Given this sad state of affairs, we'll admit that we set out to test AV devices hoping to find a silver bullet. Alas, though many vendors have made progress, we didn't find anything that would prevent folks from getting hammered again next time a new attack comes down the pike. Why? Because the industry is still in a reactive rather than proactive mode. It would take a virus or worm with a particularly destructive payload putting thousands of companies out of business to motivate the industry to solve the root problem: anonymity.
Against this ominous backdrop, we set out to see which antivirus products could best fend off the new generation of network worm and virus attacks. Our two key questions: Have AV vendors been able to put together products and strategies that can defend against worms and blended threats as well as traditional viruses? And is there any way to defend networks during the window of vulnerability that exists for all AV products because of their reliance on purely reactive signature-scanning technology?
Computer Associates, F-Secure, Network Associates, Sophos, Symantec and Trend Micro all responded to our invitation. Panda Software and Global Hauri both expressed an interest in participating, but were unable to get their products to us in time.
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