Panda Software releases Malware Radar

During the testing phase in companies, this new tool detected malware in 76% of the networks audited[1], even though they had protection installed

Developed by Panda Software based on a ìcollective intelligenceî approach, it achieves clearly greater detection ratios than anti-malware solutions

Malware Radar complements existing anti-malware solutions

Panda Software releases Malware Radar, a new automated malware audit service, which detects the threats that slip past traditional solutions. This innovative solution responds to the problem posed by the spectacular growth in the amount of malicious code in circulation, which is not detected by existing anti-malware products. In fact, 76 percent of the companies audited during the Malware Radar test phase were infected by malware, even though they had security solutions installed.

The problem posed by the huge growth in the amount of malware in circulation is being verified by PandaLabs and other security laboratories, as well as by industry analysts. In 2006, PandaLabs identified more malware examples than in the last fifteen years together. Gartner forecasts that by the end of 2007, 75 percent of companies will be affected by targeted malware, which will have evaded their traditional perimeter and host defences.[2]

This dramatic increase is due to a change in motivation of malware creators. Nowadays, most malware in circulation has been designed for financial gain. Malware authors are generating a growing number of new examples and variants. Laboratories cannot cope, and tens of thousands of malware examples are not analyzed. As a result, users are vulnerable to them.

The solution to this problem proposed by Panda Software is to complement the security solutions already installed on desktops and servers with periodic malware audits. Malware Radar is the first automated audit service to seek out and eliminate malware that slips past the protection installed.

Malware Radar is developed by Panda Research based on a ìcollective intelligenceî approach and housed in a network of datacenters (initially made up of around 100 servers). The pillars of this new system are:

1) Collection of data from the community. The system centrally collects and stores behavioural patterns of programs, file traces, new malware examples, etc. This data comes from Panda users, and from other companies and collaborators. This wide capacity to collect information provides higher visibility of the threats that are active in the Internet.

2) Automated data processing. The system automatically analyzes and classifies the thousands of new samples received every day. To do this, an expert system correlates the data received from the community with PandaLabís extensive malware knowledge base. The system automatically returns verdicts (malware or goodware) on the new files received from the community, thereby reducing the tasks that PandaLabs must carry out manually to a minimum.

3) Release of the knowledge extracted. This knowledge is delivered to users as web services or through signature file updates.

According to Bruno Rodriguez, Director of the Malware Radar Business Unit, ìthe new collective intelligence approach allows us to tackle an increasingly evident problem. Current products only detect a small part of the malware created every day. Through this new approach, Malware Radar allows us to detect more threats than if we scanned a network with various anti-malware solutions at the same time.î He adds, ìthis is a very real situation. We encourage all administrators to see it for themselves by trying the Malware Radar service completely free.î

The Malware Radar service can easily be configured and run from any network computer with an Internet connection and a web browser. As it is a web-based on-demand service, it does not need to be installed on every computer. Once the audit has started, the process is performed automatically and without intervention on the computers specified by the administrator.

Malware Radar is not only compatible with any anti-malware solution installed on the computers, but also complements them to improve network security. Furthermore, the service is transparent to the end-user and resource usage can be adapted to the administratorís preferences.

You can try the service, completely free or buy Malware Radar online from http://www.malwareradar.co.uk. You can also get more information or buy the Panda Software service from your usual reseller or through Panda Softwareís sales network.

[1] A total 117 companies were audited between June and November 2006. All of them had anti-malware protection installed across their networks.

[2] Reference: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=499323

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