BIOS: Technology Means Business

ScanSafe has released its latest threat data on Web filtering, spyware, and viruses.

Among the key findings, the company reported that in a sample of more than one billion global Web requests from June 5 to 11 - the week leading up to the opening weekend of the FIFA World Cup - it saw an average 147 per cent increase in visits over the prior week to World Cup-related sites by office workers in 10 countries.

According to the data, Dutch employees spent an average of 46 minutes per day searching World Cup-related sites, followed by users in the UK who spent an average of 37 minutes per day engaged in the same activity.

In contrast, their French counterparts spent five minutes per day searching World Cup-related sites and American workers spent just 4 minutes per day doing so. The most popular site was the official .

“The fact that people are visiting World Cup Web sites is not a surprise,” said Eldar Tuvey, CEO, ScanSafe. “The big concern is that recreational surfing at work not only consumes bandwidth and lowers productivity, but it can expose corporate networks to Web viruses, spyware and other malware that can steal confidential information.”

According to ScanSafe’s latest data, 28 per cent of users spend nearly an hour each day on recreational surfing. “Having the right Web security technology in place is crucial, but it is equally important to ensure that staff understand and abide by the employer’s policy on acceptable Internet usage,” Tuvey added.

In addition to World Cup-related surfing trends, ScanSafe reported a 20 per cent increase in Web viruses in May. Nearly 13 per cent of all Web viruses blocked by ScanSafe were detected by Outbreak Intelligence, the company’s proprietary heuristics technology. This trend reinforces the need for real-time scanning that can detect and block zero-hour threats - threats that appear before an anti-virus signature is made available.

ScanSafe also reported a 9 per cent increase in spyware and adware intercepts during May. ScanSafe reported a 41 per cent increase in blocking Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) - unwanted browser plug-ins that can track users’ online activity.

The top-10 spyware, adware and other unwanted programmes blocked by ScanSafe in May were: Gator, Your Site Bar, Hotbar, StarWare, My Search, CometCursor, Target Saver, MarketScore, Huntbar, and Context Plus.

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