Prevx Home 2.0 Showcases Volume Deployment of Host IPS Technology and Highlights the Impact of Microsoft Service Pack 2

Business Wire, Nov 10, 2004

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Prevx Home version 2.0 may only have been in circulation for a few days but it is already providing a unique insight into the world of PC system security, whilst defending users from thousands of attacks not prevented by personal firewalls, anti-virus and other security measures.

Prevx Home utilizes behavior-based technology to identify and block cyber attacks. The technology is effective against worms, Trojans and spyware and has the advantage of working without having to rely on signatures, unlike other security offerings.

Prevx Home version 2.0 feeds real time data about cyber attacks across the Internet to a centralized database. Today, Prevx releases just a few of the many findings that Prevx Home 2.0 has already uncovered.

Microsoft Service Pack 2 is making a difference with regard to buffer overflow attacks, showing strong resilience to legacy worms such as Sasser.

Windows XP               Sasser      Adware.Huntbar  Backdoor.Agent.bg
OS Version

Home/Personal             7.9%             4.1%             1.9%
Professional              5.0%             3.0%             0.3%
Home/Personal SP1         6.7%             6.1%             1.1%
Professional SP1          4.7%             2.5%             0.7%
Home/Personal SP2         0.0%             5.0%             0.2%
Professional SP2          0.0%             3.4%             0.2%
                                % of Prevx users attacked

However, there is very little improvement shown by SP2 systems against attacks by Spyware products such as Adware.Huntbar, or Trojans such as Backdoor.Agent.bg.

Commenting on the early results, Nick Ray, CEO of Prevx, said: "We are delighted with the progress of Prevx Home version 2.0. We are already collecting data on thousands of cyber alerts each day. This will increase quickly as the roll out continues to gather momentum. We are amazed at the speed and quality of analysis provided by our centralized database service. We already have a unique view on the prevalence and continuing propagation of a very wide range of malicious software. Our system's abilities in key areas, including pinpointing polymorphic malware variants and system vulnerabilities, are truly world class."

Prevx is already providing their users with real time feedback from the database using a 'Get Advice' feature. This enables a user to interrogate the database to find out if other people have seen the same alert and whether they allowed or denied the event. As the user base grows, this feature is set to become more and more powerful, but even today over 40% of requests for advice are returning meaningful and helpful information.

Ray adds, "Prevx Home version 2.0 shows how Host Intrusion Prevention technology can be deployed quickly and easily, in volume. With tens of thousands of Prevx Home systems already deployed, this must be the largest networked installation of Host IPS in the world. We are learning much from this experience, enabling us to meet the needs of even the largest enterprises searching for a manageable solution to deliver this critical technology. This experience gives us the unique ability to address the needs of major ISPs who want to improve the security of their subscribers' systems in the very near term."

About Prevx

Prevx is an intrusion prevention software company that has designed a family of products to provide all those who use the Internet - from the home consumer through to largest organization - with protection against malicious cyber attacks that bypass current security technology.

The company's approach provides generic, zero-day protection against Internet worms, viruses, Trojans and spyware - providing a critical line of defense against new and unknown attacks which bypass traditional security technology.

The company was formed in 2001 by a team of security software experts and has offices in the UK and USA.