Kaspersky Lab launches 2010 security products

Kaspersky Lab, a leading international developer of secure content management systems, today announced the launch of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, its latest security applications that have been enhanced in technology and performance to protect users from today’s evolving cybercrime and IT threats, in South Africa and several African countries.

“While Internet security threats constantly change, the rise of unemployment amid the global recession is giving rise to increased occurrences of cybercrime – and increased competition amongst such syndicates – resulting in widespread threats aimed at financial gain, becoming more prevalent,” said Garry Kondakov, managing director for Kaspersky EEMEA region. “Online theft results to more than $100 billion a year and although organised cybercrime continues to increase sharply, many people still do not know how to protect themselves. We have responded to this by launching our 2010 Anti-Virus and Internet Security products with a revolutionary approach to protection not only through the enhancement and improvement of existing product components, but through complex new security features to restore consumer confidence (and ease) and ensure continued performance enhancement.”

The new version 2010 products incorporate the advantages of advanced Host-based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) technology in the Application Control module. This assigns a security rating to previously unknown malware; unique Sandbox technology embodying virtualisation technologies and provides a dedicated secure runtime environment; and the innovative Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) that uses information from millions of users to dramatically reduce response times to new threats and replenish reputation databases with the most up-to-date information about clean and infected files.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Internet Security 2010 offer consumers real-time automated advanced protection from a range of online threats. The products also contain anti-rootkit technologies which detect rootkits and obtain information about the file to delete it from the system. Additionally, links to malicious Web sites are disabled and unsafe Web sites are colour-coded for easy reference and protection.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 includes all the features found in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 with enhanced detection, blocking, and removal tools to protect consumers against the latest online dangers by providing advanced identity theft protection, two way personal firewall protection as well as solid defences against software vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the improved HIPS ensures customers enjoy real-time protection without the unnecessary stream of constant downloads and all unknown applications are subject to multiple factor analysis to ensure safety. The KSN online reputation service, which started providing input for the HIPS module in the previous version of Kaspersky Internet Security, has also undergone significant improvements. KSN is designed to reduce the amount of time required to detect and block new types of threats. Thanks to KSN technology, in some cases, it can take less than 40 seconds from the appearance of a previously unknown malicious program for complete protection against it to become available for users of Kaspersky Lab products. This is largely due to the millions of Kaspersky Lab personal product users all over the world who have decided to participate in Kaspersky Security Network. The approach used in KSN embodies the increasingly popular concept of in-the-cloud security, which in this case means that potentially malicious files or Web sites are scanned online rather than on the computer itself using signatures that are stored locally.

Additionally, the set of tools to protect confidential data has been extended and improved significantly. For example, the new generation products automatically block an unwary user’s access to known phishing sites and block spyware intended to steal user’s passwords and access codes. Kaspersky Internet Security implements a virtual keyboard that enables the user to enter usernames and passwords securely. This unique feature protects confidential data from being stolen by spyware and prevents screenshots from being taken from the virtual keyboard window, so the user can bank online or use any other confidential information in complete security.

An even more secure environment is provided in Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 as the product integrates the “Safe Run” functionality based on the new Sandbox technology – unique for Internet Security Suites product range. “Safe Run” enables the user to run new software in an isolated environment that protects the operating system from all malicious changes. The “Safe Run” function makes surfing the Internet using various Web browsers much safer and easier, as well as allowing any number of other applications to be run simultaneously.

Additionally from a technical support perspective, the ‘My Kaspersky Account’ has been included to allow users to easily request technical support and manage their account. Furthermore, the interface in Kaspersky Lab’s new personal products has undergone a major overhaul making it significantly more user friendly for novices whereby an automated application mode chooses the best options without bothering the user with unnecessary and annoying requests for action.

Kondakov concludes: “As the landscape continues to change, with new threats rising daily, consumers are consistently seeking superior solutions to meet their security needs, restore confidence in online engagement and all within a user friendly interface. In internal performance tests both Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 delivered significant performance enhancements in the areas of memory usage, boot time and scan protection speed. Additionally, both products boast improved user-friendly interfaces, therefore propelling local security protection and convenience to the next level across Africa.”