Members of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO) - including
Gábor Szappanos, the chief of VirusBuster Ltd's Virus Lab as member of AMTSO's board of directors - have published guidelines that, for the first time, set recognized standards for testing security software. The standards have been developed and agreed by more than 40 security experts, product testers and members of the media from around the world. The creation and publication of these standards is a critical first step in AMTSO’s mission to improve the testing of anti-malware products.
Members of AMTSO have also produced a comprehensive set of best practices for dynamic testing of security software. This document will help software testers create more accurate and reliable tests. Both documents (
The Fundamental Principles of Testing and
Best Practices for Dynamic Testing) are available to
download from www.amtso.org.
The approval of these standards and guidelines is a significant step for the security industry as a whole, which has been inconsistent in its approach to the issues surrounding anti-malware testing until now. Adoption of the standards will be voluntary by testers and publications, and AMTSO plans to eventually provide public feedback on the level of compliance with such standards, and help assess the quality of published product reviews.
AMTSO is an industry-wide, international collaboration of leading vendors of security software, software testers and media representatives. Its formation has been driven by industry-wide concern about the increasing mismatch between what anti-malware technologies do to protect users and the way product tests measure this protection. As anti-malware solutions become more complex, many existing tests are unable to evaluate product effectiveness properly, resulting in product reviews that are sometimes incomplete, inaccurate and misleading. The adoption of standards and guidelines is the first stage in an effort for members of the industry by the industry to collaborate work closely with testers, reviewers and the media to produce advice that will help customers make better-informed buying decisions.
About the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO)
AMTSO is dedicated to helping improve the objectivity, quality and relevance of anti-malware technology testing. AMTSO membership is open to industry-wide academics, reviewers, testers and vendors.
Additional information regarding the organization, including charter documents, membership and educational materials are available on the AMTSO website at
www.amtso.org.
About VirusBuster Ltd.
VirusBuster provides customized, multi-level virus protection solutions tailored to individual customer demands and backed by high quality technical support. VirusBuster has been developing and distributing anti-virus and other IT security solutions for more than 15 years -- including workstation, server and mail server protection, as well as antivirus management systems on almost all computer platform. VirusBuster products have won the "Virus Bulletin 100% Award" and the "Checkmark Anti-Virus Level One" certification several times, and received the "Desktop/Server Anti-Virus Detection", "Desktop/Server Anti-Virus Cleaning" certifications from ICSA Labs, and OESISOK industrial certification from OPSWAT, which are clear indications of their efficiency and quality. VirusBuster products are available through its partners in Europe, South and North America and other regions around the world.
