[SecurityRatty] tag: antimalware

Vulnerabilities in Antivirus Software - Conflict of Interest

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:38:07 +0000

Vulnerabilities within security solutions -- antivirus software in this case -- are a natural event, however, the conflict of interests and failure of communication between those finding them and those failing to acknowledge them as vulnerabilities in general, harms the customer. How they get count, and how is their severity measured in a situation where a vulnerability bypassing the scanning method of an antivirus software allowing malware to sneak in, is less important than a remote code execution through the antivirus software, is a good example of short sightedness. Here's a related development regarding a recent study regarding vulnerabilities in antivirus software - "McAfee debunks recent vulnerabilities in AV software research, n.runs restates its position" :

"Several days after blogging about a research conduced by n.runs AG that managed to discover approximately 800 vulnerabilities in antivirus products, McAfee issued a statement basically debunking the number of vulnerabilities found, and providing its own account into the number of vulnerabilities affecting its own products :

“A recent ZDnet blog discusses a large number of vulnerabilities German research team N.Runs says it found in antimalware products from nearly every vendor. The ZDNet posting includes scary graphs to frighten users of security products. We researched the N.Runs claims by analyzing the raw data and found their claims to be somewhat exaggerated. We will discuss our findings (and make available our source data) in the attached document. We have also provided our source data for anyone who wishes to examine it.”

Today, n.runs AG has issued a response to McAfee’s statement, providing even more insights into the vulnerabilities they’ve managed to find, how they found them, and why are the affected antivirus vendors questioning the number of flaws in general."

Consider going through the interview with Thierry Zoller as well.

Related posts:
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Was the WMF vulnerability purchased for $4000?!
Where's my 0day, please?
Scientifically Predicting Software Vulnerabilities
Zero Day Initiative "Upcoming Zero Day Vulnerabilities"
Delaying Yesterday's "0day" Security Vulnerability
Shaping the Market for Security Vulnerabilities Through Exploit Derivatives
Zero Day Vulnerabilities Market Model Gone Wrong
Zero Day Vulnerabilities Auction
The Zero Day Vulnerabilities Cash Bubble

Cleaning Chinese malware sites harder than in U.S.

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

More than half the sites spreading malicious code are hosted on Chinese networks, an antimalware group said Wednesday.

Trend Micro retools antimalware software

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Trend Micro's CEO Eva Chen says the security firm is adopting a new product-architecture strategy it calls Smart Protection Network that relies more on a new type of cloud-based computing than traditional pattern-file matching to protect both consumer and enterprise computers.

Stopbadware Scolds Apple Over Safari Carpet Bomb

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:11:43 +0000

From Network World:

An antimalware organization has called on Apple to beef up its Safari Web browser to protect users from exploits that could let attackers download malicious code to a Mac or Windows user’s desktop.

Stopbadware.org, a group founded by Google, Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group and Sun, on Monday asked Apple to reconsider its refusal to address the flaw as a security problem.

“StopBadware.org believes that users should have control over software being downloaded to their computers, and we encourage Apple to reconsider its stance and treat this as the security issue that it is,” Stopbadware.org said in an appeal posted to its Web site.

Read on.

Article Link

Antimalware group scolds Apple over Safari 'carpet bomb'

Thu, 22 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

An antimalware organization has called on Apple to beef up its Safari Web browser to protect users from exploits that could let attackers download malicious code to a Mac or Windows user's desktop.

Panda announces antimalware service

Sun, 18 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Panda Security Monday announced Panda Managed Office Protection, its security-as-a-service for antimalware defense offered as an alternative to in-house software distribution through dedicated equipment.

This Site is Safe from Hackers. Is it really?

Sun, 18 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Antivirus and antimalware developers have been in the spotlight for the last month or so and have been the focus of malware developers for much longer over the plan to run the Race to Zero contest at this year's DefCon in Las Vegas. Now, it might be the turn of companies that produce and promote 'This Site is Safe from Hackers'-style certification and coverage for their clients to share the spotlight.

Vista antimalware fails VB100 tests

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:00:00 +0000

It's fortunate that Vista-specific malware is still in its infancy because a new test of anti-malware products running on the platform has found that many don't work as well as they should.

Beware MonaRonaDona antivirus scam, researchers warn

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:00:00 +0000

If your computer gets infected with a Trojan called the "MonaRonaDona virus," be careful with what you use to wipe it off your computer, says antimalware software provider Kaspersky Lab. MonaRonaDona is part of an elaborate scam to sell fake antivirus software, Kaspersky researchers say.

Services are tapping people power to spot malware

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000

People-driven security, an approach that pools the judgments of individual participants to identify new threats, is gathering momentum, with uses popping up in everything from antimalware and spam blocking to site filtering.