Webroot notified its US resellers on around January 18 that it intended to exit the e-mail security service business. This is in favor of an aggressive endpoint security offensive. This offensive will be spearheaded by a new anti-malware solution for businesses. This was according to a letter viewed by CRN.
"Webroot is exiting the e-mail security business. We will not accept new business orders or renewals for this service," the company stated in the letter.
http://www.crn.com/news/security/232500092/webroot-kills-e-mail-security-service-plans-end-point-offensive.htm
Webroot moved quickly. According to a January 19 CRN article, they have sold their archiving business to Sonian. Sonian will add about 1,000 customers as a result of the transaction. Financial terms weren’t given.
http://www.crn.com/news/security/232500166/sonian-buys-webroot-e-mail-archiving-business.htm
Webroot’s new business anti-malware product line, will be based on the Webroot SecureAnywhere consumer offering. The anti-malware business solution will have Webroot going against larger anti-malware competitors such Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, and Sophos. The product will be going into beta in February, it appears.
Some Work For Webroot to Do
Exciting stuff. The 800 pound gorillas in the industry will have a new competitor in the business space. However, Webroot may have some work to do regarding this new product, whether it’s improving the scan engine, extending protection to the cloud, improving heuristics, whatever. Below are some results from leading test organizations. The tests took place in the latter half of 2011.
Virus Bulletin – Failed to receive a VB100 award in the December 11 test on Windows 7. http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/vendor?id=55
AV-Test.org – Passed the Nov/Dec test on Windows 7. However, its scores (out of 6) weren’t stellar. 4.0 for Protection, 3.5 for Repair, and 4.0 for Usability.
http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/test-reports/novdec-2011/
AV-Test.org – Webroot came in 17th overall in the August through November Whole Product “Real-World” Dynamic Protection Test.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/dyn/wpdt2011_2_en.pdf
AV-Comparatives.org – Anti-Virus Comparative Summary Report 2011. In 9 tests, Webroot received on Adv+ score for performance (AV), an Adv score for the removal test, and Std for performance (suite). Webroot received Tested or N.A. on the remaining tests.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/summary/summary2011.pdf
AV-Comparatives.org – In the Anti-Virus Comparative, Malware Removal Test (December), Webroot came in 7th out of 18 overall with an Advanced (2 stars out of 3) rating.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/removal/avc_removal_2011.pdf
There are other tests on the www.av-comparatives.org website, as well.
While positive reviews from PC Magazine are great, businesses pay more attention to 3rd party test results than consumers do. Also, other competitors have been aggressive in moving scanning and heuristic activity to the cloud. Webroots products were the recommended/preferred product of Best Buy's Geek Squad for awhile.
PC Magazine gave Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete 4.5 stars out of 5 as its top consumer product.
http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-internet-security-suites-2012-pc.html
PC Magazine also gave 4.5 stars to SecureAnywhere Complete Antivirus 2012. Both products received Editors Choice designations from PC Magazine. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-antivirus-software-2012-pc.html
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 reports.
www.av-comparatives.org
Showing posts with label editors Choice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editors Choice. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Monday, September 12, 2011
October 12 - Editors Choice PC Magazine – The Wisdom of Crowds
Neil Rubenking from PC Magazine has named his Editors Choice awards for best Free Antivirus 2012, paid best Antivirus 2012 and best Internet Security Suites 2012 solutions.
• Free Antivirus – AVG Free Anti-Virus 2012, AVG Technologies
• Paid Antivirus – Norton Antivirus 2012, Symantec
• Paid Antivirus – Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012
• Internet Security – Norton Internet Security 2012, Symantec
To see PC Magazine’s rankings of the Best Antivirus 2012 and Best Internet Security 2012 solutions, go to http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-antivirus-software-2012-pc.html and http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-internet-security-suites-2012-pc.html respectively . Additions will be made to these sites.
Go to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392456,00.asp for the Norton Internet Security review.
Go to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393678,00.asp for the Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus review.
An ouch for AVG Technologies is a false positive in the latest VB100 tests from Virus Bulletin. http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/summary . Nice streak of 21 VB100 awards in a row prior to the August test, though.
Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki – You Have to Remember the Conditions
“The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations” is a great book written by James Surowiecki. In the book, he argues that “under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them."
This may work for crowds designing internet search engines, guessing the weight of a wild boar, or guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar. It may not work for selecting the best antivirus or internet security solution. There are four conditions from Surowiecki not mentioned by people for this to work. The “wise” crowds need:
(1) diversity of opinion
(2) independence of members from one another
(3) decentralization
(4) a good method for aggregating opinions
Fan pages on internet security solution providers don’t represent a diversity opinion in selecting a “best internet security solution” or "best antivirus solution". Gazillions of the fans have never met a like button they wouldn’t push. They’ve self selected onto a fan page. You could argue that they are decentralized. However, they are receiving constant reinforcement from their fellow Facebook friends on the wisdom of their decisions. Avoiding buyer’s remorse is another topic. Internet surveys on voting for the best solution are a popularity contest with people able to “dial in” multiple times.
In the end, should one need surgery, want advice on an automobile, or want advice on the best internet security, it may be best to rely on the wisdom of a relative few qualified pundits who are given free reign to express their opinions. Web sites that list “Top 10 Somethings” may not be the most objective if participation requires pay to play.
Another great book – “How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer.
• Free Antivirus – AVG Free Anti-Virus 2012, AVG Technologies
• Paid Antivirus – Norton Antivirus 2012, Symantec
• Paid Antivirus – Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012
• Internet Security – Norton Internet Security 2012, Symantec
To see PC Magazine’s rankings of the Best Antivirus 2012 and Best Internet Security 2012 solutions, go to http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-antivirus-software-2012-pc.html and http://kensek.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-internet-security-suites-2012-pc.html respectively . Additions will be made to these sites.
Go to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392456,00.asp for the Norton Internet Security review.
Go to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393678,00.asp for the Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus review.
An ouch for AVG Technologies is a false positive in the latest VB100 tests from Virus Bulletin. http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/summary . Nice streak of 21 VB100 awards in a row prior to the August test, though.
Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki – You Have to Remember the Conditions
“The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations” is a great book written by James Surowiecki. In the book, he argues that “under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them."
This may work for crowds designing internet search engines, guessing the weight of a wild boar, or guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar. It may not work for selecting the best antivirus or internet security solution. There are four conditions from Surowiecki not mentioned by people for this to work. The “wise” crowds need:
(1) diversity of opinion
(2) independence of members from one another
(3) decentralization
(4) a good method for aggregating opinions
Fan pages on internet security solution providers don’t represent a diversity opinion in selecting a “best internet security solution” or "best antivirus solution". Gazillions of the fans have never met a like button they wouldn’t push. They’ve self selected onto a fan page. You could argue that they are decentralized. However, they are receiving constant reinforcement from their fellow Facebook friends on the wisdom of their decisions. Avoiding buyer’s remorse is another topic. Internet surveys on voting for the best solution are a popularity contest with people able to “dial in” multiple times.
In the end, should one need surgery, want advice on an automobile, or want advice on the best internet security, it may be best to rely on the wisdom of a relative few qualified pundits who are given free reign to express their opinions. Web sites that list “Top 10 Somethings” may not be the most objective if participation requires pay to play.
Another great book – “How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer.
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