POPULARITY of TIGER WOODS and TEAM USA PLAYERS LEADS to INCREASE in MALWARE Submitted By: Six Degrees Limited Friday, 22 September 2006
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POPULARITY OF TIGER WOODS AND TEAM USA PLAYERS LEADS TO INCREASE IN MALWARE Submitted by: Six Degrees Limited Friday, 22 September 2006 MEDIA ALERT ScanSafe reports up to 1000 percent increase in visits to Ryder Cup-related websites LONDON – Sept. 22, 2006 — As Ian Woosnam's team prepares to do battle this weekend at the K Club with Tom Lehman and other big hitters, including Tiger Woods, in what is arguably the world's most exciting golf tournament; it would appear that malware authors are also hoping for a few big hits of their own. ScanSafe (http://www.scansafe.com), the global leader in managed Web security, has detected a recent surge in Ryder Cup-related traffic over the last month. According to ScanSafe's Threat Center, there has been a 1000 percent increase in visits to some of the most popular golf-related websites, including the competition’s official website - www.rydercup.com. In addition, the popularity of Team USA and Tiger Woods has made them an attractive target for malware authors. In a sample of searches conducted using Scandoo, ScanSafe's free beta service that allows users to conduct safer Internet searches, nearly 30% of searches with terms such as 'Tiger Woods' and 'Tom Lehman' yielded some kind of malware, including spyware, adware and Trojans. However, similar searches conducted using the names of European Ryder Cup players produced virtually no malware results. "Malware authors leverage the popularity of celebrities such as Tiger Woods and events like the Ryder Cup to spread their programmes and infect PCs," said Dan Nadir, vice president, product strategy, ScanSafe. "It's important for users to remember that even seemingly innocuous Web surfing can expose them to potential security risks including inappropriate content, Web viruses and spyware that can potentially steal confidential information and passwords." Scandoo classifies search results based on the presence of malware and unwanted content and allows users to customise security settings. The service is available at www.scandoo.com ScanSafe Threat Center monitors the global state of Web traffic, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and processes an average of five billion Web requests each month. At the core of the ScanSafe Threat Center is Outbreak Intelligence, which leverages ScanSafe's position at the Internet-level to proactively identify threats, quickly develop heuristics, and test these against real data to ensure accuracy and effectiveness. ScanSafe's ability to analyse threats proactively ensures that Outbreak Intelligence heuristics are created and updated for immediate protection from both known and unknown threats. About ScanSafe (http://www.scansafe.com) ScanSafe is the global leader in managed Web security, ensuring a safe and productive Internet environment for businesses around the world. The easy-to-use service requires no hardware and delivers real-time, complete protection from the latest Web threats. ScanSafe’s solutions keep viruses and Page 1 spyware off corporate networks and allow businesses to control and secure the use of the Web and instant messaging applications. Powered by its proactive Outbreak Intelligence heuristic technology, ScanSafe processes more than five billion Web requests and blocks five million threats each month for customers including Rothschild, Condé Nast and BMW. Since pioneering the market for managed corporate Web security, ScanSafe continues to deliver innovative Web security solutions, including the introduction of Scandoo—the world’s first free secure Internet search tool that classifies search results based on the presence of malware and unwanted content. With offices in London and San Mateo, California, ScanSafe is privately owned and financed by Benchmark Capital. The company received the 2006 Info Security Global Product Excellence Award for Best Managed Security Service, and was named one of Red Herring’s Top 100 Technology companies of 2005. For more information, visit www.scansafe.com. Media Contacts: Marcus Edgar Six Degrees Office: +44 (0) 1628.480280 Mobile: +44 (0) 7855.359889 [email protected] Page 2 Distributed via Press Release Wire (https://pressreleases.responsesource.com/) on behalf of Six Degrees Limited Copyright © 1999-2021 ResponseSource, The Johnson Building, 79 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8AW, UK e: [email protected] t: 020 3426 4051 f: 0345 370 7776 w: https://www.responsesource.com.