IT security and control firm Sophos has been found to be superior to McAfee, Microsoft, Symantec and almost 30 other anti-malware products in proactively protecting against unknown malware attacks, according to data collected by AVIEWS, the Anti-Virus Information & Early Warning System.
AVIEWS is an online community that shares information about breaking malware threats between anti-malware vendors, researchers, security experts, and system administrators.
Over a four-month period, Sophos detected and blocked more new unknown malware reported to the independent AVIEWS mailing list than any other vendor, proactively detecting and protecting against 80%, compared to 50% for Microsoft, 35% for Symantec and 30% for McAfee.
Some anti-virus products failed to find any of the unknown malware during the four-month testing period, leaving customers at considerable risk of infection.
Most anti-virus reviews only examine products` ability to detect known malware, rather than determining which does the best job at proactively protecting against zero-day threats and unknown viruses.
"It`s becoming more and more important to have an industrial strength defence against both known and unknown malware as hackers step up their attempts to steal money and identities with targeted attacks," says Brett Myroff, CEO of master Sophos distributor, NetXactics.
"We`re obviously delighted to find that Sophos provides a higher level of protection against unknown malware than our competitors - but we won`t be resting on our laurels, and customers can expect to see us continuing to work hard to enhance our detection of unknown threats even further."
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can control network access and proactively defend against the threats of spam, hackers, spyware and viruses.
More information about the detection rates of the 32 different anti-malware products, and the methodology used, can be found on the SophosLabs blog: http://www.sophos.com/security/blog/2007/12/825.html
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NetXactics is a South African-based company, focused on the provision of security solutions. It is the master distributor for UK-based Sophos Plc, one of the leaders in the provision of anti-virus and anti-spam software for the corporate environment. For more information, visit NetXactics at www.netxactics.co.za.
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