BIOS: Technology Means Business

Zone Labs's latest software product prevents spyware from gaining control of a PC. ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware also includes the new industry-lauded OSFirewall, becoming the first major dedicated anti-spyware solution to be packaged with a firewall.

ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware is the industry's first dedicated spyware prevention solution based on next-generation firewall technology, says the company. ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware is available to customers around the world in six languages including English, Japanese, German, Spanish, Italian and French.

ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware offers consumers protection from Internet-based attacks such as spyware, trojans, keyloggers, and rootkits. It includes the company's vanguard OSFirewal to tackle hackers and repel destructive programs intended to steal personal information for criminal purposes. Going beyond traditional scanning and removal techniques, ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware stops spyware from gaining a foothold on a PC, rather than merely treating it after the damage is done.

'The basic foundation of any spyware prevention solution has to be the firewall, because it goes beyond reactive signature-based technologies,' said Gregor Freund, chief technology officer at Check Point. Currently, only Zone Labs offers customers a new type of firewall that monitors the operating system in addition to the more typical Internet communications. This is particularly important because if you can stop spyware from executing its malicious intent, you can surf the Internet confident that your personal information is safe.'

ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware also features the industry's only Automatic Kill Control function. This enhanced firewall capability apparently disables over 50000 malicious or dangerous programs, offering real-time protection from new and emerging threats. This is great news because spyware infestations are on the rise as hackers revert to quieter, more targeted attacks intended to steal personal information. And most current solutions rely on outdated scanning tactics to remove programs whenever a scan happens to be triggered.

'That's too late,' said Laura Yecies, Vice President at Check Point and general manager of Zone Labs. 'Your personal data and your bandwidth now have monetary value on the black market. They want your passwords. Or they want to hijack your PC. We created ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware with the idea that proactive prevention is the only way to go - because security is no longer about keeping your PC working, it's about protecting you.'

ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware includes a triple-defence firewall to seal off the pathways to your computer. The OSFirewall guards against spyware and kernel-level threats such as rootkits by closely monitoring vital files, registry keys, drivers, services, and start-up processes at the core of the PC, the program firewall shields legitimate programs from malicious programs, and the network firewall monitors communications between a PC and the Internet.

The spyware scanning and removal tool removes remnants of unsuccessful spyware installations, and it also targets invasive adware programs that deluge you with pop-up ads and track personal Web usage and private information. ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware is available today on the Zone Labs Web site. The software costs £19.95 (inc. VAT) for a single user and supports Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 and XP.