AntiSpyware - How many?

[Moe]

McAfee claims it blocks approximately 200 unwanted
programs with VirusScan Enterprise 8.0i out of the box.
How many does MS AntiSpyware block? All I can find is
that is guards over 50 ways spyware can enter your PC.
Thanks.

 

[Andre Da Costa]

Those are ways of entering your PC, not programs. Programs is different from
ways. I don't know and think the definition number relates to how many its
blocking which is currently at 5711.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Andre, I'm certain that the definition number is a simple serial
number--nothing to do with the number of items defined.

You'll notice that it increments by two--I suspect this is because the
definitions for Sunbelt's Counterspy product which are also supplied by the
same operation--use the even numbers.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

This information simply isn't published. This is an ongoing are of debate,
but aside from publishing numbers, the best thinking currently suggests that
publishing lists of items found is counterproductive.

Here's a Microsoft white paper about the approach they are taking:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/analysis.mspx

 

[Andre Da Costa]

Thanks Bill. Then why does Symantec continue to do with Norton?

 

[Moe]

Thanks for the information Bill. I am in the process of
researching which antispyware tool would best fit our
enterprise.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Does Norton Antispyware publish a list? We need to compare apples to apples
here--and it is the particular characteristics of the spyware issue that
matter. The legal issues around spyware are still in flux--unlike viruses
where there's no question about legality.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Microsoft will have an entry in that category, but I have no information
about when it will be available or what it will cost. You can be sure that
it will be as effective at cleaning as the beta we are testing here, and,
unlike this beta, able to be centrally managed.

 

[Andre Da Costa]

I was speaking of like the current amount of definitions its protecting you
from. In Norton it says Symantec AntiVirus can detect the following threats
with current set of virus definitions:

Total threats: 69405

 

[Andre Da Costa]

Yes, I understand that Spyware is kinda new when compared to the virus, but
they share some similarities I would have thought that maybe some
characteristics of detection of threats would be also adapted from the world
of Antivirus utilities.

 

[fireryone]

It is one of the greatest mysteries in this world... of antispyware....

--
---------------
fireryone

SCI-FI Quote:

Say NO to TCPA http://www.againsttcpa.com/what-is-tcpa.html
"I will love the light for it shows me the way, Yet I will endure the
darkness for it shows me the stars." -Og Mandino

(Drunk Duck- Free Online Comics)
http://www.drunkduck.com/?r=5353

(Warhead's Freeware Game Collection)
http://earth.prohosting.com/fware

 

[Menno Hershberger]

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/analysis.mspx

Seems to be a bad link.....

 

[Bill Sanderson]

That's pretty interesting. This is the second significant resource which
has just disappeared in the course of this beta--the earlier one was the
scripting guys discourse on scripting and the beta.

Thanks for the alert.

This absence also breaks a link to it from the www.spynet.com page--third
item up at the bottom left.

That page has no contact or webmaster link so that I can inform them,
however.