Johannesburg, 09 Nov 2001
SecureData, an ERP.com company and the exclusive sub-Saharan distributor of Trend Micro Inc, a worldwide leader in network anti-virus and Internet content security solutions, announces that HouseCall, Trend Micro's free online virus scanner, earned first place for its virus detection capabilities and ease of use in an internationally recognised test.
AV-Test.org conducted the independent test of several free online virus scanners from industry-leading vendors at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany. The test was conducted for PC-WELT, Germany's largest monthly computer magazine.
"We are independent security experts, so any anti-virus solution we evaluate is put through a series of rigorous tests and must meet stringent standards in order to receive high marks," said Andreas Marx, CEO of AV-Test.org. "Vendors who earn high recognition in our testing procedures are preferred in the industry and have demonstrated their ability to provide comprehensive virus protection."
Trend Micro's HouseCall took first place in the test, as PC-WELT's first choice for online virus scanning. HouseCall includes Trend Micro's scan engine, which is standard across the company's product line and incorporates heuristic-based scanning techniques along with traditional virus detection methods. Heuristic scanning enables Trend Micro's anti-virus solutions to detect unknown viruses, based on behaviour, before they can damage a user's computer.
The online scanner detected all "in-the-wild" viruses, or viruses that are currently circulating in the computing environment, and recognized more than 98% of Trojans and backdoor programs, receiving the highest score in this category. Additionally, HouseCall received high marks for its intuitive user interface, its clear display of the number of files scanned, and the number of viruses found. AV-Test.org examined six online virus scanners, all free tools, offered by established anti-virus vendors. The object of the test was: to determine the effectiveness of these tools; the detection rate of computer viruses, Trojans and worms; and the recognition of backdoor programs.
The test was carried out using a large number of "in-the-wild" viruses (a list developed by Joe Wells' Wild List Organization), ActiveX controls, backdoor programs, and Trojans. AV-Test.org also tested the scanners' ability to examine and archive embedded files, as well as compressed file formats. In addition, testers graded HouseCall for its user-friendliness including ease-of-use, how it displayed and stored results, and whether or not it required registration with the manufacturer.
AV-Test.org was impressed with HouseCall's additional features that include the creation of back-up copies of files before cleaning and the scanner's direct link to Trend Micro's virus information centre and virus tracking map, http://wtc.trendmicro.com/wtc/. The virus tracking centre allows visitors to Trend Micro's Web site to track the spread of malicious code across the world in real-time.
Trend Micro says the independent testing performed by AV-Test.org recognises the quality of its virus-detection capabilities and clearly validates Trend Micro's leadership role in providing quality Internet security solutions.
In previous AV-Test.org evaluations, Trend Micro's ScanMail for Notes 4.0 and 5.0, ScanMail for Exchange 5.5 and 2000, and ServerProtect scored 100%, the highest score possible, when evaluated on detection of disk operating system (DOS) file viruses, Microsoft Windows 32-bit file viruses, macro viruses, and script viruses.
Results of the anti-virus testing can be viewed at: http://www.av-test.org.
AV-Test.org is a project of the Business Information Workgroup at the Institute of Technical and Business Information Systems at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. The organization regularly tests anti-virus software for magazines and other third-party organisations.
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