Application whitelisting: Is it the way to beat malware? - techrepublic.com

[office politics]

Application whitelisting: Is it the way to beat malware? | IT Security | TechRepublic.com

Application whitelisting: Is it the way to beat malware?
Date: May 18th, 2010
Author: Michael Kassner

Anti-malware as we know it, is not working. Is application whitelisting the answer? An increasing number of experts think so. Find out why.

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It seems the time has come to rethink how we fight malware. Anti-malware applications based on signature blacklists and heuristics derived from previously-observed behavior aren't good enough. So what is? There is a growing consensus among experts that application whitelisting needs to be part of the solution.

IT managers are starting to think more about application whitelisting as well. That's because independent testing indicates application whitelisting is maturing into a viable endpoint-security solution. The same managers also realize application whitelisting can simplify regulatory compliance and software license assurance.

while i think this would be good implement, I also think its a tough task to tackle. If you were to apply whitelisting to home users, they would need to be educated on how to whitelist new applications. I would expect most to reject the idea. In the corporate world, management may want IT to trust the employees and grant access to install apps to prevent calls to the helpdesk.

 

[Lexluethar]

I think education is going to be the best method to fight malware. 9 out of 10 people who get it malware get it because of actions they took. Either clicking okay to 'scan my computer' or going to questionable websites and downloading conent they don't need.

It is like many other things in this world. While you may find different ways of 'flagging' what is malware and what isn't - the developers will always find a way around it and to trick people. The best solution would be education.