Zero-day Virus - Competitiveness in The Antivirus Software Industry

Competitiveness in The Antivirus Software Industry

It is generally accepted in the antivirus industry that the signature-based protection of most vendors is identically effective. If a signature is available for an item of malware, then every product (unless dysfunctional) should detect it. However, some vendors are significantly faster than others at becoming aware of new viruses and/or updating their customers signature databases to detect them.

There is a wide range of effectiveness in terms of zero day virus protection. The German computer magazine c't found that detection rates for zero day viruses varied from 20% to 68%. It is primarily in the area of zero day virus performance that manufacturers now compete.