PC Tools' Product Guru Michael Greene Predicts New Year Will Usher in Major Spyware Challenges

WebKnowHow
Thursday, January 4, 2007; 04:22 AM

Michael Greene, PC Tools Vice President of Product Strategy, predicts 2007 will offer these major changes in the security Internet sector:

• Malware attacks, driven by financial gain, will double in 2007 — malware writers will continue attacks on unwary users with more malicious and threatening spyware.
• Spyware, crimeware, and phishing attacks will overtake viruses as the primary form of malware attack on the Internet. Phishing will become an even more critical threat on the security landscape.
• Expect consolidation in the security industry. New players will gain access to desktop security, and established players will obtain expertise in developing marquee anti-spyware.
• With the growth of the blended threats — industry security firms will be forced to adapt by offering best in class anti-spyware with industry certified anti-virus and firewall solutions. (Only companies owning both technologies will be able to effectively compete.)
• Malware will focus on “micro-burst-attacks” rather than massive broad scale attacks — thus the total number of computers affected will double. Ultimately, the number of threats that security companies will actually need to address will increase 4 fold or more. With security companies already struggling to manage the current volume of threats the need to process this increased volume of threats will be critical. Those companies without automated solutions to crack these large numbers of threats will simply crumble.
• Identity theft will continue to increase as a major driver in online security. The impact to online retailers will be so significant that a new retail industry coalition will emerge to address these growing threats.
• Microsoft Vista^TM will be actively exploited, and will be railed as the Operating System that could not secure the desktop.
• Microsoft will be forced to give full kernel access to certified security vendors because hackers will regularly bypass the Patchguard. If the kernel remains inaccessible to security vendors, only criminals will have direct access.
• Social Networking Sites and content sharing sites will continue to be a major attack vector for malware writers. These sites will be forced to “certify” content as malware free. This will drive the next wave of security products. Expect this phenomenon to fuel a real-time file analysis service offered by major security vendors.
• The presidential election will be impacted to an even greater extent by political Internet sites, especially through politically motivated bloggers and hackers.
• Network security providers will provide switching and routing at the “appliance” as current suppliers of switching and routing equipment fail to adequately address network security.

According to Greene, whose company PC Tools produces award-winning Spyware Doctor⁽¹⁾ , is gearing up for the increased threats this year by creating new products and approaches to handle predictable spyware threats.

⁽¹⁾ Current awards include: PC Magazine Best Anti-Spyware 2005, Editor’s Choice 2006; Windows XP Magazine, Editor’s Choice; PC Pro Recommended 2006, A List product; PC Answers Editor’s Choice 2006; PC Advisor Gold award 2006; PC User ‘Top Buy’ 2006; Computer Shopper Best Anti-Spyware of 2006.

ABOUT PC TOOLS™

PC Tools is a global security software leader with products including award-winning Spyware Doctor along with effective anti-spyware products. PC Tools is a leader in real-time anti-spyware, security, and utility technologies and has a number of key patents pending. PC Tools security products are available in major retail stores and have been downloaded over 125 million times.

The PC Tools Malware Research Center monitors trends and emerging spyware issues and provides security solutions for the consumer and enterprise marketplace. The malware database is highly integrated with Spyware Doctor's broad range of scanning and real-time system protection tools, making Spyware Doctor one of the most effective anti-spyware products on the market today. The company is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in San Francisco, London, Dublin, Melbourne, and Kiev. PC Tools has a global network of distributors, resellers, and retailers.