Virus Bulletin test reveals winners and losers

Several security vendors failed to detect a polymorphic virus

Independent security testing body Virus Bulletin has published the results of its latest VB100 certification tests, which this time centred on Windows Server 2008.

The firm assessed 26 security products and found that 11 failed to achieve its VB100 certification. All of the fails were due "in part" to a failure to detect one or both of two file-infecting viruses.

"This month's test was a real challenge for the products, with two separate variants of a particularly tricky polymorphic virus included in our core WildList set," said Virus Bulletin test director John Hawes.

"We used large numbers of samples of each to thoroughly measure the accuracy of detection, and showed that many products continue to have trouble with these nasties."

However, it was not all bad. Some security products produced impressive scores, detecting and coping with a large number of malware issues.

"There were some quite impressive scores in our RAP test, showing that some vendors are doing a good job handling the large volumes of new malware appearing every day," said Hawes.

"Looking at the long-term picture, we can also see some products achieving high levels of consistency month on month, which is also a good indicator of a solid, well-run lab.

"We are looking forward to seeing whether these trends continue with a wider range of products in our first comparative on Windows 7, due soon."