Virus Bulletin announces VBWeb tests for web filters

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Nov 27, 2012

Regular comparative tests will show which products offer best protection from malicious web traffic.

Just as security companies can't afford to neglect the major infection vector the web has become in recent years, those testing security solutions can't afford to neglect web security solutions. It was with this in mind that Virus Bulletin began development of the VBWeb comparative tests - focusing on web filters - which are now ready to be put into practice.

It wasn't that long ago that I saw security experts give advice on how to detect a phishing site. The implicit message was that it was somehow alright to click on links in phishing emails, as long as you didn't enter your details on a fake site.

Today, however, by the time you have clicked on a link, it may already be too late. Many apparent phishing emails link to exploit kits such as 'Blackhole' that can choose from a pallet of exploits to push malware onto the user's machine. And even those who do not click links in emails may still be tricked by a direct message sent from a friend's compromised social networking account, or simply fall victim to a compromised site.

Among the billions of legitimate websites there are millions that are malicious in one way or another, and millions of others that are best avoided, at least in a corporate environment. Thankfully, there are a plethora of solutions that aim to make web surfing a pleasant and safe experience by closing the door to malicious traffic. But are they any good? And which ones are the best?

We are excited to announce that we will be running regular comparative tests of web filters, adding the VBWeb tests to our testing portfolio alongside the VB100 anti-malware and VBspam anti-spam tests.

After a lot of internal and external discussion and the odd presentation, we are now ready to share our plans in more detail with the developers of web security solutions and other experts.

In particular, we are asking those who are interested in participating in a trial run to contact Martijn Grooten ([email protected]). We hope to begin the full official tests in early 2013.

Posted on 27 November 2012 by Martijn Grooten

twitter.png
fb.png
linkedin.png
hackernews.png
reddit.png

 

Latest posts:

In memoriam: Dr Alan Solomon

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of industry pioneer Dr Alan Solomon earlier this week.

New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.

New paper: Collector-stealer: a Russian origin credential and information extractor

In a new paper, F5 researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Chaturvedi present a 360 analysis of Collector-stealer, a Russian-origin credential and information extractor.

VB2021 localhost videos available on YouTube

VB has made all VB2021 localhost presentations available on the VB YouTube channel, so you can now watch - and share - any part of the conference freely and without registration.

VB2021 localhost is over, but the content is still available to view!

VB2021 localhost - VB's second virtual conference - took place last week, but you can still watch all the presentations.

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.