Symantec To Rate Software As “Safe”
As someone who works in the IT industry, I can tell you that keeping computers safe from viruses and spyware is becoming tougher. Back when the former was the only concern, it was a simpler task because the process only required detections for viruses. Now, antivirus software has to contend with both threats. Somehow, they have to be robust enough to catch both.
Symantec is going to use a different approach. This time, it’s not even going to attempt a scan. Instead, software will be given a rating as to whether it’s malicious or not. It will do so based on reputation.
…Symantec builds and maintains a white list of safe programs. While the obvious method is to list all programs from reputable publishers, such Microsoft, Adobe and IBM, he noted that there are also lesser-known, smaller players writing legitimate programs.
Symantec uses a “crowd sourcing” method to determine if applications from small software developers should be added to the white list.
Note that a reputation-based approach is not new, but this is the first time where I’ll see it applied to software. Do you think these ratings will help fight viruses more effectively?
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