On Monday, February 4th, Symantec and morethan 40 security software technologists and anti-malware testersannounced the first steps in creating the Anti-Malware TestingStandards Organization, or AMTSO. It’s been an interesting road to get here so I thought it would be interesting to chronicle a bit of the back story here.

Last May in Reykjavik, Iceland I gave a presentation on a new, morerelevant, form of anti-malware testing called "dynamic testing"(http://www.slideshare.net/frisksoftware/active-tes...). Thiswas borne out of the fact that even though our security suitescontained numerous protection technologies, only one – static filescanning – was being evaluated in tests. While static file scanning iscertainly an important part of a security suite, taking...

Go on any security Web site and their bestpractices state that you should “never view, open, or execute any emailattachment unless the attachment is expected and the purpose of theattachment is known.” But what if it’s your job to open attachments?

In this day and age, human resources (HR) managers post job openingsonline to get the widest possible distribution. Gone are the days ofnewspaper ads and window postings; managers want to attract as manyqualified applicants as possible and Web postings are inexpensive andeffective. This may be one reason why HR is a weak link in the securityof a company. Many companies prompt applicants to email their resumeand cover letter directly to the HR department or a specific manager. Iwent to a dozen international company sites and found that half of themhad the same application process.

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Comparing security software is a difficultproposition. How do you know if a vendor does a good job catchingviruses? Every once in a while I’m approached by someone who wantsadvice on doing some virus testing. What I tell them is “Don't do it!”Please leave it to the professionals. There are a number of really goodreasons for this:

1. Third-party testers focus on malware that is relevant (like whatis in the wild). To make a collection on your own from the Web can bevery random. Organizations like VB100 do an excellent job of findingwhat viruses are “in the wild” and testing security products againstthis list.

2. Third-party testers can create test environments that mirror thereal world; for instance, you can run a file scan to see if thescanning software finds malware lying dormant on a disk. But today goodsecurity products come with IPS, firewall, and heuristic protection.You'll need active attacks and infections to test these technologiesand you’ll...