Spyware, Malware, Viruses - oh my!

While computer viruses have been in our lexicon for some time, spyware and malware are recent additions. Disregarding the differences between these three terminologies, the fact is unless your computer is protected against all three, your computer is open to infection. 

In my line of work I have found that most users believe that so long as they have some program that protects them from something, then their computer is safe. Not only is it important to have a solution(s) that provides protection on all three fronts, but a solution(s) that is continually updated. Numerous times I have come across systems that had the trial version of some anti-virus program on it, that had, of course, expired some 3 years ago. 

Now, assuming your computer is protected on all three fronts, there is still one other major point of entry. New viruses, spyware and malware! Between the moment of the last update for your protection solution(s) and the next, there is a period during which new viruses, spyware and malware are being disseminated. It is important that you solution(s) also be able to detected possible infection by unknown contagia. 

In a recent study, AVIEWS (Anti-Virus Information and Early Warning System - www.aviews.org) subjected numerous anti-malware solutions to a four-month analysis. The point of the study was well these products detected unknown malware. The results are quite interesting.

Sophos beat out the competition by far by proactively detecting 80% of all unknown malware reported to AVIEWS's mailing list. Compare that to 50% for Microsoft, 35% for Symantec (Norton) and 30% for McAfee!




In another study by Cascadia Labs (www.cascadialabs.com) again Sophos outperformed Symantec and McAfree in detection of unknown viruses, spyware and malware. According to the report Sophos successfully intercepted 86% of the malware tested against prior execution, compared to 43% for McAfee and 51% for Symantec. 

Admittedly as an authorized retailer of Sophos products, AvantGuard Systems may appear biased in this matter. However, the point of this newsletter is not to convince subscribers to switch to Sophos. All the more so as Sophos is for small businesses and enterprises. It is not available to home users (unless you want to buy at least five licenses). 

Taking all things into consideration, however, I would definitely consider a solution that provides the best possible protection on all fronts. Considering the fact the AVG (which is available for free to home users) outperformed McAfee and Symantec, a combination of AVG and Windows Defender would provide a home computer with a pretty good level of defense. Some people make take issue with Windows Defender, but I defend it (pun intended - sorry) because