Sunnyvale, Calif., November 6, 2007 – Commtouch (NASDAQ: CTCH) today announced the launch of a new online tool that publicizes data about global virus outbreaks. The Commtouch Malware Outbreak Center – available on Commtouch’s public web site – provides ongoing updates on the latest virus variants and how quickly anti-virus solutions can defend against them.
"Broad zombie distribution networks spread new virus variants across the Internet so quickly that many anti-virus technologies have trouble keeping up," said Haggai Carmon, vice president and head of the Commtouch Virus Outbreak Detection Lab. "Commtouch’s unique bird's-eye view of global email traffic allows us to detect new outbreaks from the moment they emerge."
The Commtouch Malware Outbreak Center displays a sample of email-borne malware that has recently been detected and blocked by Commtouch’s Zero-Hour™ Virus Outbreak Protection solution. It also incorporates data from AV-Test.org, an independent third-party organization that tests most of the commercially available anti-virus scanners.
This data enables the Center to publish comparative detection times for leading AV vendors, a first in this comprehensive format which includes malware variant checksum. Detection times are critical, since individual virus variants often peak and then nearly disappear, all in under three hours. IT managers now have access to an online tool that allows them to verify their AV vendor’s performance for each new outbreak, and to download comparative data per malware variant.
The new Malware Outbreak Center further enhances Commtouch’s existing resource center, which includes:
For comparative information about the latest email-borne malware outbreaks, visit the Malware Outbreak Center at:
http://www.commtouch.com/Site/ResearchLab/VirusLab/recent_activity.asp
Commtouch’s Zero-Hour Virus Outbreak Protection complements traditional anti-virus engines by blocking malware in the early moments of the outbreak, and is licensed by messaging and security vendors worldwide. It uses patented Recurrent Pattern Detection™ technology, rather than relying on the time-consuming process of developing signatures or heuristics.
Note: Commtouch defines a virus variant as a version of malicious code that yields a unique MD5 checksum for the entire malware file or parts of it.
Commtouch Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTCH) is dedicated to protecting and preserving the integrity of the world's most important communications tool -- e-mail. Commtouch has over 16 years of experience developing messaging software and is a global developer and provider of proprietary anti-spam, Zero-Hour virus protection and Reputation Service solutions. Using core technologies including RPD (Recurrent Pattern Detection™), the Commtouch Detection Center analyzes billions of email messages per week to identify new spam and malware outbreaks within minutes of their introduction into the Internet. Integrated by scores of OEM partners, Commtouch technology protects thousands of organizations, with hundreds of millions of users in over 100 countries. Commtouch is headquartered in Netanya, Israel, and has a subsidiary in Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information, see: http://www.commtouch.com. The site includes the Commtouch online lab detailing spam statistics and charts.
Recurrent Pattern Detection, RPD, Zero-Hour and GlobalView are trademarks, and Commtouch is a registered trademark, of Commtouch Software Ltd. U.S. Patent No. 6,330,590 is owned by Commtouch.
Contact:
Rebecca Steinberg Herson
US: 650-864-2112
Int’l: +972-9-863-6877
rebeccah@commtouch.com
