Dear Valued Partner or Friend,
Mobile devices are increasingly a target for
cybercriminals. And with employees bringing
personal mobile devices into the corporate
network, this consumerization of enterprise IT
introduces new vulnerabilities for
cybercriminals to exploit. With mobile security
in mind, Commtouch recently released the first
of its mobile security services -
GlobalView URL Filtering
for Mobile, the first Software
Development Kit for the deployment of secure Web
browsing, parental control, and compliance
applications.
Also, during the second quarter, spammers
started changing their tactics, using
compromised accounts to distribute unwanted
mail, rather than just botnets; this and more
appears in our
July 2011 Internet Threat
Trends Report. You'll also find below
a
case study
describing how Commtouch solutions benefited a
security appliance partner, a
fun video clip
outlining the benefits of Command Antivirus, as
well as tips from our technical support team on
new features added in Q2.
Regards,
Rebecca Steinberg Herson
Vice President
Marketing
GlobalView URL Filtering for
Mobile
Commtouch launched GlobalView URL Filtering for
Mobile in June, the first Software Development
Kit (SDK) to enable the development of secure
Web browsing, parental control and compliance
solutions for mobile phones. The new SDK enables
rapid time to market and product
differentiation for services such as:
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Secure web browsing
Protecting mobile users from
phishing sites or sites that download
viruses and malicious content.
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Regulatory compliance
Enabling organizations to enforce their Web access
policies, thereby limiting their liability, improving
productivity and complying with required
standards.
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Parental control
Protecting young surfers from
inappropriate Web content such as pornography,
gambling, violence and hate sites. |
The initial release of GlobalView URL Filtering for
Mobile is for Android mobile phones, with plans
for adding support for other mobile operating
systems such as iOS, QNX and other BlackBerry
operating systems, and Windows Phone 7 in the
future. Like other Commtouch SDKs, it requires
minimal resources, and features an adjustable
local cache, which categorizes the vast majority of
visited URLs on the device, preventing annoying
browser lag. Solutions can be deployed on
smartphones, tablets and eBook readers – in
short, any device that uses the Android
operating system.
Read our
announcement on GlobalView URL Filtering for
Mobile to learn more.
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New Command Antivirus Video
Not all antivirus solutions are created equal.
View our our new short
video clip that shows why Commtouch
Command is the leading antivirus solution for
security vendors and services providers.
Designed with the end-user in mind, the video
can be used as a marketing tool by companies
that have selected Command, to show the
advantages of the Command AV solution.
Watch the video and learn...
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How Command utilizes a modular
architecture to detect viruses
faster than the traditional
signatures used on most antivirus
solutions |
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How Command is easily adaptable to future
threats |
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Why companies such as Google, Microsoft, McAfee,
Zscaler and others trust Command to protect
their hundreds of millions of users. |
View the video
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There have been many changes in spam
activity that we covered extensively in a
recent blog post
and the
trend report
highlighted below. Over the past 3 months
Commtouch Labs has seen:
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Huge email-borne malware outbreaks |
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Double the number of zombies
activated daily |
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Greater use of compromised accounts
to send spam |
The most important trend in spam is that rather
than only using botnets, spammers are now
turning to compromised accounts to send spam.
This is most likely due to two factors: there
have been several high-profile botnet
“takedowns” which limited access to large-scale
botnets, and anti-spam solutions are getting
better at blocking botnet-generated spam, so
spammers are looking for alternative
distribution methods to reach their audiences.
With the use of compromised accounts for spam on
the rise, Commtouch Labs did some research into
the use of Gmail and Hotmail accounts for
sending unwanted email. These messages fell into
two groups:
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Spam sent from a zombie with a phony
Gmail or Hotmail address in the from
field |
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Or, spam sent from a compromised or spammer
account actually hosted at Gmail or Hotmail |
As shown, almost 30% of the spam from Hotmail
actually comes from compromised or spammer
Hotmail accounts. Gmail spam, on the other hand,
is mostly from zombies that simply forge their
Gmail addresses.
So why are spammers changing tactics now? How
does this new tactic work? How does this new
tactic reflect on the reported changes in spam
activity and how will it affect us?
Check out the
July 2011 Internet Threat
Report
for a full explanation on the recent spam
activity and an analysis of the recent tactical
changes that spammers have made.
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In addition to the changes in spam and
malware distribution methods discussed
above, the July 2011 Trend Report
includes information about Web security
and phishing threats monitored and
analyzed by Commtouch Labs, including:
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Emails appearing to be from the US income tax authorities (the IRS)
informed recipients that their tax
payments made via the IRS’s
electronic payment system had been
rejected. The socially engineered
emails went on to trick users into
downloading malware.
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SEO poisoning tactics were used to
lead search-engine users to
websites that popped up fake
antivirus solutions, which tricked
users into installing malware.
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New outbreaks used PDF documents or
their icons to trick users into opening hidden
malware code.
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Facebook threats were on the rise.
The ever-increasing Facebook user
base along with the unquestioned
trust users have in messages, wall
posts and invitations received from
friends have made it an ideal target
for cybercriminals. |
The July report also provides up-to-date
data on spam/phishing levels and zombie activity,
and web security threats.
Download the
July 2011 Internet Threats Trend Report
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Commtouch partners can
also receive a co-branded version of the quarterly
report or a PowerPoint version
to help create impressive
presentations with a minimum of effort. The
slides are available on the Partner
Marketing Portal, which provides a quick and
easy way to view and access the variety
of marketing tools and materials that
Commtouch provides for its partners.
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Company |
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Type of company: |
Global provider of
business security
applicances. |
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Customers: |
More than 600,000 customers
worldwide, from
small businesses to large enterprises and MSSPs. |
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Problem: |
WatchGuard needed a solution
for its small and mid-sized
business customers that
effectively blocked a wide
range of spam and virus
outbreaks, while being easy
to configure and maintain. |
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Learn how
WatchGuard was able to
improve spam and virus protection, while
reducing operating overhead, for its customers.
The small footprint and low resource utilization
of Commtouch's technology also enabled WatchGuard to improve the performance of its own
appliances.
“We integrated Commtouch technology
within our XTM product line in 2005
to increase the protection we
provide our customers in the face of
growing spam volumes. With Commtouch
Anti-Spam and Zero-Hour Virus
Outbreak Protection, our customers
get exceptionally high detection
rates, with almost no false
positives. Our customers are
extremely satisfied with the
detection and the completely
hands-free protection they receive.”
Eric Aarrestad
VP, Marketing
WatchGuard |
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In case you missed the celebration, June 8th,
2011 was
World IPv6 day
- a day when over 1,000 websites and leading
Internet service providers from around the world
joined together for a 24-hour global trial of
the IPv6 protocol.
An informative webcast series introduces IPv6 --
the possibilities and potential threats:
An Introduction to IPv6
An overview of the need for IPv6,
how it differs from the existing
IPv4 protocol and the potential
opportunities it opens up.
This video featured two well-known IPv6
promoters -
Dale Geesey of Auspex Technologies and
Limor Schafman of KeystoneTech Group .
IPv6 Threats
Outlines the potential threats
inherent in IPv6 and how security
vendors and service providers can
take steps to ensure they and their
customers remain protected.
Featuring Commtouch IPv6 experts
Gabriel M. Mizrahi, Commtouch VP
Technologies and Asaf Greiner,
Commtouch VP Products.
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New features are constantly being added to
Commtouch solutions. For more information on how
to implement these solutions, please contact
your Commtouch support representative.
Customized
Miscategorization Reporting - Sample Code
Sample code is now available for Commtouch
partners to create and host their own web-based
service for their customers to report on
incorrectly categorized URLs.
Using the sample code it is easy to develop a
customized look & feel for the user interface.
The code also supports customized categories, enabling
partners to configure the categories presented
to their users for reporting on miscategorized
URLs.
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You can meet Commtouch at the following events
in the coming months:
Please
contact us if
you'd like to schedule a meeting with a
Commtouch representative at one of these events.
Commtouch will also be taking part at
Oppenheimer's
14th Annual
Technology & Communications
Conference, August 9-10, 2011
in
Boston, Massachusetts. If you would
like to schedule meeting with Commtouch's CEO or
CFO at this event, please contact us at
IR@commtouch.com.
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Commtouch Scheduled to Release Second Quarter
Results
Commtouch will be releasing
its second quarter 2011 results on Wednesday,
August 3, 2011. Commtouch management will be
hosting a conference call, to review and discuss
the results, on the same day at 9am Eastern /
6am Pacific / 2pm UK / 4pm Israel time.
It is possible to
participate in the conference call via telephone
or via webcast using a link found on the
Commtouch homepage
(on the day of the conference call).
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We are pleased to welcome
these recently announced
partners:
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In this Issue
Mobile Web Security
New Video - Command AV
Changing Spam Activity
July 2011 Threat Report
Case Study
IPv6 Webcasts
Tech Support Updates
Upcoming Events
Investor's Corner
Welcome to the Club
Recent News
July 26, 2011
Cloud Security Provider Spamina Selects Commtouch Messaging Security
July 13, 2011
Commtouch Schedules Release of Second Quarter 2011 Results for Wednesday, August 3, 2011
July 12, 2011
Spammers Switch to Compromised Accounts to Reduce Reliance on Botnets, Says Commtouch Report
July 6, 2011
Commtouch Further Penetrates Consumer Internet Security Market with New Wins
July 6, 2011
Conduit, Global Network of App Publishers, Selects Commtouch for Secure Browsing
June 28, 2011
Leading Spanish Hosting Company CDmon Leverages Commtouch Messaging Security to Reduce Costs and Improve Service
June 21, 2011
Commtouch Launches GlobalView URL Filtering for Mobile
May 24, 2011
Commtouch Technology Ensures Protection Against Enhanced Threats Posed by IPv6
May 17, 2011
GWAVA Enhances its Mail Security Solution with Commtouch Anti-Spam Technology
May 4, 2011011
Commtouch Reports Financial Results Showing 35 Percent Increase in Revenue for First Quarter 2011
May 4, 2011
Commtouch Appoints Two New Members to Executive Team
April 28, 2011
Commtouch’s Anti-Malware Products Protect Against Recent Massive Virus Outbreaks
April 18, 2011
Halon Security Achieves High Rank in VBSpam Comparative Test with Commtouch’s Anti-Spam
April 12, 2011 11
Email-borne Malware Jumps 400% After Rustock Takedown, says Commtouch Report
April 11, 2011
Commtouch Expands Presence in Service Provider Market with Major Wins
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