Malware is Evolving Faster Than PC Security Programs

The bad guys are currently winning the fight for your PC! PC World reports that the malware writers are using sophisticated methods to build and test new malware “products.”

Malware Evolving Too Fast for Antivirus Apps

“If you think that the latest security suites afford complete protection against malware attacks, think again. Today’s for-profit malware pushers use dedicated test labs and other increasingly professional techniques to improve their chances of infecting your computer. And the techniques they employ to outpace security software makers appear to be working. Make no mistake–a good security program can go a long way toward keeping you in control of your system. But PC World’s recent tests of security suites found that new malware easily evaded the applications. In our tests of how well security software blocks unknown malicious programs, the best performer detected only one in four new malware samples. In contrast, February 2007 results from similar heuristics testing showed that the best utilities caught about half of new samples. ‘In this industry, unlike others, we have an antagonist we have to deal with, someone we’re constantly battling back and forth with,’ says Hiep Dang, director of anti-malware research with McAfee’s Avert Labs. ‘The bad guys have the element of surprise.’ Even just a 12-hour head start can translate into thousands of infected PCs, and malware authors have long tested their programs against antivirus applications to make sure they get that critical jump on the opposition.”