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AOL Offers Free Anti-Virus Download
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2006-08-08
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Amid the drama associated with AOL's accidentally-intentional release of hundreds of thousands of users' search histories, the nearly simultaneous release of the company's free anti-virus offering may have been overlooked.
AOL launched a free anti-virus program yesterday called Active Virus Shield available to all online users. Active Virus Shield is powered by Kaspersky Lab, who provided the detection technology aimed at combatting viruses, spyware, malware and Trojans. The offering also has real-time scanning of files and email. The software automatically updates hourly.
A study released last December by AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance found that more than half (56%) of the participants either had no anti-virus protection or had not updated it within the last week.
"The consumer PC security experience is long overdue for re-invention. With so many consumers online with inadequate security safeguards, it is time to make things like virus protection a fundamental right," said John McKinley, President of AOL Digital Services.
"To us, it's a simple value proposition - AVS is a great free anti-virus solution for today's online households and is one of the most advanced offerings in the market."
Active Virus Shield includes:
* A combination of traditional signature-based detection with in-depth scanning to protect against known and new viruses
* Real-time file protection to scan individual files, catalogs and disks on access or the ability to focus solely on critical areas of the operating system or new and modified files
* E-mail protection by scanning both incoming and outgoing email
Active Virus Shield can be downloaded here .
"In today's environment of organized cybercrime and ever-changing online threats, it's more important than ever for consumers to have comprehensive virus and spyware protection that's continuously updated and easy-to-use," said Steve Orenberg, President, Kaspersky Lab, Inc.
AOL will also allow IE users to install a free security toolbar when they download Active Virus Shield. The toolbar gives real-time updates on computer security status via Active Security Monitor, a password manager, pop-up blocker, and a link to the Whois domain registration database to find more information on potentially suspicious sites.
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SecurityProNews is a daily online and email publication focusing on internet security issues.
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