Security software testing group Virus Bulletin has called on antivirus software manufacturers to collaborate and work together to beat spam.

Virus Bulletin claimed that its latest round of spam tests suggested that antivirus software developers could provide better protection for computer users if they were to work together to create antivirus software that adequately protects users from the threats of spam.

The firm claimed that by combining the anti-spam filters of five or more of the products during its latest test, a “hypothetical” spam filter could be created with a 99.89% catch rate with “virtually” no false-positive identifications.

Antivirus software vendors often collaborate when developing antivirus software updates in order to protect users from new and emerging threats but there is currently no such co-operation in the anti-spam market. It’s believed that these findings by VB could lead to more collaboration in the future.

“For end-users this means that if spam filtering is business-critical, the use of more than one spam filter may be a good option,” said anti-spam test director Martijn Grooten.

“The anti-spam industry, meanwhile, should consider the benefits of collaboration and information sharing, and might be better able to protect our inboxes as a result.”

K7 Total Security has been awarded the VB100 award by Virus Bulletin, meaning that it passes their stringent, industry recognised antivirus software tests.

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