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Test of 16 Anti-Virus Products Says None Rates "Very Good"

Posted by timothy on from the keeps-the-av-people-in-business-though dept.

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."

10 of 344 comments (clear)

  1. Security... by xanadu113 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Security is a process, not a product.

    --
    -Myke
    1. Re:Security... by davester666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's like a piece of wood, a tape measure and a saw. If the person doesn't use the tape measure properly, and saws the wood too short, there isn't any magic that can fix the problem. Even buying a new piece of wood and a new fancy tape measure will still have the same problem if the user can't be bothered to learn how it works.

      And a computer is only slightly more complicated than a tape measure...

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:Security... by Kratisto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, see, it's like a computer and a user and antivirus software. The user expects the antivirus software to either protect him from getting a virus to begin with, or to remove it swiftly if it fails. Unfortunately, the antivirus software isn't very good in the latter situation, and because the user is an idiot, no antivirus software can help him in the first situation.

      --
      Conscience is the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking.
  2. Browsing safely by Utopia+Tree · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think anyone sells common sense.

    1. Re:Browsing safely by Tumbleweed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't think anyone sells common sense.

      It wouldn't matter if they did; no one would buy it as everyone thinks they already have it.

  3. WRONG SITE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    They said AV-Comparative.org in the article. Try going there and see what happens. The correct site is av-comparatives.org.

  4. They tested Anti-virus software for malware by Jazz-Masta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How about testing some malware removal programs? Malwarebytes, Adaware, Spybot?

    I find Malwarebyte's Anti-malware to work wonders. Paired with Avast home edition, it is a good free combination. I think most system administrators notice the difference between software primarily tailored for virus detection and removal, and ones tailored for malware detection and removal.

    They tested these:

    Avast Professional Edition 4.8
    AVG Anti-Virus 8.5
    AVIRA AntiVir Premium 9.0
    BitDefender Anti-Virus 2010
    eScan Anti-Virus 10.0
    ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.0
    F-Secure AntiVirus 2010
    G DATA AntiVirus 2010
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010
    Kingsoft AntiVirus 9
    McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009
    Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0
    Norman Antivirus & Anti-Spyware 7.10
    Sophos Anti-Virus 7.6
    Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 2010
    Trustport Antivirus 2009

  5. No Joke by Das+Auge · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:No Joke by d3ac0n · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Ain't that the truth.

      The kicker? Most of the infections I deal with on a regular basis are coming from AD BANNERS. I have literally had people get a brand new machine, sit down at it, open IE8 and browse to one of the major sports news sites (ESPN, TSN, MLB, NFL, etc.) and get IMMEDIATELY infected by a banner ad!

      There are few things worse than giving someone a brand new machine, and before you've even been able to get back to your cube and sit down your BB is buzzing and you are being told to get back there because they have a virus! ARGH!

      Honestly, it's gotten so bad that with most of the fake AV viruses we just freaking wipe the stupid PC immediately. Format and re-image and done. It's faster and easier.

      --
      Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
  6. The usual suspects by EmagGeek · · Score: 5, Informative

    Of course, half of the software they tested is not anti-Malware software (Avast, for example, is an AV, not an Anti-Malware).

    They also did not test MalwareBytes, probably because it would make all of the others look bad.