Market for Anti-Virus Software Keeps Growing

NEW YORK - The cyber security landscape is facing new pressure from a few key areas. According to a recent report by Symantec(SYMC_), targeted attacks on enterprises are becoming more common. The report also highlights the growing use of social networks as a means of attack distribution and an expected increase of attacks on mobile platforms.

While these particular threats remain only a subset of cyber security concerns, their potential to increase dramatically is worth highlighting. Since social networks and mobile devices are two prominent areas of high user growth, their related security threats could see corresponding expansion. The expansion of the addressable market for anti-virus software should bolster Symantec stock.

Symantec is the leader in the security software market and competes with McAfee(MFE_) (acquired by Intel(INTC_)), Computer Associates, AVG, TrendMicro and Kaspersky Labs.

G Data Antivirus Proceeds to Help Japan

G Data Software has announced that they will donate $7 USD (5 €) to the Japanese Red Cross for every purchase made in the G Data online store through April 11, 2011. If you've been waiting to buy G Data Antivirus, G Data InternetSecurity, G Data TotalCare, or G Data NotebookSecurity, now's the time to purchase.

Or if you prefer to donate directly, Google makes it easy by handling the yen/dollar conversion so you can donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross.

DDoS attack virus wipes hard drives

A malicious code embedded in personal computers to attack Internet sites in Korea began to destroy hard drives of their host computers on Sunday, communication authorities said.

Key government agencies and financial institutions suffered cyber assaults Friday and Saturday with minor damage caused.

On Sunday, the code for the so-called “distributed denial-of-service” attacks activated an order to delete all data in personal computers in which the virus was planted, the Korea Communications Commission said.

A DDoS attack uses “zombie’ computers to launch simultaneous access to selected sites and swamp them with traffic.

The code also activated programs to block those computers from downloading vaccine programs to treat the virus, it said.

The destruction of host computers usually starts four to seven days after the computers are embedded with the DDos code. But this time, it began only two days after the infection, the KCC said.

Norton 360 5.0: Social Networking Security

Things have come a long way since the days of the early antivirus software. Just developing an antivirus these days isn’t considered good enough, so internet security suites were born which cover everything from viruses to spam to malware.
Norton 360 was born out of a need for a simplistic security solution for the layman. The latest revision of the popular suite Norton 360, 5.0 was launched earlier this month.

User Interface

Norton 360 5.0 installation is simpler than most other antivirus and security suites. On first impressions, the new Norton 360 5.0 doesn’t look a lot different than the previous versions except for the Verisign logo on the left bottom of the UI.The broad features of the suite are PC Security, Identity Protection, Backup and PC Tuneup.

Trend Micro acquires Mobile Armor

Mobile Armor now to be called as Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption offering
Trend Micro, a provider of Internet content security, has completed the acquisition of Mobile Armor on 1 February 2011.
The acquisition is a part of Trend Micro's data protection portfolio extending encryption offerings in the cloud. The agreement was announced on 29 November 2010.
Mobile Armor Data Armor Suite has now changed to Trend micro Endpoint Encryption offering after the acquisition.
The product is now a centrally managed encryption offering that includes full disk and file/folder capability, delivers software-based encryption and support for self-encrypting drives, and covers PCs, Windows Smartphones and Removable Media, said the company.
Trend Micro chief product officer Steve Quane said they are pleased to complete the acquisition of Mobile Armor and welcome new employees, partners and customers to the Trend Micro family.
"Trend Micro is helping government agencies, enterprise customers, SMBs and consumers around the globe protect their data whether stored on a local PC or mobile device or in a virtualized environment or public cloud," Quane said.
http://us.trendmicro.com/us/partners/strategic-partners/mobile-armor/

Fraud Theft by Rouge Anti-Virus Software

Fraud theft has many faces – none of which are pretty – but perhaps the most insidious is that of Rouge Anti-Virus Software scams.

One of the newest virus threats online comes to your computer as a true “wolf wrapped in sheep’s clothing.” System Tool 2011, and other such malware, is being e-mailed to computers all over the world, causing damage and bilking its victims out of hundreds of dollars.

The Scam

Unless you work, live, and breathe for computers, you probably aren’t familiar with online theft information regarding the term “rogue” anti-virus software until you become a victim. This is not optimal way to learn about the deleterious effects it can have on your computer and bank accounts.

Rogue anti-virus software is spread over the Internet the same way other viruses are: in e-mail attachments, as a part of a shareware software bundle all with the help of a Trojan. (Trojans are software packets that sneak inside your hard drive hiding within another download, much the same way the actual warriors hid inside the horse.) One of the most successful, and most damaging, of these rogue anit-virus programs is System Tool (also known as systemtool and System Tool 2011).

Rogue anti-viruses have no affinity for malware, Trojan, or other harmful programs’ removal because they are in and of themselves malware. Their real and only purpose is theft fraud by capturing your credit card information under false pretenses. This qualifies rogue virus software as identity fraud theft scams at their finest.

Antivirus, the perfect Christmas gift: AFP

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has urged Australians to buy antivirus for their loved ones for Christmas to give them the gift of protection from Internet malicious threats.
In a joint release with the Australian Bankers Association, the AFP said that given the number of computers in Australia, antivirus was a present which probably wouldn't go astray.
"With almost half of Australia's population being active internet users, a practical idea for a Christmas gift might be antivirus software for the household computer," it said.
The release then warned consumers to be watchful when buying presents online, investigating retailers before buying products from them and not showing information to online retailers they don't need.
"Cyber criminals and internet fraudsters don't take holidays and neither should internet shoppers' vigilance when it comes to online safety," the release said.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com.au/antivirus-the-perfect-christmas-gift-afp-339307789.htm