New DNS changing malware detected

We have just been told of new malware that has been detected that can change your DNS.

Read on....

Trend Micro has detected a new DNS changing form of malware which poisons other hosts on the local subnet installing a rogue Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP}server on the network.

Technical Communications spokesperson JM Hipolito explained that the DHCP is a protocol used to disseminate required information to network clients in order to operate within an IP network.

Once a user connects to a network, it will send a request to a DHCP server (the method is spelled out in the DHCP protocol specification). When the request is received, the server in turn will assign IP parameters to the client, enabling the client to operate within the network.

Once the malware is installed, the system is turned into a DHCP server that monitors traffic and intercepts request packets from other computers in the network. It then replies to intercepted requests with packets containing malicious DNS servers. This causes the recipients of the malicious packets to be redirected to malicious sites without their consent.

Trend Micro reported that researchers at the SANS Internet Storm Center revealed that the technique does not have a 100 per cent success rate. Once a client sends a request to an affected system, both the rogue and legitimate DHCP server will receive the request. It will only be a matter of which server will reply faster, and if the client will receive a malicious packet or not.

Trend Micro advanced threats researcher Feike Hacquebord reported that advertisements placed in websites are replaced with other advertisements that connect to the IP addresses used by the cybercriminals. Since this happens outside the network of advertising companies, they almost certainly cannot detect this click fraud scheme.

Also, once the user clicks one of these targeted ads and gets connected to the cybercriminals' crafted site, any personal information they enter into the site will most probably be leaked to this scheme's perpetrator. Hacquebord claimed that the estimated number of victims by this kind of threat have reached more than a million for November alone.

Remove Antivirus 360 - Antivirus 360 Removal Instructions

We have bought you something that most of you have been pulling your hair out over. Those annoying fake anti spyware programs that claim to be real. They fake scan your system and "find" spyware on your PC that you can only remove if you purchase the software to then find out it does not work.

Well get rid of it now with our steps.......

Antivirus 360 is latest rogue anti-spyware program which uses scare tactics to promote itself using terrible false scan results, pop-ups, security alerts e.t.c.
Antivirus 360 uses Vundo Trojan in order to install itself on your computer without any informing and approval. Once installed Antivirus 360 will configure itself to run automatical scan each time you turn on your computer. Once you turn on your computer, Antivirus 360 will say that it is seriously infected with different types of malware. Moreover, Antivirus 360 states that legitimate Windows files are “dangerous threats”. And the only way to remove all detected trash is to purchase licensed version of this pseudo-security software. Also Antivirus 360 may put your data and privacy on risk. So we recommend you to remove Antivirus 360 manually or using our removal tool (Spyware Doctor + antivirus).



How to remove Antivirus 360 manually:
It's possible to remove Antivirus 360 manually , but you have to be very experienced in dealing with registry entries, program files and .dll files.


The files to be deleted:

* %Program Files%\A360\av360.exe
* %UserProfile%\Desktop\Antivirus 360.lnk
* %UserProfile%\Start Menu\Antivirus 360\Help.lnk
* %UserProfile%\Start Menu\Antivirus 360\Registration.lnk
* %UserProfile%\Start Menu\Antivirus 360\Antivirus 360.lnk
* %UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\Antivirus 360.lnk

Remove registry entries:

* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\13376694984709702142491016734454
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “13376694984709702142491016734454″

Please be careful because manual removal of Antivirus 360 may seriously damage operational system and sensitive data. Also there is a big possibility of incomplete removal, because some files could be hidden and program could re-install itself after you delete files and registry entries.

In Midst of Economic Meltdown, Malware Business is Booming

1.9 million job losses, a dollar worth less than the Canadian and Australian dollar, the collapse of the auto industry, the complete meltdown of credit. What a year it’s been for we working stiffs!

If you, as many ‘mericans already have, find yourself on the job hunt in the near future, forget about real estate, investment, Avon sales or tool and die work. Apparently, the boom industry in 2009 will be in the crimeware sector. Hopefully, with corresponding spikes in the antivirus industry (please don’t leave me to the spammers!).

According to industry insiders, 2008 saw a 258% spike in the URLs spreading contagions via phishing tactics. Classic scams like emulating login portals to harvest valuable personal data, passwords and usernames are becoming more common as cyber criminals perfect their craft. Malicious tapeworms, retroviruses, MoBo-VD, circuitry eating zombie nets and Trojan donkey-kits are proliferating rapidly.

If you do a lot online banking, social networking, or even MMORPGing think twice before throwing your social security number, birthday, maiden name and blood type around the internet. Phishing tactics are no longer as transparent as the koobface worm we’re still seeing on Facebook.

These dweeb and nerd criminals manage to make some convincing mimic logon pages and tricky programs. Red flags to look for include any obviously ex-Soviet URLs (.ru, .az, .kz, .by .cz, .tm et al), key misspellings (think Homtail, hotmale, or hottamale instead of hotmail), and anything that has a .exe within a hundred feet of it.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking to get involved in the profitable crimeware industry, there are great opportunities out there. Why not work as the overlord of a zombie botnet? Trading in stolen credit card numbers would be a refreshing career change, no? Just be prepared to feel my wrath, and the wrath of anyone else who has ever lost personal information!

If you’re not feeling ambitious enough for a fast track career in malware development, you’re probably going to want arm yourself with up-to-date antivirus and antispyware software. Check out our software reviews to keep your identity secure.

To curb cyber crimes, expert bats for digital signature

It is believed that due to the rapid growth of the net the only way to avoid hackers is through a digital signature. We found a fresh article on this and bring it to you here.

Read on....

In these times, where information technology is witnessing a rapid growth, the common man could easily fall prey to hackers and cyber crimes. The only way to overcome such attacks is to go for digital signature, feels Rohas Nagpal, an IT expert, while speaking on Cyber crime investigations and Forensics at the ClubHack 2008, the international convention og hackers in Pune.

Citing numerous ways by which hoax emails could be sent from one’s email account or spoof SMS messages from ones mobile number, without the owners notice, Nagpal said, “Email services and SMS services were not built to authenticate users.”

While hackers could use techniques to play havoc, few Telecom providers or ISP providers would be able to trace the culprit, he said.

“A few years ago, we told police officers across the world that we would be sending them spoof messages on their phones and asked them to trace it back through their telecom operators. No telecom operator was able to trace who had sent the message,” Nagpal said, adding that the only way to shield such attacks is to go for a digital signature, he said.

Nagpal spoke about several tools that hackers use to sniff passwords and credit card details. During the course of the workshop it emerged that banking security is not as it should be, with many banks having fallen prey to hackers. One of the prominent one is Bank of India, where the bank server was severely affected for 14 days.

Nagpal said that banks were liable to pay compensation if the customer money was siphoned off because of fraud. “Customers frequently using online transactions can secure themselves by not using wireless networks, using a powerful anit virus, zone alarms and fire walls,” he added.

This is a real WARNING! I am not joking around

I recently came accross this article that I had to share. I to have been caught not once but twice by the so called anti virus virus that claimed to be a Windows XP product title "anti virus 2008". Now it seems the same thing is in the circles only now a 2009 version.

Read on.....

If any of you have problems with your computer shutting down, or seeming to crash , then it reboots itself back up with a big WARNING saying you need Antivirus 2009 don't believe it. It is very official looking, but if you look you will notice it has no name except Anitvirus 2009. Apparently this is happening to a lot of people. My computer has been messed up all day. I googled the apparent company Meyrocorp or Cure-soft and there are a ton of complaints about the company being non existent. Here's the thing you do not get those names unless you buy this so called Antivirus 2009. Yes I bought it.

I could not download the program, so I called there help line which has a lame recorded message. This is what made me start to worry. The message said give us up to 48 hrs. to respond back. I tried to e mail for help got the same message. "Leave your problem and give us 48 hrs. to respond. As I said it all looks very official like a Norton Security message. Before my computer would crash. I would get a message saying Windows was shutting down contact w/ the web because I needed to download this program.

I have called the bank and put a stop on my payment which oddly enough went through Hrpay.com a so called consulting firm that helps w/ payroll. This site looks very proffesional also.
But neither my husband or I ordered anything through this company.

I am getting a new card from the bank, they are stopping payment and hopefully I have caught this in time, before any real damage is done.
You know I always think people caught in scams are so stupid. Well I guess I am one of them.

FTC kills scareware operation that duped over a million users

One guy was quoted "I spent almost two hours cleaning a computer that had one of their malicious bits of code. It's about time that something was done these crooks."

Another said "A work computer and a friends computer were hit by this. Stop sign antivirus is what it was selling on the work computer. I'm glad they are finally doing something about the problem."

Read on....

The Federal Trade Commission today got a court to at least temporarily halt a massive "scareware" scheme, which falsely claimed that scans had detected viruses, spyware, and pornography on consumers' computers.

According to the FTC, the scheme has tricked more than one million consumers into buying computer security products such as WinFixer, WinAntivirus, DriveCleaner, ErrorSafe, and XP Antivirus. The court also froze the assets of Innovative Marketing, Inc. and ByteHosting Internet Services, LLC to preserve the possibility of providing consumers with monetary redress, the FTC stated.

The defendants used an elaborate ruse that duped Internet advertising networks and popular Web sites into carrying their advertisements, according to the FTC's complaint. The defendants falsely claimed that they were placing Internet ads on behalf of legitimate companies and organizations. But due to hidden programming code that the defendants inserted into the advertisements, consumers who visited Web sites where these ads were placed did not receive them, the FTC said. Instead, consumers received exploitive advertisements that took them to one of the defendants' Web sites. These sites would then claim to scan the consumers' computers for security and privacy issues. The "scans" would find a host of purported problems with the consumers' computers and urge them to buy the defendants' computer security products for $39.95 or more. However, the scans were entirely false, the FTC said

Innovative Marketing is incorporated in Belize and maintains offices in Kiev, Ukraine. ByteHosting Internet Services is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The FTC complaint alleges that these two companies, along with individuals Daniel Sundin, Sam Jain, Marc D'Souza, Kristy Ross, and James Reno, violated the FTC Act. The complaint also names a sixth individual, Maurice D'Souza, as a relief defendant who received proceeds from the scheme.

Under US District Court for the District of Maryland order, the defendants are barred from falsely representing that they have run any type of computer analysis, or that they have detected security or privacy problems on a consumer's computer. They also are barred from using domain names obtained with false or incomplete information, placing advertisements purportedly on behalf of a third party without that party's consent, or otherwise attempting to conceal their own identities. The order also mandates that companies hosting the defendants' Web sites and providing domain-registration services take the necessary steps to keep consumers from accessing these Web sites, the FTC said.

The FTC seeks to permanently bar the defendants from engaging in "scareware" marketing and pay for any damages and ill-gotten booty.

Malware-a Primer

With so many terms like spyware, virus and adware getting thrown around we though we should clear things up for you and describe what each term means.

Read on.....

I’ve got some bad news for you. If you use a computer, especially a Windows-based computer, to access the internet, the odds are very good that you are being exposed to a group of malicious, destructive, invasive, or simply annoying programs collectively known as malware.

The genus malware includes several nasty species. Below is a list of the more common varieties:

AdWare: This category includes a number of programs designed to deliver advertising to your computer. In some cases, the software is relatively benign, and simply keeps track of the websites you visit and search terms you enter to tailor the ads you see to what the software takes to be your interests. Other forms of AdWare send an endless parade of pop-ups to your computer.

Spyware: Spyware is any program that collects data about your surfing habits or other computer usage and sends that data to another computer without your knowledge. In the least offensive form, it does more or less the same thing as Adware. In the most pernicious form, it can collect bank or credit card information.

Viruses:

can cause all sorts of problems. Some erase data, some steal it, andsome turn your computer into a zombie that secretly e-mails spam to thousands of people. In other words, there are countless viruses out there, all of which do something different and bad. Windows is especially vulnerable to this problem. The number of known viruses for Windows machines is well over 100,000. The number of viruses that affect Macs or Linux machines are a tiny fraction of that, and most of those viruses are either harmless or difficult to install on target machines.
Anti-virus software will help here, but it’s not a perfect fix. Antivirus software works like your body’s immune system-it can only deal with threats it’s been trained to find. Antivirus programs either look for viruses that are already known (by searching for certain strings of code or file names) or for programs that look as though they could be viruses. The latter technique is known as heuristic analysis, and although it works well, it is not perfect.
In other words, no virus scanner can find and eliminate every virus out there. But all is not lost. By exercising some common sense and following a few basic rules, you can lessen your odds of being infected.
1) Be wary of e-mail attachments. Many, many viruses are spread by attachments. Try to avoid opening any attachment that does not come from someone you know. Even if you know the person, be careful.

2) DO NOT install programs you don’t recognize. Some websites will tell you that you must have a certain program to view their content. In the vast majority of cases, clicking the provided link will install some kind of malware. There are very few programs that you may legitimately need- Java, Adobe Reader, and Shockwave/Adobe flash come to mind. If in doubt, google the name of the program.

3) Beware of less-than-reputable websites.

4) Don’t click on the banners that promise to give you a prize if you punch the gopher (or do something similar). Often, that click will install something nasty.

5) When in doubt, check google. If still in doubt, don’t do it.

MacroVirus - Virus, Spyware, Adware 2.12

Like I have said before its not the price that matters but how it performs. This is shown from a recent peice of kit from MacroVirus which happens to be FREE!.

Read on....

The award winning MacroVirus antivirus software removes and repairs infected computers quickly and easily, to get your computer back and working as fast as when it was new. MacroVirus also scans for and removes Spyware, Worms, Trojans, Dialers, Email Virus and parasites from your computer, giving you back the performance levels you experienced when your PC was new. Virus review studies show that over 90% of computers are infected by virus or malware according to official figures, these viruses are often downloaded from the internet without you even knowing. MacroVirus spyware removal scans and removes all of these threats. You should be concerned about computer security and Viruses, Spyware and Malware because every time you enter personal or financial details into a website, these details can be intercepted and used in credit card or identity theft. Unscrupulus websites can download nasty software to your desktop or add themselves to your internet favourites. Each website you visit and the pages you click on can be monitored by Adware and used to track your every movement, this data and confidential details from your PC can be collected and sold without your knowledge or permission. Extra toolbars and search bars are often included with Malware, adding themselves to your browser, slowing your computer down and tracking your every move a virus remover is the only solution. The computers settings and defaults can be changed or even your browser homepage hijacked if you don't have virus protection from these computer virus. Malware, Spyware and Viruses slow down your PC and use up your hard disk space, infecting your computer until it no longer runs fast or produces frequent errors. Each time you download software or a file from the internet or click on a pop-up advert you risk getting infected. If you try to connect to the Internet without antivirus (anti virus) or malware protection, research has showed you will be infected.

Visit the site direct now to read more about this and download the software Click Here

No perfect Internet security software

Is there really one single perfect Interent Security Software. Maybe its just simply find several software packages and bring them together into one. We find out here.

Read on.....

Is there a thing such as the perfect anti-virus or security programme for personal computers? It’s a question we often hear today. The almost uncontrollable invasion of viruses and threats of all sorts is making users more concerned than ever about the safety of their machines and the information stored on them.

Certainly the infamous bird flu and the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe are frightening diseases. But in a certain way these biological, tangible plagues may eventually prove to be more controllable than the virtual type. Besides, over the last few years, the world already has seen several cases of computer viral infections or large scale hacking that have affected hundred of thousands systems, including some that were believed well protected.

Just this week, Facebook community’s 120 million users have been warned that Koobface, a virus designed to get hold of sensitive information like credit card details may strike their accounts.

There are three major anti-virus and Internet security applications: Symantec-Norton, Kaspersky and McAfee. Microsoft also supplies Defender, a complementary product that is an excellent protection against one specific form of threat: spyware.

Wikipedia defines spyware as “computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent”. Spyware therefore does not cause any damage to user’s files. It “merely” steals information from your data and slows down your computer in an annoying way.

As one would expect it, it is impossible to say which of Symantec, McAfee or Kaspersky constitutes the perfect protection, or is able to catch all viruses. All these programmes work according to heuristic methods that provide a “solution that is reasonably close to the best possible answer”. In plain English, none is guaranteed to provide a 100 per cent protection against existing threats. Kaspersky is the newest of all three products and has quickly gained wide popularity.

Experts insist saying that in some instances there were viruses that Kaspersky was able to catch and that Symantec could not - and vice versa of course - which usually prompts users to ask if it wouldn’t be better therefore to have both applications installed at the same time, one complementing the other. But it does not work this way, and installing two different anti-virus programmes often creates conflicts and slows down the computer significantly. It is not recommended practice.

In addition to what anti-virus and Internet security products come with, Microsoft’s Windows has a built-in software-based firewall module that provides a reasonable level of protection against a large number of illegal intrusions to your computer.

The industry also provides hardware, physical firewalls. This is electronic digital equipment that can be installed on a network and that can be programmed to ensure various levels of protection against external intrusions.

The firewall concept is not a simple one. Setting up a physical firewall is not a layman’s task and should be left to professionals. For those who think that simple anti-virus software is not enough, hardware firewalls are the best solution, though they are not easy to manage.

Users are left with an unpleasant choice: to have just one anti-virus installed on their machine and that they can manage in a relatively easy manner, but knowing that it only provides about 95 per cent protection, or to go to extremes with the acquisition of a physical firewall but that makes the entire operation very heavy and expensive to manage. For the time being, there is nothing in between.

Filtering The Virus Filters

The interent gains many different versions of spyware daily. It also gets many new software packages to combat this huge increase. The problem is with all this increase its only a metter of time before you get confused.

Read on.....

Which antivirus software works best? The answer is getting complicated.

As much as antivirus companies trumpet their evolving abilities to root out viruses, worms and Trojans on your PC, the cybersecurity industry leaves out one important piece of information: all the malicious code they're not detecting.

Luckily, someone is scanning the scanners. On Thursday, the German nonprofit firm AV-Comparatives released its annual report based on a year of testing the cybersecurity industry's antivirus offerings, systematically pitting each one against more than 10 million samples of malware pulled from computers around the world.

The best performers in the firm's tests? Two names most Americans have never heard of: the German company Avira and the Slovakian firm ESET. And those rankings, cybersecurity analysts say, may reflect just as much on the industry's growing pains as they do on the two firms' ability to clean up your hard drive.

Avira, based in Tettnang, Germany, won AV-Comparatives' label as the overall best antivirus product of 2008, based on its ability to pull more malicious files off hard drives than big name competitors like Symantec (nasdaq: SYMC - news - people ), McAfee (nyse: MFE - news - people ) and Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) in less time and with less impact on a PC's performance.

In the latest AV-Comparatives tests performed last month, for instance, Avira found about two-thirds of the previously undetected malware--collected over a four-week period--installed on the machines it scanned. ESET's NOD32 program found 51%. Symantec and Microsoft, by comparison, found only 44% of those samples, while McAfee's detection rate was below 30%.

Andreas Clementi, AV-Comparatives' chief executive founder, chalks up Avira's apparent superiority to the fact that the company has a smaller user-base than its larger competitors, so it can more quickly pipe out new virus watch lists to users without dealing with a massive network. "Symantec, for instance, is used by many millions more people around the world," Clementi says. "Smaller companies can be faster in releasing updates. Symantec has to be careful: If it caused a false alarm, it would create much more trouble for those millions of users."

But AV-Comparatives' top ranking for Avira isn't the last word in antivirus vendor ranking. In fact, the evolution of malicious software means measuring the efficacy of antivirus vendors is more complicated than ever.

In its quarterly cybersecurity showdowns, AV-Comparatives uses 50 1.5-terabyte hard drives packed with a uniform set of newly collected malicious software from "bait" computers around the world.

In half of its tests, it pits antivirus software against previously detected malware and measures the software's ability to successfully scan those big disks. In the other half, it "freezes" a version of the antivirus software, waits a month without updating it and tests it against all the malware the testers have collected during that month. That technique is designed to check the antivirus softwares' ability to find previously undetected breeds of malicious code.

But even in those elaborate tests, AV-Comparatives may not be measuring the newest features of anti-malware programs, protests Symantec's senior director of product management, Dave Cole. The next generation of malware detection, he argues, is "behavior-based" detection, which filters out bad files based largely on how they act over time after they're installed on your PC--not just their appearance at the moment of a scan.

"We used to know it was bad because it was "the bumpy Trojan," Cole says. "Now we know it's something bad because it grabs your keyboard, sends your data to China."

Another test last September by another German antivirus analysis firm called AV-Test, however, may have captured those behavior-based scanning features. AV-Test, in fact, gave Symantec top marks for the kind of "proactive" scanning that Cole describes. Avira, however, fared far worse.

The real winner, it turns out, may be ESET, which placed near the top of both AV-Comparatives' and AV-Test's behavior-based scanning tests. The company, whose antivirus software serves more than 70 million users largely in Russia and the U.S., claims its secret is advanced "heuristics, the ability to statistically recognize a familiar piece of malware in a new form."

"Viruses today are constantly shifting. They're like wolves in sheeps clothing," says Jeff Brosse, ESET's director of North American research. "Recognizing that malware is where we excel."

ESET began working on heuristics long before other antivirus companies, says John Hawes, a researcher for the British virus analysis online newsletter Virus Bulletin, and it has been able to avoid the false alarms that plague most heuristic tests. "They've struck a good balance between strong heuristics and false positives," he says. Hawes' own tests backs up the other two: He says that the 16-year-old company has been on the newsletter's VB100 certification list more times than any other firm.

But there's another wrinkle to testing antivirus software capabilities: AV-Comparatives doesn't measure an antivirus program's ability to detect new malware by comparing samples to an Internet database, a growing trend in the cybersecurity industry. (See "Filtering Viruses Through The Cloud.") That means anti-malware companies like McAfee, Trend Micro and F-Secure, which are especially focused on using those "cloud"-based systems, might not get a fair shake.

That's another reason that the real outcome of the two tests may be to show how outmoded signature-based malware detection has become. The fact that Avira could outperform competitors and only catch two out of three new types of malware, says security blogger and consultant Rich Mogull, shows that without real behavior-based detection, cybersecurity can't keep up.

In fact, he says the real key to defeating malware isn't antivirus but approaches like Firefox's no-script plug-in, which blocks Web pages from running potentially malicious programs. Mogull also advocates software platforms like Windows Vista or Google Chrome that "sandbox" or limit applications' access to computer resources. "You give applications a very small, safe place to play in," he says.

Until those kinds of security features become commonplace, the explosion of different malware breeds means antivirus vendors will be fighting a losing battle, Mogull says. "Tests can show which of these work better, but they're all far from perfect," he says. "The truth is, it doesn't really matter which is better. The bad guys will scoot around any of them."

Blue Ridge Networks Announces New Anti-Malware Solution

With the internet getting bigger and bigger more and more people are becoming infected with spyware, adware or malware. What ever you want to call it you need to be rid of it. Here is another product being launched to counter this.

Read on.....

Secure AppGuard More than Doubles PC Protection from Malware. Blue Ridge Networks announces Blue Ridge/Secure AppGuard™, an anti-malware solution that protects PCs from attack by the latest generation of sophisticated malware threats, increasing endpoint security coverage to address more than 90% of known and unknown vulnerabilities.

Chantilly, VA (PRWEB) December 11, 2008 -- Blue Ridge Networks today announced Blue Ridge/Secure AppGuard™, an anti-malware solution that protects PCs from attack by the latest generation of sophisticated malware threats, increasing endpoint security coverage to address more than 90% of known and unknown vulnerabilities.

Unlike today's market leading products, AppGuard does not rely on signatures that are quickly outdated, or require constant monitoring and tuning of policy rules. Instead, Secure AppGuard prevents an application from executing instructions that would indicate it has been hijacked by malware.

An August 2008 study published by Cyveillance Inc. and similar market studies by Secunia, reveal that legacy security products detect only 34% of malware attacks, leaving corporate networks and data constantly at risk. "These industry reports regularly document how traditional anti-malware products are failing their users," stated Blue Ridge Networks CEO Mike Fumai. "Security experts agree that a new approach is required to protect users and their PCs from exposure to these attacks."

Secure AppGuard is unique in that it prevents an attacked application from harming itself, other applications, or critical operating system resources by regulating file system and registry resource access. For instance, by focusing on blocking actions that should never occur, Secure AppGuard eliminates the administrative complexities and end-user decision making that legacy Host Intrusion Prevention Systems (HIPS) products impose.

Secure AppGuard complements existing security software by:

• Blocking Zero-day malware that can attack even the most up-to-date and well maintained systems and networks;
• Increasing protection while minimizing the impact on IT workload through simplified product installation and configuration, and eliminating constant parameter fine-tuning required by HIPS products;
• Running non-intrusively with virtually no impact on system performance and end-user productivity.

Immediately upon installation, Secure AppGuard protects the applications most targeted by hackers, including Web browsers, Microsoft Office Applications, and Media Players. Additional applications are easily added to the guarded list by either System Administrators or end-users.

Blue Ridge/Secure AppGuard is priced at $24.95 per user and is available for purchase and download today.

About Blue Ridge Networks
For over 12 years Blue Ridge Networks has helped commercial and government customers securely connect and conduct business over the most secure and cost-effective networks in the world. Our solutions have consistently enabled increased application performance and endpoint security, supported network scalability, simplified management, and reduced the total cost of doing business. Blue Ridge Networks solutions represent high standards of security as evidenced by numerous government certifications and compliance with key industry standards.
More information about our products and managed services can be found by visiting www.blueridgenetworks.com.

Outperforming the Competition: AVG Anti-Virus and Walling Data, the Perfect Combination for Business Security

We recently came accross this press release and it goes to show that the saying "you get what you pay for" is not always the truth. You can find top software packages in todays world of the interent without having to pay a single penny. AVG is the main one that springs to mind.

Read on......

AVG Network Edition emerges as the winner in telecom firms' anti-virus bake-off.

Claremont, NC (PRWEB) December 11, 2008 -- Scott Mullins is the Network Administrator for CertiCell, a provider of products and services that facilitate the acquisition, repair and redeployment of aftermarket mobile phones located in Louisville, Kentucky. He's also a huge fan of AVG Anti-Virus, and insists that it cannot be outperformed by the competition.

"First and foremost, AVG just works. It keeps viruses out," he explains. "My job is demanding enough without having to waste time fixing computers that should not have gotten infected in the first place. We've used AVG Network Edition since our company's inception in 2005 and we've never had a single instance of virus or spyware infection."

Secondly, Mullins enjoys the small footprint AVG requires. "I like how AVG doesn't use a lot of processing power. Users can't even tell that it is running in the background, unlike McAfee or Symantec which tend to really bog down machines."

He's so convinced AVG is the best solution, he uses it at home, too. "I've been using AVG Free Edition on my personal computer for many years now, and I've never experienced an issue there either."

Scott and two other members oversee the company's entire IT infrastructure, comprising 60 workstations and four servers servicing 60 employees scattered across Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas.

Even the best needs to be put to the test

When Mullins noticed that the company's AVG Network Edition licenses were due for renewal earlier this year, he decided to run a test on other security solutions to see whether any of them had improved since he'd last looked at them. He does not regret his decision.

"It's always a good idea to do a little due diligence to make sure we're still getting the best deal possible," admits Mullins. "As a network administrator, it's important for me to test other products periodically. Now I can say, without a doubt, that AVG is the best antivirus solution because I've personally tested it against the competition."

Mullins' evaluation encompassed competing security products from Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, and Microsoft. By the end of the testing period, his opinions remained unchanged.

"I quickly discovered that I wasn't going to be able to find another antivirus program that would beat AVG in the three categories that matter -- protection, price and ease of use."

AVG and Walling Data -- "The Ones to Beat"

Around the time that the AVG licenses were up for renewal AVG Network Edition 8.0 was released. Realizing he might need some assistance in upgrading to all the exciting new functionality the newest version was offering, Mullins researched where to buy his renewal from..

"Walling Data was recommended by AVG Technologies themselves, so I figured I ought to check them out."

Walling Data is the longest-standing and highest-volume distributor of AVG Technologies solutions in North America. Walling Data is also the only distributor to offer all its customers -- resellers and end-users -- free, unlimited, U.S.-based pre- and post-sales support.
"In no time, I was connected to a live, US-based sales person at Walling Data," said Mullins. "I was very pleased with their pre-sales service -- the representative was very helpful and got back to me with a quote right away. They also offered me a great deal on AVG pricewise."

"Walling Data was great to work with. They provided free assistance with the upgrade and were extremely knowledgeable about the AVG product."

Today, Mullins is more convinced than ever that AVG Network Edition is "the one to beat" when it comes to keeping networks virus-free.

"AVG performs better than the competition, is easy to use and, thanks to Walling Data, is very attractive financially. Switching to another security solution would not only have decreased our protection but increased our costs by about 25 percent."

For more information about how to purchase AVG Anti-Virus, resellers and end users should visit http://www.avg-antivirus.net.

About Walling Data

Founded in 1994, N.C.-based Walling Data is a value-added technology distributor of technology products for resellers, small businesses, and education and government institutions. Walling Data was the nation's first distributor of AVG security products and today is the highest-volume distributor for the product in North America, with more than 50,000 satisfied customers. Walling is also the only value-added distributor for Cymphonix Network Composer, an award-winning device that helps companies control and monitor users compliance with internet usage policies. Additionally, the company has recently become a distributor of CyberPatrol's parental control and business-grade web filtering solutions. Walling Data provides free, unlimited, U.S.-based phone and "we-do-it-for-you" remote support for all of its customers. For more information, visit www.wallingdata.com and www.avg-antivirus.net

About AVG

Founded in 1991 and with offices in the US and Europe, AVG is a leading international developer of Internet threat protection solutions for consumers and SMBs. AVG is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry with more than 85 million active users around the world. The company employs some of the world's leading experts in Internet security, specifically in the areas of threat research, analysis and detection. AVG's award-winning products are distributed globally through resellers and over the Internet as well as via third parties through Software Developer's Kits (SDK).