Bit9 Knowledgebase Yields Diverse Trends Regarding Software Applications

Business Wire, Sept 11, 2007

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Bit9, Inc., a leading provider of application and device control solutions, today announced that its Bit9 Knowledgebase[TM] is finding diverse and interesting marketplace trends within its enormous amount of metadata. For example:

* More than 175 organizations are using validly issued certificates to sign malicious code;

* An increasing number of commercial software vendors are employing packing/protecting techniques formerly used by malware writers in order to optimize download speeds and protect themselves from intellectual property theft. While only 1 percent of commercial application installers currently employ such techniques, they already account for 90,000 unique applications and are growing quickly. For malware, these techniques account for 75% of new samples. The most popular tools are UPX, ASPack, and PECompact;

* The most popular languages for code compilation other than English are Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, followed by the major European languages;

* Twelve percent of Windows-based executables have been written for 64-bit environments;

* Windows platform developers use Microsoft compilers in 59% of cases.

"Never before has the software market been able to accurately measure global localization efforts, the prevalence of 64-bit code, or the commercial adoption of techniques once used only by malware writers," said Mario Vuksan, Director of Knowledgebase Services, Bit9. "This information is critical for accurate product planning and testing of a wide variety of software applications."

Vuksan has recently spoken on the topic of false positives and the need for global whitelisting at such events as CEIC 2007, the AV Testing Workshop, as well as Def Con and Black Hat.

With more than 4 billion file records, the Bit9 Knowledgebase is the largest collection of actionable intelligence about the world's software, including commercial applications, open-source software, shareware, and malware. Bit9 has compiled the Bit9 Knowledgebase via an innovative, proprietary method of crawling the Web, through aggressive acquisition of physical media, as well as through partnerships with leading vendors. In addition, the Bit9 Knowledgebase uses the National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Software Reference Library' Reference Data Set (NIST NSRL RDS) -- also known as the NIST Special Database 28 -- as well as the Department of Justice's Hashkeeper database. The database now contains 25 times more unique hash values than the NIST NSRL, making it an ideal resource for digital forensics. Never before have these databases and other sources of information been aggregated in such a massive repository and made available to IT professionals, partners, and Windows users.

The Bit9 Knowledgebase launched in March of 2006 with 250 million records and now grows by up to 50 million records per day. To see how fast the Bit9 Knowledgebase is growing, visit www.bit9.com for the latest numbers. The Bit9 Knowledgebase is used within Bit9's award-winning Parity[TM] application and device control solution and also serves as the database behind Bit9 FileAdvisor[TM], a free web service (http://fileadvisor.bit9.com) that identifies software files on any Windows[R] computer.

For more information about the Bit9 Knowledgebase, visit http://bit9.com/products/kbase.php. To learn more about licensing and OEM opportunities, visit http://bit9.com/partners/strategicalliances/index.php.> About Bit9, Inc.

Bit9, Inc., the leading provider of application and device control solutions, centrally controls which applications and devices can and cannot operate. Bit9's award-winning, patent-pending technology delivers the easiest and most effective way to achieve Windows desktop lockdown, enabling IT professionals to realize the highest levels of desktop security, compliance, and manageability. Founded in 2002 by the founders of Okena (acquired by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO)) and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bit9 is a privately held company. For more information, visit http://bit9.com.

Bit9, Inc., Automatic Graylists, Find File, FileAdvisor, Parity, and ParityCenter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bit9, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.