McAfee dumps signatures and proclaims an (almost) end to botnets

[silicon_toad2000]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/26/mcafee_security_revamp/

RSA 2013 Signature-based malware identification has been around since the dawn of the computer security industry, but McAfee has said it's dumping the system – or rather, adapting it – in an upgraded security suite which will (it claims) virtually eliminate susceptibility to botnets.

McAfee's malware signature database has grown to over 113 million core samples in the last year. But rather than using just that data to spot malware, McAfee has now integrated behavioral heuristics into its security code so that it can spot unknown samples based on their operating characteristics. The end result could crush botnets as a threat, said the company's GM of network security, Pat Calhoun.

"We're getting rid of malware signatures, all our systems now work on behavior and reputation," he said. "Customers no longer have to worry about botnets; we will take care of that for them. We can catch things that no one else can in the industry."

Calhoun told The Register that when Intel took over McAfee in 2010, Chipzilla put extra funding into countering the threat from botnets. As a result, it now has the ability to search specifically for command-and-control server code, as well as the malware that brings new computers into the botnet fold.