What are today's antivirus software trends?
What is the latest and most exciting trend in antivirus software development today?

    Requires Free Membership to View

    SearchSecurity.com members gain immediate and unlimited access to breaking industry news, virus alerts, new hacker threats, highly focused security newsletters, and more -- all at no cost. Join me on SearchSecurity.com today!

    Michael S. Mimoso, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSecurity.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

I've seen two exciting trends in antivirus software. First, because of specific requirements like PCI DSS and HIPAA, many of the large vendors are starting to address risk management and compliance, in addition to just antivirus software. This area of information security is important because many teams are burdened with trying to prove they have met various regulations in addition to keeping up to date on their AV signatures. Anything that gives security folks more time to watch for and respond to intrusions is a good thing. This move also makes sense because organizations have antivirus installed on all of their systems.

The second trend I am seeing in antivirus software is a shift from the blacklist/signature approach of detecting malware to more of an application whitelisting one. Using whitelists, a vendor can define which software is approved to run on your system rather than focusing strictly on identifying bad signatures and malware. I believe that focusing on what should be running on your system is far more effective than trying to identify all the possible malicious programs.

This was first published in April 2009