How is the Safety Score Calculated?

In developing the formula for the Safety Score in Active Security Monitor, we engaged ICSA Labs (a division of Cybertrust Corporation) to provide an independent assessment of our approach. ICSA provided valuable insights on the Safety Score formula and “found that the overall reasoning of the methodology is valid and reasonably reflects the real importance of implementing essential end-user security measures such as anti-malware, firewall and patching systems.”1

The Safety Score (ranging from 0 to 100) for your PC is calculated by evaluating five categories of threat protection:

The presences or absence of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software and PC utilities are not used to calculate the Safety Score. However, these categories are still important -  P2P software is potential source of malware and PC utilities, which includes backup and PC optimization software, can help you recover from a potential virus or spyware infection. The following table summarizes how the Safety Score is calculated in Active Security Monitor.

 

 

Category

Category Settings

 

Installed

 Enabled

Up to Date

 

 

Total Points

Firewall

~3

~22

N/A

 

 

25

Virus Protection

~6

~14

~5

 

 

25

Spyware Protection

~4

~8

~3

 

 

15

 

Category

Critical Patches Applied

Windows Auto Update

Service Pack 2

Restore Point Enabled

Hidden File Extensions

Total Points

Windows & Browser2

~4

~3

~2

~2

~2

25

 

Category

No Encryption

WEP (64 or 128 bit)

WPA

Uncommon SSID

 

Total Points

 

Wireless Settings

0

~4

~5

~1

 

10

 

Notes:

  1. ICSA Labs Position Paper for AOL, LLC. Active Security Monitor. May 10, 2006.

  2. Details for Windows settings, which contribute ~12 points towards the Safety Score are provided