Microsoft Vista Security Tools Fails To Detect Viruses Circulating Online

Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare security tool failed independent tests carried out by the Virus Bulletin. The security testing group found that Live OneCare missed far more active viruses than any other program tested.

To pass the tests anti-virus tools must spot and stop 100% of the malicious programs used to attack them. Version 1.5 of Windows Live OneCare was co-launched with Vista and uses the same scanning “engine” as the security tools bundled with the operating system.

The Virus Bulletin tests try to catch out anti-virus software with a variety of malicious programs including bots and worms known to be spreading online, file infectors, polymorphic and macro viruses.

While Live OneCare did manage to spot 100% of the macro viruses it was tested against, it missed some wild viruses, polymorphic programs and file infectors.

Live OneCare caught 99.91% of the known active viruses it was tested against. This left it vulnerable to 37 separate malicious programs.

“The tests conducted in our secure labs were against the most significant viruses and worms affecting real-world users,” said John Hawes, a technical consultant at Virus Bulletin.

“Although many improvements have been made, Vista cannot fend off today’s malware without help from security products,” he concluded. via BBC

This flies on the face of the claim by Bill Gates that Vista was “dramatically more secure” and that the improved security in Vista was a reason all by itself to upgrade from Windows XP.