AV-Comparatives has released the Whole Product Dynamic Test for the August through November timeframe. The top five products are listed below. The top five products in the March through June timeframe – Symantec, F-Secure, BitDefender, G Data, and Trend Micro. All of these were in the top 10 in the latter half of the year.
August through November Results AV–comparatives.org Whole Product Dynamic Test
1. 99.5 – Symantec
2. 99.4 – BitDefender
3. 99.1 - Kaspersky
4. 98.9 – Qihoo
5. 98.8 – Trend Micro
Of the above, only Trend Micro did not receive the Three Star Advanced Rating. F-Secure and G Data did, however. PC Tools and Webroot were at the bottom for the latter half of the year. They received the not so coveted “Tested” designation.
To see complete results for the latter half of the year (17 vendors), go to http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/comparativesreviews/dynamic-tests
The burning question for 2011 – How many toothpicks does it take to safely surf Facebook?
About AV-comparatives.org
AV-Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization, which is providing independent Anti-Virus software tests free to the public. Free is a good thing.
www.av-comparatives.org
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Avast Software Files for $200 Million IPO
Avast Software filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of $200 million in common shares on December 20. They plan to use the proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes. Avast is based out of Prague in the Czech Republic.
Avast said it may also use some or all of the money raised to invest in complementary companies, products or technologies. For the six months ended June 30, Avast reported a profit of $23 million. This is an increase from $4.4 million during the same period last year. Revenue jumped 87% to $37.9 million.
UBS Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities are the lead underwriters on the deal. This initial public offering has been in the rumor mill for a while.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avast-software-files-for-200-million-ipo-2011-12-21
In August 2010, growth equity investor Summit Partners invested $100 million for a minority stake in Avast. http://www.avast.com/pr-growth-equity-investor-summit-partners-invests-100-million-in-avast-software.
http://kensek.blogspot.com/2010/09/avg-internet-security-2011-available-in.html
Results in 3rd Party Tests - Avast Has Mixed Results
In testing, Avast has been all over the place. In November, they came in 11th in the www.av-comparatives.org test for “Proactive Detection of New Malware”. They came in last in the av-comparatives October-November “Whole Product Dynamic Test”. G Data and Kaspersky came in first and 2nd, respectively. They came in 16th in this test for the 2nd half of 2011. They came in 8th in the August “On-demand Detection of Malicious Software” test. They scored above 90% and 80% respectively for Reactive Detection and Proactive Detection in the “RAP Averages Quadrant Apr-Oct 2011”. They’ve received VB100 awards for all tests entered in 2010 and 2011.
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index
OPSWAT Security Industry Market Share Leader
In the OPSWAT December 2011 report on “Security Industry Market Share Analysis”, Avast is listed as the antivirus worldwide security industry market share leader, with a 15.9% share. Avast claims on their web site that they they protect 142 million active and 187 million registered users.
http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/12/december-2011-opswat-report-on.html
Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see how an Avast IPO fairs. Other security vendors are supposedly in the pipeline to go public.
Avast said it may also use some or all of the money raised to invest in complementary companies, products or technologies. For the six months ended June 30, Avast reported a profit of $23 million. This is an increase from $4.4 million during the same period last year. Revenue jumped 87% to $37.9 million.
UBS Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities are the lead underwriters on the deal. This initial public offering has been in the rumor mill for a while.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avast-software-files-for-200-million-ipo-2011-12-21
In August 2010, growth equity investor Summit Partners invested $100 million for a minority stake in Avast. http://www.avast.com/pr-growth-equity-investor-summit-partners-invests-100-million-in-avast-software.
http://kensek.blogspot.com/2010/09/avg-internet-security-2011-available-in.html
Results in 3rd Party Tests - Avast Has Mixed Results
In testing, Avast has been all over the place. In November, they came in 11th in the www.av-comparatives.org test for “Proactive Detection of New Malware”. They came in last in the av-comparatives October-November “Whole Product Dynamic Test”. G Data and Kaspersky came in first and 2nd, respectively. They came in 16th in this test for the 2nd half of 2011. They came in 8th in the August “On-demand Detection of Malicious Software” test. They scored above 90% and 80% respectively for Reactive Detection and Proactive Detection in the “RAP Averages Quadrant Apr-Oct 2011”. They’ve received VB100 awards for all tests entered in 2010 and 2011.
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index
OPSWAT Security Industry Market Share Leader
In the OPSWAT December 2011 report on “Security Industry Market Share Analysis”, Avast is listed as the antivirus worldwide security industry market share leader, with a 15.9% share. Avast claims on their web site that they they protect 142 million active and 187 million registered users.
http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/12/december-2011-opswat-report-on.html
Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see how an Avast IPO fairs. Other security vendors are supposedly in the pipeline to go public.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Juniper Networks Slaps Patent Suite on Palo Alto Networks - December 19
Juniper Networks is suing Palo Alto Networks cofounders Nir Zuk and Yuming Mao for patent infringement. PAN’s cofounders left Juniper in 2005 to start PAN. Zuk and Mao are accused of willful infringement of six patents Juniper Networks acquired when they purchased NetScreen in 2004. If you can’t win in the marketplace, see if there’s some way to gain a win in the courtroom. Whether this will delay an IPO (initial public offering)by Palo Alto Networks is hard to tell.
http://www.crn.com/news/networking/232300802/juniper-slaps-patent-suit-on-palo-alto.htm
To borrow heavily from William Congreve, "Hell hath no fury like a company scorned from the Gartner leaders quadrant or feeling violated about patent infringement."
Palo Alto Networks and Check Point Technologies are the only two companies in the Leaders quadrant in the December 14, 2011 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls. Juniper Networks is one of four in the Challengers quadrant.
Hewlett-Packard is in a somewhat embarrassing portion of the Niche Players quadrant. Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman may need to have a serious talk with the security group at Hewlett Packard about this. The lower left hand corner is not “coveted”.
There’s a misconception, perhaps foisted upon prospects by vendors, that the only companies to consider purchasing solutions from are in the Leaders quadrant of a Gartner Magic Quadrant. A good document from Gartner to read is “Magic Quadrants and MarketScopes: How Gartner Evaluates Vendors within a Market”. It’s written by Gartner analyst Charles Smulders, ID: G00154752
A few sentences from the document - “To evaluate vendors in the Leaders quadrant only and ignore those in other quadrants is risky and thus discouraged.” Use a Magic Quadrant to narrow your list of choices, but don't base your decision only on the model. Talk to the Gartner analyst who created the research for more details."
http://channelnomics.com/2011/12/19/juniper-lodges-lawsuit-palo-alto/
Read the above sentences to any vendor who flashes a Garner Magic Quadrant from his slide deck during a presentation!
http://www.crn.com/news/networking/232300802/juniper-slaps-patent-suit-on-palo-alto.htm
To borrow heavily from William Congreve, "Hell hath no fury like a company scorned from the Gartner leaders quadrant or feeling violated about patent infringement."
Palo Alto Networks and Check Point Technologies are the only two companies in the Leaders quadrant in the December 14, 2011 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls. Juniper Networks is one of four in the Challengers quadrant.
Hewlett-Packard is in a somewhat embarrassing portion of the Niche Players quadrant. Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman may need to have a serious talk with the security group at Hewlett Packard about this. The lower left hand corner is not “coveted”.
There’s a misconception, perhaps foisted upon prospects by vendors, that the only companies to consider purchasing solutions from are in the Leaders quadrant of a Gartner Magic Quadrant. A good document from Gartner to read is “Magic Quadrants and MarketScopes: How Gartner Evaluates Vendors within a Market”. It’s written by Gartner analyst Charles Smulders, ID: G00154752
A few sentences from the document - “To evaluate vendors in the Leaders quadrant only and ignore those in other quadrants is risky and thus discouraged.” Use a Magic Quadrant to narrow your list of choices, but don't base your decision only on the model. Talk to the Gartner analyst who created the research for more details."
http://channelnomics.com/2011/12/19/juniper-lodges-lawsuit-palo-alto/
Read the above sentences to any vendor who flashes a Garner Magic Quadrant from his slide deck during a presentation!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
AV-Comparatives Malware Removal Test 2011
AV-Comparatives (www.av-comparatives.org) has released their Malware Removal Test December 2011. This test focused on the malware removal/cleaning capabilities of the products. Nothing to do with detection rates or protection capabilities. According to the organization, the report is aimed towards home users. Ten samples were used in the test with scoring done based on removal of the malware and how convenient it was to do the removal. Scales of A-D were used for this. In colloquial terms, how well is the malware (files, etc) cleaned up? Eighteen products were tested. The antivirus products were used.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/removal/avc_removal_2011.pdf
Four Companies Receive The Top Three Star Rating
Products from only four vendors received AV-Comparatives advanced 3 star rating. In order, these were - BitDefender, PC Tools, Kaspersky, and Symantec. BitDefender scored 92 points. Low score overall was 52 points.
BitDefender's business security product was named CRN's 2011 Product of the Year in a recent article.
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/232300166/the-best-products-of-2011.htm
Four vendors received two stars and ten vendors, one star. You’ll have to check out the report for the complete listing!
The report also contains a nice table providing links to some of the Free Removal-Tools for specific malware available from these vendors and whether a boot disk is available. Definitely worth checking out, and making copies as appropriate.
The vendors in the Malware Removal Test, alphabetically: Avast, Avg Technologies, Avira, BitDefender, Eset, F-Secure, G Data, K7, Kaspersky, Mcafee, Microsoft, Panda, PC Tools, Qihoo, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro, and Webroot.
About AV-Comparatives
AV-Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization, which provides independent Anti-Virus software tests free to the public.
Go to the AV-comparatives website for complete details about the organization, the many tests they perform, and to download copies of test reports.
www.av-comparatives.org
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/removal/avc_removal_2011.pdf
Four Companies Receive The Top Three Star Rating
Products from only four vendors received AV-Comparatives advanced 3 star rating. In order, these were - BitDefender, PC Tools, Kaspersky, and Symantec. BitDefender scored 92 points. Low score overall was 52 points.
BitDefender's business security product was named CRN's 2011 Product of the Year in a recent article.
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/232300166/the-best-products-of-2011.htm
Four vendors received two stars and ten vendors, one star. You’ll have to check out the report for the complete listing!
The report also contains a nice table providing links to some of the Free Removal-Tools for specific malware available from these vendors and whether a boot disk is available. Definitely worth checking out, and making copies as appropriate.
The vendors in the Malware Removal Test, alphabetically: Avast, Avg Technologies, Avira, BitDefender, Eset, F-Secure, G Data, K7, Kaspersky, Mcafee, Microsoft, Panda, PC Tools, Qihoo, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro, and Webroot.
About AV-Comparatives
AV-Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization, which provides independent Anti-Virus software tests free to the public.
Go to the AV-comparatives website for complete details about the organization, the many tests they perform, and to download copies of test reports.
www.av-comparatives.org
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
CRN - The 15 Best Products Of 2011 - BitDefender in Security
CRN has come out with their 15 best products of 2011. In the area of security, BitDefender Security: BitDefender Business Solutions Version 3.5. This isn't an in depth slide show. Light reading.
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/232300166/the-best-products-of-2011.htm
We liked this product’s ability to install anti-virus and security software across the network, even on unmanaged computers where there is not an installation ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Active Directory. Also: Bitdefender’s approach is a two-fer: It’s targeting SMBs with this product but also has begun engaging VARs more aggressively. It’s a good product with channel opportunity.
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/232300166/the-15-best-products-of-2011.htm?pgno=3
How Has BitDefender Performed in 2011 in the Test and Review World?
4 stars out of five from Neil Rubenking and PC Magazine http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-internet-security-suites-2012-pc.html for Best Internet Security Suites 2012
Above 90% in reactive and above 80% in proactive detection in Virus Bulletin’s Rap Average Quadrant http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index
9 for 10 in the last ten Virus Bulletin VB100 Awards
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/vendor?id=11
Scored 16.0 out of 18.0 in www.av-test.org August test on Windows XP platforms http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/test-reports/sepoct-2011/
8 out of 12 on www.av-comparatives.org November Retrospective Test Static Detection Test for New and Malicious Software. A number of vendors declined to participate in this test. Worth reading the details. http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/11/av-comparatives-anti-virus-comparative.html
BitDefender was not in the top 10 in OPSWAT’s Latest Market Share Report (showing that quality and share do not necessarily go hand in hand http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/12/december-2011-opswat-report-on.html
They scored 5th out of 17 in the latest www.av-comparatives.org Whole Product Dynamic Test http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/comparativesreviews/dynamic-tests
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/232300166/the-best-products-of-2011.htm
We liked this product’s ability to install anti-virus and security software across the network, even on unmanaged computers where there is not an installation ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Active Directory. Also: Bitdefender’s approach is a two-fer: It’s targeting SMBs with this product but also has begun engaging VARs more aggressively. It’s a good product with channel opportunity.
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/232300166/the-15-best-products-of-2011.htm?pgno=3
How Has BitDefender Performed in 2011 in the Test and Review World?
4 stars out of five from Neil Rubenking and PC Magazine http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-internet-security-suites-2012-pc.html for Best Internet Security Suites 2012
Above 90% in reactive and above 80% in proactive detection in Virus Bulletin’s Rap Average Quadrant http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index
9 for 10 in the last ten Virus Bulletin VB100 Awards
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/vendor?id=11
Scored 16.0 out of 18.0 in www.av-test.org August test on Windows XP platforms http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/test-reports/sepoct-2011/
8 out of 12 on www.av-comparatives.org November Retrospective Test Static Detection Test for New and Malicious Software. A number of vendors declined to participate in this test. Worth reading the details. http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/11/av-comparatives-anti-virus-comparative.html
BitDefender was not in the top 10 in OPSWAT’s Latest Market Share Report (showing that quality and share do not necessarily go hand in hand http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/12/december-2011-opswat-report-on.html
They scored 5th out of 17 in the latest www.av-comparatives.org Whole Product Dynamic Test http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/comparativesreviews/dynamic-tests
Monday, December 05, 2011
Former HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn Dies after Cancer Battle
Patricia Dunn, the former chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ)'s board who became a controversial figure in the company's "pre-texting" scandal, died Sunday at the age of 58 after a long battle with cancer.
This pre-texting at Hewlett Packard took place during the Hurd era. It was a big deal in the business press. Mark (I did not date that woman) Hurd, CEO at the time, admitted that he had approved the investigator’s tactics of using “pre-texting” to search for leaks among board members. Pre-texting the practice of presenting oneself as someone else in order to obtain private information. In colloquial terms, telling a lie about whom you are to get info.
This was one of the major incidents illustrating how far Hewlett-Packard had strayed from the HP Way and the ideals of their founders. Other tactics used included “tracking e-mails” and surveillance of reporters. Not pretty. Congress ultimately declared the practice of pre-texting illegal.
Hewlett Packard has come a long way since then. The family culture that HP had is probably gone forever, though. In fact, it may not be a successful culture for today’s business world. An interesting book came out about Hewlett Packard and this era in 2010 - "The Big Lie: Spying, Scandal, and Ethical Collapse at Hewlett Packard" by Anthony Bianco.
Sympathy to the family.
http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/232200764/former-hp-chairwoman-dunn-dies-after-long-cancer-battle.htm
This pre-texting at Hewlett Packard took place during the Hurd era. It was a big deal in the business press. Mark (I did not date that woman) Hurd, CEO at the time, admitted that he had approved the investigator’s tactics of using “pre-texting” to search for leaks among board members. Pre-texting the practice of presenting oneself as someone else in order to obtain private information. In colloquial terms, telling a lie about whom you are to get info.
This was one of the major incidents illustrating how far Hewlett-Packard had strayed from the HP Way and the ideals of their founders. Other tactics used included “tracking e-mails” and surveillance of reporters. Not pretty. Congress ultimately declared the practice of pre-texting illegal.
Hewlett Packard has come a long way since then. The family culture that HP had is probably gone forever, though. In fact, it may not be a successful culture for today’s business world. An interesting book came out about Hewlett Packard and this era in 2010 - "The Big Lie: Spying, Scandal, and Ethical Collapse at Hewlett Packard" by Anthony Bianco.
Sympathy to the family.
http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/232200764/former-hp-chairwoman-dunn-dies-after-long-cancer-battle.htm
December 2011 OPSWAT Report on Worldwide Security Industry Market Share
OPSWAT Inc. has published their December 2011 report on “Security Industry Market Share Analysis”. The data OPSWAT used was collected between November 16, 2010 and November 15, 2011. It's worthwhile to check out the detailed report.
Worldwide Security Industry Market Share Leaders – Companies
• Avast Software – 15.9% (1st in September Report)
• Avira- 12.1% (3rd in September report)
• AVG Technologies – 11.3% (2nd in September report)
• Eset- 10.1%
• Symantec – 9.1%
Worldwide Market Share Leaders - Product
• Avast Free Antivirus - 11.5% (1st in September report)
• Avira Antivir Personal - Free – 10.1% (3rd in September report)
• Microsoft Security Essentials – 9.3% (2nd in September Report)
• AVG Antivirus Free - 6.4%
• Eset Nod32 Antivirus - 6.63%
North America Vendor Market Share
Symantec (15.9%), AVG Technologies, Microsoft, and Avast were the leaders (stats for the top 10 are in the report). These were the only vendors with over 10%. Microsoft (by far), Kaspersky, and Avira were the big gainers in year over year in North America vendor market share. Eset plummeted.
North America Product Market Share
The top 4 vendors in order were Microsoft (13.3%), Avast, AVG, and Norton. Microsoft was the only product with over 10% (stats for the top 10 are in the report).
Global Market Share versus Ability to Detect Malicious Software, and Overall Quality
Below is a table combining December market share, test rankings from an AV-comparatives.org Q3 test and an AV-tes.org test Q3 certification test.
G Data topped the AV-comparatives.org test, AV-Comparatives on Demand Detectiohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn of Malicious Software – September 2011. http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/09/av-comparatives-on-demand-detection-of.html
BitDefender topped the AV-test.org test yet. For the BitDefender test, I totaled the scores for Protection, Repair, and Usability. AV-Test Product Review and Certification Report – Q3-2011. http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/10/av-test-product-review-and.html
Note that there was no relationship between market share and performance. Hence the need to look at test organization results and reviews by knowledgeable individuals. The number of “likes” on a Facebook fan page is not a substitute. The largest vendors aren't always the best vendors from either the perspective of usability or protecting your network there were ties in the results).
Large Number of Vendors but Consolidated Industry
Ten vendors were listed by name in the worldwide market share data, Avast, Avira, AVG, Eset, Symantec, Microsoft, Kaspersky, Mcafee, Panda, and Trend Micro. These comprised 87% of the market. In North America, seventy-one different antivirushttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif vendors and 238 antivirus products were detected in this latest report. Eighty-one vendors and 353 products were detected worldwide. Quite an effort by OPSWAT.
About OPSWAT
The OPSWAT report also contains information about Windows Operating System Deployments, and Backup (client and vendor) market share.
OPSWAT market share reports are available at http://www.opswat.com/media/reports. The report contains details on how the data was captured.
OPSWAT was founded in 2002. OPSWAT provides software engineers and IT professionals with development tools and data services to power manageability and security solutions. www.opswat.com
AV-Comparatives.org
AV-Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization, which provides independent Anti-Virus software tests free to the public. www.av-comparatives.org
AV-Test.org
The AV-TEST Institute is a leading international and independent service provider in the fields of IT security and anti-virus research.
Worldwide Security Industry Market Share Leaders – Companies
• Avast Software – 15.9% (1st in September Report)
• Avira- 12.1% (3rd in September report)
• AVG Technologies – 11.3% (2nd in September report)
• Eset- 10.1%
• Symantec – 9.1%
Worldwide Market Share Leaders - Product
• Avast Free Antivirus - 11.5% (1st in September report)
• Avira Antivir Personal - Free – 10.1% (3rd in September report)
• Microsoft Security Essentials – 9.3% (2nd in September Report)
• AVG Antivirus Free - 6.4%
• Eset Nod32 Antivirus - 6.63%
North America Vendor Market Share
Symantec (15.9%), AVG Technologies, Microsoft, and Avast were the leaders (stats for the top 10 are in the report). These were the only vendors with over 10%. Microsoft (by far), Kaspersky, and Avira were the big gainers in year over year in North America vendor market share. Eset plummeted.
North America Product Market Share
The top 4 vendors in order were Microsoft (13.3%), Avast, AVG, and Norton. Microsoft was the only product with over 10% (stats for the top 10 are in the report).
Global Market Share versus Ability to Detect Malicious Software, and Overall Quality
Below is a table combining December market share, test rankings from an AV-comparatives.org Q3 test and an AV-tes.org test Q3 certification test.
G Data topped the AV-comparatives.org test, AV-Comparatives on Demand Detectiohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn of Malicious Software – September 2011. http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/09/av-comparatives-on-demand-detection-of.html
BitDefender topped the AV-test.org test yet. For the BitDefender test, I totaled the scores for Protection, Repair, and Usability. AV-Test Product Review and Certification Report – Q3-2011. http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/10/av-test-product-review-and.html
Note that there was no relationship between market share and performance. Hence the need to look at test organization results and reviews by knowledgeable individuals. The number of “likes” on a Facebook fan page is not a substitute. The largest vendors aren't always the best vendors from either the perspective of usability or protecting your network there were ties in the results).
Large Number of Vendors but Consolidated Industry
Ten vendors were listed by name in the worldwide market share data, Avast, Avira, AVG, Eset, Symantec, Microsoft, Kaspersky, Mcafee, Panda, and Trend Micro. These comprised 87% of the market. In North America, seventy-one different antivirushttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif vendors and 238 antivirus products were detected in this latest report. Eighty-one vendors and 353 products were detected worldwide. Quite an effort by OPSWAT.
About OPSWAT
The OPSWAT report also contains information about Windows Operating System Deployments, and Backup (client and vendor) market share.
OPSWAT market share reports are available at http://www.opswat.com/media/reports. The report contains details on how the data was captured.
OPSWAT was founded in 2002. OPSWAT provides software engineers and IT professionals with development tools and data services to power manageability and security solutions. www.opswat.com
AV-Comparatives.org
AV-Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization, which provides independent Anti-Virus software tests free to the public. www.av-comparatives.org
AV-Test.org
The AV-TEST Institute is a leading international and independent service provider in the fields of IT security and anti-virus research.
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