First safety tests positive for Microsoft Security Essentials

A first test on a sample reduced by viruses, conducted by independent lab AV-Test, highlights good detection capabilities of the new free antivirus Microsoft Security Essentials.

While it remains a partial examination, but the conclusions are generally positive for the Microsoft Security Essentials, a new antivirus firm Redmond, still in beta.

To test the capacity of detection and disinfection software, AV-Test GmbH, known for its comparative effectiveness of antivirus software, Microsoft faces a Security Essentials for a sample of approximately 3,200 currently active malware (viruses, bot, horses Trojan and worms).

According to the leader of the independent laboratory, Andreas Marx, quoted by The Register, Microsoft antivirus correctly identified and treated all infected files. A good point for the application, especially since several antivirus market are still unable to pass the test, said Andreas Marx.

Microsoft Security Essentials effective virus and rootkit

AV-Test GmbH has also assessed the capacity of the software has correctly identified threats submitting false positives, ie files here frequently detected as a virus yet safe. An important test since the quarantining or deleting a legitimate file may lead to the failure of computer or malfunctioning of certain applications.

For this second analysis, Security Essentials Microsoft has also responded well. Thus, none of these files has been an alert. Finally, with programs designed to evade anti-virus engines by hiding their presence, rootkits, security software Microsoft also avoids the failure. "We did not find any reason to complain," said Andreas Marx.

However, this partial analysis is not sufficient to conclude that the good performance of Microsoft Security Essentials, as explained AV-Test, which states that tests have yet been conducted on the samples, including rootkits.

No behavioral analysis module integrated

The next analysis will focus on samples of this time hundreds of thousands of malicious programs. AV Comparatives, which will submit Microsoft Security Essentials for analysis in August, use a little more than two million codes, including viruses specially developed for testing and unknown publishers of antivirus software.

And perhaps this last point that a problem for the anti-Microsoft. It does indeed no detection module behavioral and relies solely on the basis of signatures.

To be effective, this type of virus should provide frequent updates of the signatures. But Microsoft Security Essentials is not the only one without this technology, said AV-Test. The behavioral analysis is a feature more common among security suites, that Morro (the previous name of the software from Microsoft) because it is not just an antivirus.