Clean Sweep: How well does your antivirus software remove malware?
Earlier this month I read about an extensive test involving antivirus software applications removing malware from computers. AV Comparatives, an Austrian NPO that provides independent antivirus software tests free to the public, conducted an experiment in which they tested 16 different antivirus solutions for their ability to effectively remove and cleanup the remnants of malware. Which antivirus applications came out on top? The answer may surprise you.
Put simply: none. At least, that’s according to AV Comparative’s rating scale. The highest rating any one application received was “good” on a scale from “poor” to “very good.” These results, though perhaps unnerving, lead to a number of conclusions.
- First, antivirus applications are consistently under-performing in the same area across the board.
- Second, though disabled or quarantined, your computers may have bits and pieces of malware floating around.
Finally, the results of this study do not mean antivirus software is unnecessary or ineffective. Remember, the experiment only tested for malware removal, not essential functions like virus detection and defense. On the contrary, maintaining a working antivirus application is critical to any system’s security. What the study does tell us is that prevention is the key to information security.
Using best practices on the Internet will guard your systems against malware. And with so much emphasis now put on prevention, trusting a local IT consultant with your information security may prove to be your best solution for protection against virtual threats.
[photo: kaiton]
Additional Resources:
Do you trust your antivirus software?
Is your company focusing on the right security threats?
Tags: antivirus software, antivirus solutions, information security, local IT consultant, malware, malware removal
November 30th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
IT Services Info & News | Ascensha » Blog Archive » Clean Sweep: How well does your antivirus software remove malware?…
Earlier this month I read about an extensive test involving antivirus software applications removing malware from computers. AV Comparatives, an Austrian NPO that provides independent antivirus software tests free to the public, conducted an experiment…