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West Coast Labs Issues China Checkmark Anti-Malware Certification to ESET

ESET is the first non-Chinese company to subject its product to extensive testing and receive certification of the product’s ability to defend against malware attacks authored worldwide but targeted toward the China market

Cardiff, UK, July 25, 2011 – West Coast Labs, part of the Haymarket Media Group and one of the world’s leading independent test facilities for information security products and services, today announced ESET is the first non-Chinese company to receive the Checkmark China Anti-Malware Certification. The certification was awarded after successful completion of product for testing and certification evaluation under the Checkmark Anti-Malware Certification program with an accreditation specifically for the China market.

The China Anti-Malware Certification is a separate and distinct accreditation from the standard Checkmark certifications. It recognizes that there are specific and discrete forms of malware found in the China market, and its purpose is to test security technologies’ detection capabilities of malware circulating in the greater China region.

“Malware attacks aimed specifically at the Chinese market comprises a growing percentage of total global malware. While the Chinese technology user base is rapidly expanding,” said Lysa Myers, director of research, West Coast Labs. “Vendors seeking to secure leadership in providing valuable products have found focusing on product performance testing and validation offers a unique distinction for their products versus competitors’ solutions.”

Checkmark is the world’s leading content security certification system for information security products and services and is a highly regarded program that provides end users with confirmation of the effective functionality and performance of a product or service. In all of its testing, West Coast Labs uses live malware not simulators or virtual test networks. Certification test suites accurately reflect the malware threats faced by corporate networks worldwide.

“We are very pleased that West Coast Labs, through its rigorous certification process, has confirmed our leading role in fighting malware in China. ESET has a history of two decades of fighting cybercrime, with fast, precise detection of all types of threats. With the release of the fifth generation of our flagship products ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security coming up in a few weeks, we will bring to our customers even more advanced technology and features,” says Eva Markova, COO (ESET ASIA).

Testing Unique to China The Checkmark China Anti-Malware Certification program is designed specifically for the China market and reflects the growing need for regionalized testing to accommodate the unique needs of specific geographies. This Anti-Malware accreditation program for China has certifications that apply to desktop, server, and gateway products.

Malware used in the China Anti-Malware Certification program comprises malware found in the region, malware attacking West Coast Labs’ honeypots in the region, and malware contained in attacks upon West Coast Labs’ honeypot originating in from this area. The suites contain a variety of malware including viruses, worms, Trojans, bots, rootkits, and spyware. These unique threats in the suite present different challenges from malware found elsewhere in the world.

Test Methodology and Results The primary requirement for certification under the China Anti-Malware Certification program is 100% successful detection of the malware in the relevant, current China Certification test suite.

Testing is conducted on operating systems with appropriate Chinese language character sets installed and is carried out on Chinese versions of the products. A blanket blocking of all files with certain extensions (e.g. quarantining all files with .EXE extensions) is not acceptable as an alternative to accurate detection of infections. Innocent files recorded as infected files are counted as a false positive versus a successful detection. Disinfection of infected files is not required. Vendors receive notification and relevant information when products fail to detect one or more infected files in order to modify the product and/or definition.

About West Coast Labs Checkmark Certification Checkmark is one of the world's leading certification systems for information security products and services. This highly regarded accreditation program provides a level of assurance across a wide range of technologies that products and services perform to industry accepted standards.

About West Coast Labs Part of the Haymarket Media Group, West Coast Labs is a global leader in technical research, testing and the Checkmark Certification of information security products and services. With market-leading technology and testing facilities accredited to ISO17025 in the UK, USA and India, West Coast Labs' services and the Checkmark Certification System are used by the leading global brands to create market advantage and by large business enterprises for obtaining crucial technical insight into product performance.

About ESET
ESET develops software solutions that deliver instant, comprehensive protection against evolving computer security threats. ESET pioneered and continues to lead the industry in proactive threat detection. ESET NOD32 Antivirus, its flagship product, consistently achieves the highest accolades in all types of comparative testing and is the foundational product that builds out the ESET product line to include ESET Smart Security. ESET Smart Security is an integrated antivirus, antispyware, antispam and personal firewall solution that combines accuracy, speed and an extremely small system footprint to create the most effective security solution in the industry. Both products have an extremely efficient code base that eliminates the unnecessary large size found in some solutions. This means faster scanning that doesn’t slow down computers or networks. Sold in more than 160 countries, ESET has worldwide production headquarters in Bratislava, SK and worldwide distribution headquarters in San Diego, U.S. ESET also has offices in Bristol, U.K.; Buenos Aires, AR; Prague, CZ; and is globally represented by an extensive partner network. For more information, visit our local office at https://eset.version-2.sg.

About Version 2 Limited
Version 2 Limited is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the Company develops and distributes IT products for Internet and IP-based networks, including communication systems, Internet software, security, network, and media products. Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 Limited offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which includes Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

Version 2 Singapore Pte Ltd is the local office of Version 2 Limited.
For more information, please visit https://www.version-2.com.sg/ or call (65) 6296-4268.