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Panda Cloud Antivirus emerges from Beta, bringing free, proven PC Protection to the masses
Panda Security goes beyond the basics with world’s most lightweight and complete free anti-virus service for home users
Panda Cloud Antivirus, the industry’s first and most comprehensive free cloud anti-virus service that protects consumers PCs against the latest malware, spyware, rootkits and viruses, emerged from beta after six months of user testing. To experience the expanded performance and support capabilities of Cloud Antivirus, as well as benefit from both online and offline security protection, consumers can download the free service from Panda Security at http://www.cloudantivirus.com/.
“Since the beta release of Panda Cloud Antivirus in April, we have been judiciously testing our cloud-based protection model, making upgrades in security and performance, and listening to our user community,” said Juan Santana, CEO of Panda Security. “With Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0, we’ve really changed the game, providing our users the most powerful and lightweight free protection available on the market today.”
Recognized for being “the first anti-virus without an update button”, Panda Cloud Antivirus delivers the fastest protection against the newest and most dangerous viruses. This is made possible thanks to Collective Intelligence, Panda’s advanced system that gathers malware information from its global community of users in the cloud to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in minutes. Collective Intelligence combines local detection technologies with real-time cloud-scanning to maximize protection while minimizing resource consumption. Available in 11 languages, Panda Cloud Antivirus works under Windows XP (32 bits), Windows Vista (32bits and 64bits) and Windows 7 (32bits and 64bits) operating systems and only consumes 20 MB of RAM.
According to a recent PC World review of free anti-virus offerings:
“Among all of the free anti-virus software we tested for our latest roundup, Panda Cloud Antivirus was the best app at blocking known malware. The approach is intended to take advantage of the latest signatures without the need for signature-database updates-and if its excellent showing at detecting malware in AV-Test.org’s zoo of half a million samples is any indication, the approach works. Panda’s app produced an impressive 99.4 percent overall detection rate.”
Notable new features and upgrades to Cloud Antivirus from the initial beta include:
– New and improved interface makes Cloud Antivirus even easier to use
– Improved performance with cache optimization and memory management lowers CPU utilization and memory consumption
– New website and Collective Intelligence Monitor give users access to a list of malware from the community that is updated in real-time
– Online support forums now available at http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum/index.jspa
Source: Panda Security
Mozilla advances the web with Firefox 3.5
Major update to browser delivers significant performance improvements, privacy enhancements, support for new Web standards, and greater customization options
Mozilla, a public-benefit organization dedicated to promoting choice and innovation on the Internet, today released Firefox(R) 3.5, a major update to its popular, free and open source Web browser. Coming one year after the launch of the critically acclaimed Firefox 3, Firefox 3.5 introduces cutting-edge features, as well as new support for a wide variety of Web standards.
Firefox 3.5 is the best performing browser Mozilla has ever released and delivers radically improved JavaScript performance, a new Private Browsing mode, native support for open video and audio, and Location Aware Browsing. The newest version of Firefox is more than two times faster than Firefox 3 and ten times faster than Firefox 2 on complex websites. With extensive under the hood work to support new technologies, Firefox 3.5 is the most powerful and complete modern browser and helps upgrade the Web experience.
Firefox 3.5 was built through Mozilla’s global, open source development process. The Mozilla community comprises thousands of passionate contributors, including experienced developers, security experts, localization and support communities in more than 60 countries, and tens of thousands of active testers. With more than 300 million active users, Firefox is the only popular Web browser created by a non-profit organization.
“So much is happening on the Web right now, it’s a great time for browsers. Firefox 3.5 brings together the most innovative Web technologies and delivers them in the most complete and powerful modern browser,” said John Lilly, CEO, Mozilla.
What’s New in Firefox 3.5:
Firefox 3.5 makes surfing the Web easier and more enjoyable with exciting new features and platform updates that allow Web developers to create the next generation of Web content. Native support for open video and audio, private browsing, and support for the newest Web technologies will enable richer, more interactive online experiences.
Performance. Firefox 3.5 includes the powerful new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, which delivers unprecedented performance with today’s complex Web applications. Firefox 3.5 is more than two times faster than Firefox 3 and ten times faster than Firefox 2.
Open Video and Audio. Enjoy video and audio content from within your browser, without the need for plugins. Video is a vital part of the modern Web, whether it’s used to communicate, educate, or entertain. Firefox 3.5 delivers the first native integration of audio and video directly into the browser. Now everyone can easily watch open format Ogg Theora videos.
Web developers can use these technologies to design pages that interact with video content in new and exciting ways, offering richer interactive experiences beyond controlling playback and volume.
Privacy Controls. Firefox 3.5 includes features designed to protect your privacy online and provide greater control over your personal data.
While using the new Private Browsing mode in Firefox 3.5, nothing you encounter on the Web will be stored from that moment on during your browsing session. Unique to Firefox 3.5, the new Forget this Site feature can remove every trace of a site from your browser. If you want to remove all private data or activity from the past few hours, Clear Recent History, another Firefox-only feature, gives you full control over what stays and what goes.
Location Aware Browsing. Location Aware Browsing saves you time by allowing websites to ask you where you are located. If you choose to share your location with a website, it can use that information to find nearby points of interest and return additional, useful data like maps of your area. It’s all optional – Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission.
How to get Mozilla Firefox 3.5:
Mozilla Firefox 3.5 is available now for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems as a free download from http://www.getfirefox.com/. It is also available in more than 70 languages at: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html.
Two free HyperStudio 5 players for Windows and Internet Explorer
Software MacKiev, an award-winning software developer and publisher, and Roger Wagner, the creator and designer of HyperStudio(R), announced today the debut of HyperStudio 5 for Windows and the release of HyperStudio 5 Players for Windows and Internet Explorer.
The Windows and Mac version of HyperStudio are being presented at the NECC conference in the Software MacKiev Booth # 1412 in several different venues – from informal presentations in “Roger’s Bistro” by Roger Wagner, creator and designer of HyperStudio, to educators and middle school students showing classroom projects in the HyperStudio Theatre.
HyperStudio(R) is media fusion software for making digital creations. From animated art forms and comics, digital storytelling to virtual visits, to podcasting of school projects, HyperStudio has been used worldwide by millions of students, teachers, engineers, musicians, film-makers, and even a few rock bands. The program is accessible for the youngest users but also has the depth and professional quality that more sophisticated users make exemplary use of. In an environment where any element can be created or added within seconds, HyperStudio is the elegantly simple solution that lets users do it all in one well designed program.
The HyperStudio 5 Windows Player allows projects created in HyperStudio 5 for Windows to run on PCs while the Internet Explorer Player allows projects made in HyperStudio 5 to run on Internet Explorer 6 or higher. The release of these two players is now available by download from the Software MacKiev website.
Pricing and Availability
HyperStudio 5 for Windows and Mac OSX is available for purchase from the Software MacKiev Web store starting at $89.95 for a single computer license. Volume license discounts are available. The HyperStudio 5 Players for Windows and Internet Explorer are available immediately free of charge from the Software MacKiev Web site. Go to www.mackiev.com and follow the links to Support. The Windows Player allows users to enjoy HyperStudio 5 Windows projects on Microsoft Windows computers and works with Windows XP SP2 or later, including Windows Vista. The Internet Explorer Player lets you view HyperStudio 5 projects on Internet Explorer 6 or later.
Vizual Gives Free HR Software to Small Businesses
UK HR Software company Vizual is taking the unprecedented step of giving away its HR.net Lite Human Resources software free of charge.
This is the first time that fully functioning HR software has been available as free software – and it’s not time limited either. UK businesses typically pay from GBP300 to GBP1,000+ for this level of Human Resources software.
“Vizual can do this, because we are a well-established company, with steady revenues from selling our HR software since 1996,” says Vizual’s Marketing Manager, Eamon Carney-Holland. “In the current economic climate, many businesses are under pressure so we want to assist if we can. HR.net Lite will help them to reduce their HR workload, and in the longer term, we expect that some of the small companies who use our free software will expand and upgrade to one of our HR.net packages for larger businesses.”
Vizual offers four versions of HR.net for companies of different sizes. HR.net Express is for companies with up to 250 people, HR.net Professional for those with 400 employees and HR.net Enterprise for the largest blue chip companies.
HR.net Lite helps to manage the Human Resources workload by automating many of the routine HR tasks. It has functions to organise employee data, track important dates and keep workforce paperwork up to date. It is easy to install on a PC or server and automates most HR tasks – employment, holiday and absence, training, talent, health and safety and company documents. It also provides event triggers and a selection of reports and charts.
HR.net Lite is perfect for businesses with up to 15 members of staff and is web-based – a first for this level of HR software.
To request your FREE copy of HR.net Lite go to http://www.vizual.co.uk email FREE@vizual.co.uk or call 0844-770-0250.
Enjoy Powerful Partition Software With Free Lifetime Upgrades
EASEUS recently announced a new service added to their award-winning partition software – EASEUS Partition Master. Computer users can directly purchase EASEUS Partition Master with Free Lifetime Upgrades at an unbelievable price to enjoy the continually upgraded features and preferential service.
“As a company aiming to provide high quality and affordable partition software based on customers’ needs, we have been trying to improve our EASEUS Partition Master. New features and enhanced quality can be found in every upgraded version,” says Mr. Liu, the CEO of EASEUS company. “We have lots of fans who would like to have the latest version of EASEUS Partition Master. In the past, they needed to pay a fee to get it every time we had an upgraded version, which was quite inconvenient. Our new service saves both time and money, especially for new users.”
There are three editions available for EASEUS Partition Master free lifetime upgrade products – Professional, Server and Unlimited. Each specific edition addresses the needs of different computer users. Generally speaking, the following functions are provided: Resize and Move Partition, Copy Partition, Copy Disk, Create, Delete and Format Partition, Convert Partition, Explore Partition, etc. Easy operation and its powerful capacity to protect data make this program highly recommended among computer users.
“Free lifetime upgrades service has been well-received since it came out. Many users email us saying the high cost-performance ratio is amazing,” added Mr. Liu, “Actually, users’ feedback also encourages us to make ceaseless efforts to improve our products to justify their confidence.”
Pricing & Availability
EASEUS Partition Master Professional Edition with Free Lifetime Upgrades: US$ 69.00 only. EASEUS Partition Master Server Edition with Free Lifetime Upgrades: US$ 299.00 only. EASEUS Partition Master Unlimited Edition with Free Lifetime Upgrades: US$ 599.00 only.
Additionally, 20% discounts are offered for academic, non-profit, government users, etc.
For more information about the free lifetime upgrades service of this powerful partition software, please visit http://www.partition-tool.com/upgrade.htm
GFI Software Launches FREE Full-Featured Backup and Recovery Software for Home Users
To assist home PC users during these troubled economic times and to help them understand the importance of data backups, GFI Software announced the release of a free version of its newly-developed backup and recovery software called GFI Backup 2009 – Home Edition. Perfect for home users, GFI Backup 2009 allows PC users to safeguard precious memories – pictures, video, Office documents – and any files stored on their computer.
The FREE software can be downloaded from http://www.gfi.com/backup-hm/free-backup-software/ and allows home users to keep regular and updated copies of all important files and safeguard data in case something goes wrong. This is GFI’s first release of a recovery product designed specifically for home users.
“Security threats do not only affect businesses but home users as well. In many cases, loss of data for individuals is heartbreaking because memories, personal documents and important files are lost due to hard disk failure or virus attacks,” said Walter Scott, CEO, GFI Software. “We firmly believe in helping people be better prepared and we are doing this by giving home users a full-featured backup software product for free.”
GFI Backup 2009 is an easy-to-use backup and recovery software solution that allows users to backup all their important files and, when needed, recover data within minutes using the product’s wizard-driven interface. GFI Backup 2009 does not use a proprietary format – all data is saved to common ZIP files making it easy to restore data to a computer that may not have GFI Backup installed on it.
Data can be stored on nearly every storage device available such as internal or external hard disks, local area network (LAN) locations, CD/DVD media, removable media devices (USB sticks, memory sticks, flash memory, floppy disks, etc.) and remote locations using FTP with upload auto-resume. Data can also be protected with military-strength 256-bit AES strong encryption.
GFI Backup 2009 is currently available for home users. The company will release a small business/corporate version later this year.
“At GFI Software, we believe that we should do what we can to help our customers protect their data – whether it be important business information or personal memories. We view ourselves not only as a vendor but also as a partner that understands our customers’ needs and is actively doing something through our “We Care” initiative to help them through these tough economic times,” added Scott.
For more information and to download a FREE copy of GFI Backup 2009 – Home Edition, visit http://www.gfi.com/backup-hm/free-backup-software/.
AVG Launches Free Protection Against Online Threats
Standalone AVG LinkScannerR delivers real-time protection for Windows users, no matter what other security products they may use
AVG Technologies, developers of the world’s leading free anti-virus software, is launching AVG LinkScanner as a free standalone product to protect users against random, invisible online threats. On any given day, some two million web pages are poisoned by hidden threats. And every day, 60 percent of those threats shut down or move to a different destination on the web – which makes real-time link scanning crucial.
Any type of site can be affected, from a small business to a government department to a major brand-name company. If a user simply visits one of these poisoned web pages they don’t even need to click on anything to get into real trouble, to lose their credit card details, their ID or other valuable information or files. Regular anti-virus software alone cannot protect against this type of threat.
AVG LinkScanner gives users an additional real-time layer of protection on top of their existing security software. It works by looking at the web page behind a link or a web address typed into a browser and analyzing whether it harbors a threat. If it does, then AVG LinkScanner stops the user from ownloading that page. This means that, for the first time, Windows XP and Vista users can truly know whether it is safe to click on a link at the only time that matters – when they click on it.
“It’s our belief that every computer user has the right to basic security protection, regardless of the ability to pay,” said J R Smith, AVG Technologies’ CEO. “These dangerous web pages threaten to disrupt the very fabric of the internet as well as how we view and use it; posing an even bigger threat to users than viruses. Our 80 million users are already protected by AVG LinkScanner, which has been an essential part of our suite of security products for some time. So now we’re making it available to users of other major security software brands, who just don’t have the same degree or protection. Now any PC user can surf and search the web with confidence and without fear of losing their ID, bank account information, credit card details, valuable files and information to cybercrooks.”
AVG LinkScanner also applies this targeted analysis of web pages to search results from Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Whenever users search using these search engines, they will see safety rankings for all ‘organic’ search results. In addition, the AVG LinkScanner will scan your bookmarks as well as links contained in instant messages and emails before you open them to ensure they are safe.
The AVG LinkScanner Advantage
AVG LinkScanner’s unique ability to analyze web links in real time enables AVG to deliver far more accurate and relevant protection than other safe-surfing solutions. Checking the safety of a page at the precise time the user is about to click to it is crucial in today’s world of transient threats. Relying on information about a web site’s relative safety days or weeks in the past cannot protect users against threats that remain in one place for less than 24 hours; and so AVG has rejected the traditional approach of relying on information about sites previously found to have been poisoned.
Unlike other solutions, AVG LinkScanner analyzes individual pages on a web site to generate a rating for those pages. Imagine that one or two pages on a vast site like Facebook or MySpace are being used to spread malware. If a safe-surfing solution only rates entire sites based on what it finds on a couple of pages, a bad rating on those one or two poisoned pages would result in blocking users’ access to any of their friends’ pages on that site.
“The Web has become the primary distribution mechanism for viruses (and other malware), drive-by downloads and other stealthy web threats which epresent vast majority of attacks,” said AVG Technologies CTO Karel Obluk.”So we’ve evolved our product range to put greater emphasis on ombating this more insidious and dangerous form of attack. AVG LinkScanner is at the front line of this additional protective layer. It’s our goal, by making this layer freely available, to give users the confidence to always feel safe when they go online.”
Neighborhood Watch Research
AVG’s “neighborhood watch” approach to AVG LinkScanner research also increases the product’s ability to provide relevant protection to users – putting the protection where users actually go and when they go there, rather than trying to map and secure the entire Internet. The LIVE Intelligence Network has for the past five years focused solely on this area of evolving threats through the combined resources of: a global team of expert human researchers and a network of ‘hunting pots’
- an intelligent filter for known and suspected threat distribution sites and mechanisms
- automated threat encounter feedback, ensuring focus on real-world threats that affect real users
AVG LinkScanner aggregates intelligence gained through these three channels, correlates it in real time, and integrates it back into the threat analysis process to continually improve user protection.
Other tricks are being developed all the time, and users should not assume they are safe if some other pop-up appears while they’re surfing the web or downloading files. Running AVG LinkScanner will protect users against new as well as existing forms of social engineering trickery.
Availability and System Requirements
AVG LinkScanner continues the AVG Technologies mission to deliver lightweight, easy-to-use solutions that don’t slow users’ computers down and provide robust protection as soon as they’re installed. The software is free for use on any personal home computer for non-commercial purposes. It can be downloaded from http://linkscanner.avg.com. Support is available through a free online forum hosted by AVG at http://freeforum.avg.com.
AVG LinkScanner runs under all current versions of Windows XP and Vista, both 32- and 64-bit. The software is compatible with all major security software and with Internet Explorer 6 or later and Firefox 2 or later browsers. AVG LinkScanner is available today in English and will be available in Brazilian Portuguese, Czech Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Korean, Bahasa, Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), Russian and Malay from mid May.
GFI Software Gives Away Full-Featured GFI LANguard for Free
Helping small businesses maintain and improve network security in an economic downturn
As more and more businesses bear the brunt of the economic downturn and budgets are drastically cut, security is often the first area to suffer. With cybercrime on the increase and threats becoming more dangerous and frequent, businesses can ill-afford to ignore security. If anything, they need to beef up their defenses. This is why GFI Software is giving away a 5-IP freeware version of its award-winning product GFI LANguard(TM) – to assist organizations shore up their defenses and secure their networks.
“In this contracting economy, we believe that vendors should work with businesses to assist them in sustaining a viable business until the economy bounces back. We view ourselves not only as a vendor but also – and equally importantly – as a business partner that understands our customers’ needs and is actively doing something to help,” Walter Scott, CEO at GFI said.
“With this in mind and to tangibly convey to our customers that WE CARE, we are giving away a freeware version of GFI LANguard, one of our leading security products. We are doing this for two reasons. First, we want to help business owners to continue focusing on security issues even though they don’t have the budgets and, second, we want to encourage them to take security to another level and fully understand that security goes beyond anti-virus and anti-spam. With this fully functional 5-IP version of GFI LANguard we are giving something back to businesses and helping them keep their networks secure,” he added.
Winner of the Best of TechEd award in 2007, highly recommended by the judges at the SC Magazine Europe awards in 2008 and a finalist at this year’s SC Magazine Europe awards, GFI LANguard allows administrators to scan, detect, assess and rectify vulnerabilities on their network and to secure it with minimal administrative effort.
Over 15,000 vulnerability assessments are carried out when the network, including any virtual environment, is scanned by GFI LANguard. When the scan is complete, GFI LANguard’s Patch Management functionality allows administrators to deploy and manage patches and security updates on all machines across the network. Hardware information can be retrieved and baseline comparisons used to check for unauthorized changes.
For more information on GFI LANguard visit http://www.gfi.com/lannetscan
Javacool Software Releases Free SpywareBlaster 4.2
Enhanced “Layered Defense” Spyware, Malware Prevention Software Now Supports More Browsers & With Faster Updating
Fans of Javacool Software LLC, take note: an upgraded version of the company’s popular SpywareBlaster(R) is now available for free downloads from the software company’s Web site (www.javacoolsoftware.com).
With over 50 million free downloads since the company’s launch in 2002, Javacool Software offers a range of free privacy and security software products used by home and small business computer owners worldwide, along with other services for enterprises and networks.
Unlike other subscription or free anti-spyware and anti-malware software, SpywareBlaster focuses on prevention. It protects against stealth downloading of spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers and other potentially unwanted software. And unlike other programs, the performance-friendly SpywareBlaster does not remain running in the background, avoiding drags on a PC’s operation.
SpywareBlaster coexists with other security software to provide a “layered defense” against multiple threats. It prevents the installation of ActiveX-based spyware and other dangerous programs, blocks spying and tracking via cookies, and restricts the actions of potentially threatening Web sites.
The new version 4.2 of SpywareBlaster features improved Windows 7 support, faster updating worldwide, support for the Internet Explorer 8 and K-Meleon browsers, interface improvements and numerous other enhancements.
PC World magazine recently named SpywareBlaster as one of its ‘8 Great Free Security Tools.’ Noted the report: “With this downloadable antispyware utility, you can make sure you don’t get infected in the first place rather than scanning for and killing spyware after it hits your machine. It works differently from most competitors by restricting the actions that potentially dangerous Web sites can perform when you visit them. It also protects against dangerous ActiveX controls, and keeps tracking cookies off your PC.”
Javacool Software offers a SpywareBlaster AutoUpdate service to download new versions when they become available, with automatic database updates, easy multi-user coverage and technical support.
Source: Javacool Software LLC
Conficker Worm Free Removal Tool Has Been Released by the Enigma Software Group
Enigma Software Group USA, LLC. (“Enigma Software Group” or “Enigma”) announced today that it has released a free removal tool that will eliminate the Conficker worm from infected computers. Enigma Software Group has made this tool available at http://www.enigmasoftware.com/. The tool is free of charge, for anyone who does not have adequate protection tools.
The Conficker worm, first discovered in November, 2008, has already infected about 12 million computer systems. The initial variant of the worm, Conficker.A, exploits a vulnerability of Microsoft Windows (MS08-067), to spread itself to vulnerable computers. The exploit allows remote code execution when file sharing is in use and affects the following operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.
The second variant of the threat, Conficker.B, also has the ability to spread via network shares, as well as removable drives (USB devices and other portable storage). Conficker.B attempts to infiltrate weakly protected systems by trying a number of common passwords. When spreading via USB memory sticks, Conficker.B infects the autorun.inf file.
When executed on a computer, both variants of Conficker disable a number of system services, including Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender and Windows Error Reporting. This malware also blocks infected systems from downloading new security software or receiving updates for current security software. Upon execution, Conficker connects to a server where it receives further instructions to propagate and gather personal information. Conficker also creates a backdoor, through which the worm can download and install additional programs from the malware’s creator. Additionally, the worm attempts to prevent its removal by using the access control list to fasten its executable onto the infected system.
The free Conficker removal tool offered by Enigma Software Group executes a four-step procedure to completely disable and remove the Conficker worm from an infected system. First, the Conficker removal tool will disable the Computer Browser, Server and Scheduler Services. This will remove the Admin shares from the system so that the malware cannot spread by using this method. Next, the tool will remove Conficker Services, Conficker AutoRun.inf files and, finally, Conficker Service Files. Every step of the Conficker removal process requires a reboot.
Source: Enigma Software Group USA, LLC