There are many awards and certification programs across the IT security industry. Detailed below are some of the most widely recognized programs
and testing bodies.
To find out which awards and certificates Microsoft security products hold please visit the product Web pages:
“AV-Comparatives is an Austrian Non-Profit-Organization, which provides various comprehensive and independent AntiVirus software
comparative tests and reviews free to the public. AV-Comparatives is one of the biggest and most well-known and respected AV test
labs worldwide. The testing range includes beside on-demand tests, also retrospective tests, HIPS tests, dynamic tests, false alarm
tests, scanning speed and performance tests, product reviews, etc.”
“The company AV-Test GmbH is a worldwide operating and leading service provider for IT security testing and consultancy services.
Our team has more than 15 years of experience in the area of antivirus research and data security. Every year, we're performing more
than 2,000 product tests of antivirus, antispyware, personal firewalls and related products on behalf of the producers, integrators
(OEM), corporate users and for magazines.
Our test labs are equipped with more than 100 computers and server systems. Currently we have access to 60 Terabytes of testing
data (this includes several million malware samples and clean files). We test on all important desktop and server platforms,
including all currently supported versions of Windows, Linux, Solaris, Unix, Lotus Domino/Notes and MS Exchange.
We are regularly invited to speak at international conferences where we present new testing methodologies and general research
results in the field of security software, such as response time reviews or tests of the dynamic protection features of a product
(this includes behavior blockers). We are constantly contributing to articles for more than 45 computer magazines world-wide. Within
the scope of product certification we're working together with the tekit Consult Bonn GmbH (TÜV Saarland group).”
The goal for ICSA Labs Certification is to enhance and improve security implementations of network and Internet computing,
which will improve commercial security and its use of appropriate security products, services, policies, techniques, and
procedures. Certification enforces overall confidence in computing and drives enhanced security measures while at the same time,
decreasing the intrusion of security measures in everyday life. Certification also promotes user acceptance of increased security
while improving the ease of use, and the invisible, automatic, and seamless integration of security technology in everyday computing.
Products and services certified by the ICSA Labs AntiVirus Product Certification program:
- Prevent the end user from becoming infected by in-the-wild and other computer viruses.
- Detect computer viruses prior to causing an infection.
- Ensure the proper detection of self-replicating computer viruses before doing any damage to the host system.
Virus Bulletin is a magazine that conducts antivirus software product detection rate tests. The tests report on the prevention,
detection, and removal of malware and spam. Products that detect 100 percent of the viruses “in the wild,”
without false alarms, are given this award. VB100 award was first introduced in 1998.
In order to display the VB100 logo, an antivirus product must have demonstrated in tests conducted by Virus Bulletin that:
-
It detects all “in the wild,” viruses during both on-demand and on-access scanning.
- It generates no false positives when scanning a set of clean files.
- It fulfills these criteria in its default state.
West Coast Labs’ Checkmark Certification system has become recognized as a leading global standard for antimalware certification and
testing to real-world standards. The Checkmark system is a quality testing and certification service with established, independent
standards on product effectiveness. Checkmark standards are continuously being developed to ensure that they are an accurate
reflection of real-world situations and changing technology advances. Products registered in the Checkmark System are tested at
regular intervals against the published test criteria.
Antivirus Checkmark, Level 1
For a product to be certified to Antivirus Checkmark, Level One, the product must be able to detect all viruses
“in the wild.”
Antivirus Checkmark, Level 2
For a product to be certified to Antivirus Checkmark, Level Two, the product must be able to comply with Antivirus Checkmark, Level
One and, in addition, disinfect all viruses “in the wild,” which are capable of being disinfected.
AntiSpyware Desktop Checkmark
For a product to be certified to the AntiSpyware Desktop Checkmark, the product must be able to detect all spyware samples in the West
Coast Labs test suite. Testing was performed against unpatched Microsoft Windows workstations. The spyware samples were held on the file
system, but not installed prior to testing.
Trojan Checkmark
For a product to be certified to Trojan Checkmark, the product must be able to detect all Trojans in the West Coast Labs Trojan test
suite. The product must not cause any false alarms (based on testing against the West Coast Labs false alarm test suite).
