Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

Trend Micro Takes New Path To PC Protection

NEW YORK

— Trend Micro made a dramatic shift in how it
protects consumer PCs with the release of its latest product
last week.

The company will now attempt to
find and block malware attacks at the
source, instead of on the host computer,
said David Perry, global director of
consumer education.

This will be done via three new
SKUs released under the name Titanium.
They will cost $39, $59 and $69
and will replace all of Trend Micro’s
current retail products. Those holding
current valid licenses to older Trend Micro
software can replace those older
titles with a free upgrade to the new
system, Perry said.

The new Trend Micro approach places
the vast majority of the protection in
the cloud with only a small application
being housed on the host PC, thus relieving the computer
from the need to constantly run scans in the background,
an act that can significantly slow down a PC’s operation,
Perry said.

In the past, Trend Micro followed the industry standard
and continuously downloaded updates to block malware
threats as they became known. The act of examining all
incoming content, emails, websites, etc. will continue, but
it will take place on Trend Micro’s servers.

In doing so, Trend Micro will scan to find
the source IP address so it can be blocked,
thus hopefully stopping future attacks. The
checks take place in less than a second,
he said, and the content is then allowed to
proceed to the PC.

Perry said this system offers real-time protection
instead of the five hours it used to
take to develop a response to a new threat.

To further investigate the potential damage
emanating from a suspected IP, Trend Micro
has hired 1,000 researchers, Perry said.

The type of attack has also changed from
merely attempting to crash or slow down
a PC to stealing personal information that
can then be used to steal money.

“There are 220,000 new pieces of malware
released each day. This makes it very
hard to block the malware,” Perry said.

Most attacks now take place without the user’s knowledge,
and the data swiped is not always immediately used.

“It could be two to three years down the road before it
is used as one set of criminals sells the data to another,
which then steals your money,” Perry said.

Featured

Close