An alliance of major computer security companies has been formed to standardize and streamline their campaign against spyware.
The five firms agreed Monday to create a uniform identification and testing methodology for the development of anti-spyware technologies.
"The successful industry practices previously established for sharing virus information demonstrate the effectiveness of cooperation among Internet security experts," said Symantec's Vincent Weafer. "By standardizing methods for sharing spyware samples and testing anti-spyware solutions, customers win."
Symantec is joined in the effort by McAfee, ICSA Labs, Thompson Cyber Security and Trend.
The companies said in a news release that there has been a lack of documentation of testing and sampling in spyware research that has left customers without a benchmark that distinguishes one product from another.
The joint venture will start with the technical definitions used by the Anti-spyware Coalition as they begin developing their research tools.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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