that was fairly low by the standards of most anti-virus products.�?�

Kaspersky does, however, believe that Microsoft will in the future improve its anti-virus offering, but not to a level that will represent a threat to established anti-virus vendors. �??OneCare will improve its detection rates and take its place among its competitors; and it will offer user-friendly features �?? something Microsoft has always been good at. However, OneCare is unlikely to become a leader either in terms of response times to new threats, or in terms of detection rates.�?�

Kaspersky concluded by advising consumers that, despite securityenhancements to Vista, anti-virus remains crucial when operating any PC: �??Windows Vista does have a number of features that improve security, but it still cannot guarantee protection against malware. A standalone anti-virus solution is, therefore, a must.

�??Consumers can protect their PCs by choosing either a Microsoft solution, or one from an independent anti-virus company. When choosing a solution, makes sure that it�??s from a trustworthy vendor; and that it will reliably protect against malware. And last but not least, choose a solution that�??s Vista-compatible. A reputable anti-virus vendor will include this information in the system requirements.�?�