Slashdot Mirror
Test of 16 Anti-Virus Products Says None Rates "Very Good"
An anonymous reader writes "AV-Comparative recently released the results of a malware removal test in which they evaluated 16 anti-virus software solutions. The test focused only on the malware removal/cleaning capabilities, therefore all the samples used were ones that the tested anti-virus products were able to detect. The main question was if the products were able to successfully remove malware from an already infected/compromised system. None of the products performed at a level of 'very good' in malware removal or removal of leftovers, based on those 10 samples."
I've been working in the on-site support field for over a decade. I've seen the viruses get nastier and nastier.
It used to be that the virus got a hold of the system, maybe did a little damage or had a little fun. Sometimes it was pretty funny. Such as screwing with the mouse.
Then things started to get a little more serious. The virus would insinuate itself into the system folder and maybe IE. They stated doing tasks. Thus rose the botnets.
Then it became big business for people. The spreading of spam and fake anti-virus (that wanted you to purchase the "full version" so that you'd get rid of the virus they said you had) was the order of the day. They started blocking access to the run box, the task manager, and sites that might be able to help you (online virus scanners). They started killing the AV programs. They also replaced the explorer.exe and iexplore.exe files. Hell, they even go after Firefox, Chorme, and Opera.
They really get their hooks into in and don't want to let go because it means money. Big money. So I'm not surprised that AV programs are having a tough time getting rid of them. It hasn't been kiddies out for fun for a long time. Now it's all about professional programmers out to make an ill gotten buck.