Commtouch announced the launch of a new online tool that publicizes data about global virus outbreaks. The Commtouch Malware Outbreak Center – available on Commtouch’s public web site – provides ongoing updates on the latest virus variants and how quickly anti-virus solutions can defend against them.
"Broad zombie distribution networks spread new virus variants across the Internet so quickly that many anti-virus technologies have trouble keeping up," said Haggai Carmon, vice president and head of the Commtouch Virus Outbreak Detection Lab. "Commtouch’s unique bird's-eye view of global email traffic allows us to detect new outbreaks from the moment they emerge."
The Commtouch Malware Outbreak Center displays a sample of email-borne malware that has recently been detected and blocked by Commtouch’s Zero-Hour™ Virus Outbreak Protection solution. It also incorporates data from AV-Test.org, an independent third-party organization that tests most of the commercially available anti-virus scanners.
This data enables the Center to publish comparative detection times for leading AV vendors, a first in this comprehensive format which includes malware variant checksum. Detection times are critical, since individual virus variants often peak and then nearly disappear, all in under three hours. IT managers now have access to an online tool that allows them to verify their AV vendor’s performance for each new outbreak, and to download comparative data per malware variant.
The new Malware Outbreak Center further enhances Commtouch’s existing resource center, which includes:
Real-Time Outbreak Monitor – displays the location and content of spam outbreaks in a real time feed from Commtouch’s Global Detection Center
Spam Lab Online Statistics – 12-month view of the size of outbreaks, top spam sending countries and top spam sending domains
Spam Cost Calculator – organizations can input their own parameters and calculate how much spam is costing them
For comparative information about the latest email-borne malware outbreaks, visit the Malware Outbreak Center at:
Commtouch’s Zero-Hour Virus Outbreak Protection complements traditional anti-virus engines by blocking malware in the early moments of the outbreak, and is licensed by messaging and security vendors worldwide. It uses patented Recurrent Pattern Detection™ technology, rather than relying on the time-consuming process of developing signatures or heuristics.
Note: Commtouch defines a virus variant as a version of malicious code that yields a unique MD5 checksum for the entire malware file or parts of it.
