ThreatFire 3.5 receives top rating in PC World review

San Francisco, June 5 2008: Leading security software vendor PC Tools has been awarded an outstanding 87% rating by PC World for its newly released behavioral-based anti-malware product, ThreatFire 3.5. This latest review secures PC Tools’ ThreatFire 3.5 and Spyware Doctor 5 as the two highest-ranking security products according to PC World.

Rating ThreatFire’s performance in independent testing conducted by AV-Test org as “outstanding”, PC World reviewer Eric Larkin said that ThreatFire “blocks an impressive number of threats through behavior-based analysis” and provides “a worthwhile additional layer of security”.

Larkin also credited ThreatFire with identifying new and relatively unknown malware samples by “looking purely at factors such as where the program came from, what changes it made to files or the system Registry, and whether the program attempted to send information to the internet.”

Independent testing also demonstrated that ThreatFire did not register any false positives, which Larkin said was a “definite plus.”

“We are honored that ThreatFire 3.5 has received such a high score from PC World”, said Simon Clausen, Chief Executive Officer, PC Tools. “This result is a testament to the skilled research and development teams at PC Tools who continue to produce innovative products and provide consumers with a more sophisticated level of protection.”

ThreatFire 3.5 now joins Spyware Doctor 5 as PC World’s highest-rating behavior-based security products, after Spyware Doctor 5 was awarded the PC World “Best Buy Award” in August 2007. Scoring an unprecedented 97, Spyware Doctor 5 was described as “the clear winner, outperforming the competition at detecting and removing [PC World’s] test set of adware and spyware samples.”

Additional features in version 3.5 include a new Threat Detection map, allowing users to view the geographical distribution and listings of detected malware threats, a free on-demand anti-virus scanner and a useful system activity monitor. ThreatFire is also now fully integrated with automated threat analysis system Threat Expert, which can provide users with known threat updates within minutes of a threat’s identification.

PC World also flagged that ThreatFire 3.5 now includes better default options for handling alerts and improved master boot record scanning.

ABOUT THREATFIRE

ThreatFire uses advanced patent pending technology to detect signs of malicious behavior commonly used by malware threats. ThreatFire is unlike traditional anti-virus products that rely on signature technology and require updating every time a new threat occurs. ThreatFire’s ActiveDefense Technology is able to identify and paralyse threats that are too new or too sophisticated to be recognized by traditional security software. ThreatFire is designed to only alert end users of truly malicious behavior.

ABOUT PC TOOLS

PC Tools is a global software leader with a cache of security and utility products, including the multi award-winning Spyware Doctor®. PC Tools is an industry leader in real-time anti-spyware and has a number of key patents pending.

The PC Tools Malware Research Centre monitors trends and emerging spyware issues and provides security solutions for the consumer and enterprise marketplace. The company is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in San Francisco, London, Shannon (Ireland), Melbourne, Kiev, and Boulder. PC Tools has a global network of distributors, resellers, and retailers.