F-Secure Announces Internet Security 2007

October 9, 2006; 09:21 AM
F-Secure Corporation announced the release of Internet Security 2007. Available for download today and available on retail shelves starting October 31st, F-Secure Internet Security 2007 makes it easier for customers to take care of the wellness of their computers and to protect their families and their most valuable digital assets. Building on F-Secure’s fast response to new threats, the new product features a number of improvements in reliability of protection in the data security market.

The risk of previously unknown zero-day threats being able to do damage is greatly reduced through the new F-Secure DeepGuard™ technology. Instead of just analyzing new programs once when they enter the system, F-Secure DeepGuard also will persistently monitor the behavior of software in a real-time mode, scanning for suspicious program behavior and stopping activities that might pose a risk. Competing one-time-only solutions cannot offer the same level of protection as it is possible for malicious code-writers to obfuscate, encrypt or pack the code in ways that prevent the one-time solutions from detecting it – and once the file has passed it will be free to do anything it wants.

Unlike most competing proactive detection technologies, F-Secure DeepGuard uses advanced real-time heuristics and works quietly in the background. It uniquely combines several proactive technologies together, bringing an unprecedented level of protection against any previously unknown threats. More detailed information about the F-Secure DeepGuard technology is available at www.f-secure.com/deepguard.

In recognition of the increasing threat of spyware, F-Secure has improved its detection rates and removal capabilities by adding another spyware engine solution to F-Secure Internet Security 2007. The integration has been enhanced to include target scanning, in addition to real-time scanning and manual system scans.

F-Secure Internet Security continues to offer proactive protection for content sensitive family members thanks to the improved parental control application. Access to the Internet can be limited according to individually configurable content based predefinitions. F-Secure Internet Security 2007 now has three different Parental Control Profiles: Child (White listed sites only), Teenager (Content Based Filtering) and Parent (Full Access). Anything falling outside of the parameters set by these profiles is automatically blocked. As before, parents can also exercise their discretion over the time used by their children on the Internet using the Time Lock feature.

Web traffic is a typical entry port for malware. Most recently, malware concealed in website images have been shown to exploit vulnerabilities in Microsoft applications. Web traffic can now be scanned for viruses and the harmful content blocked from reaching the user system already at protocol level with the new web scanning feature in F-Secure Internet Security 2007.

Furthermore the solution includes a number of additional security features and improvements: Unprecedented protection against rootkit malware with F-Secure BlackLight™ technology; Improved spam detection and performance thanks to an upgraded engine version; Anti-phishing for emails; Minimized usage of network bandwidth through improved database update mechanisms; Improved solution and system performance through reduced use of system resources; Smoother installation experience through added guidance for users when installing for the first time.

F-Secure Internet Security 2007 (IS2007) is available today from F-Secure’s e-store (http://www.f-secure.com/estoreusa) and will be available on retail shelves beginning October 31st. All customers with a valid F-Secure Internet Security 2006 service subscription will get the upgraded IS2007 for free. Microsoft Vista support, for both 32bit and 64bit, will also be offered for free to IS2007 customers at the end of Q1 (pending the actual release date of Vista). The new advanced features of F-Secure Internet Security 2007 will also be available for F-Secure’s corporate solutions at the beginning of next year.

Speaking about the new product, Ari Alakiuttu, Vice President of Product Marketing said: “Consumers have a right to data security products that offer them protection at every possible level of interaction with the online world. We believe at F-Secure that the latest version of F-Secure Internet Security 2007 incorporates world class features and will set the standard for all other data security products serving the home and small office segment.”

About F-Secure Corporation

F-Secure Corporation (HEX:FSC) protects consumers and businesses against computer viruses and other threats from the Internet and mobile networks. We want to be the most reliable provider of security services in the market. One way to demonstrate this is the speed of our response. According to independent studies in 2004, 2005 and 2006 our response time to new threats is significantly faster than our major competitors. Our award-winning solutions are available for workstations, gateways, servers and mobile phones. They include antivirus and desktop firewall with intrusion prevention, antispam and antispyware solutions, as well as network control solutions for Internet Service Providers.

Founded in 1988, F-Secure has been listed on the Helsinki Exchanges since 1999, and has been consistently growing faster than all its publicly listed competitors. F-Secure headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland, and we have regional offices around the world. F-Secure protection is also available as a service through major ISPs, such as France Telecom, TeliaSonera, PCCW and Charter Communications. F-Secure is the global market leader in mobile phone protection provided through mobile operators, such as T-Mobile and Swisscom and mobile handset manufacturers such as Nokia.

The latest real-time virus threat scenario news are available at the F-Secure Data Security Lab weblog at http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/.