New tests brought a new "Virus Bulletin 100%" ("VB100") award for VirusBuster

VirusBuster for Samba Servers running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux successfully fulfilled the new VB100 test criteria

Like in several previous years, VirusBuster Ltd's "VirusBuster for Samba Servers" anti-malware solution again successfully passed the "Virus Bulletin 100%" test, and won another VB100 award for VirusBuster Ltd.

Virus Bulletin (www.virusbtn.com), an independent medium of the computer security industry, has carried out comparative testing of anti-virus products for a decade. The first "VB100" awards were issued in 1998, and, since then, they have gained worldwide reputation. The tests focus on virus detection rates and scanning speed, as well as at how each product fares when scanning a set files that are known to be clean.

According to testers the relatively small number - eleven - of participants in the first test of the year can be explained by the complexities introduced by the Linux, namely the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 platform.

More significantly, the January certification involved a new test: the RAP (reactive and proactive) method. This testing setup was developed over the last few months, and should provide some interesting insights into the products.

The RAP test essentially differs from earlier examinations in that aspect the products are tested continuously for a four week long period, and not only in a specific moment. The signature database of products is not refreshed during the last week of test, so the testers can judge the proactive, "far-seeing" capabilities of products.

The full value of RAP test will emerge in long term, as further refinements will take place to analyze long-term trends. Anyway, as Virus Bulletin's skilled tester, John Hawes emphasizes, the introduction of the new RAP method does not affect the basic tenets of the VB100 certification program: the requirement for products to detect the full WildList, both on access and on demand, without false positives. These central certification standards remain unchanged, although the testers expect to revamp the certification procedures in the near future.