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Companies Defect as Anti-virus Software Struggles with Worms

Feb 3, 2004 5:51PM PST

The latest threats have companies reconsidering their anti-virus tools, wondering if AV is becoming irrelevant. Increasingly, companies are looking at application-level personal firewalls and all-in-one gateway hardware for PCs.

Can anti-virus software providers protect companies against today?s most pervasive threats? Here?s the problem: Anti-virus software is excellent at stopping viruses, and after a new virus appears, patches usually follow within 24 hours. However, companies today have plenty of other concerns, from worms and Trojan code to spyware. Stopping each type of threat requires a different approach.

Given the rapid spread of new vulnerabilities of late, more and more companies are asking whether PC anti-virus software is the answer to their business-disruption problems. Some companies, fed up with the problems, have issued ultimatums to their anti-virus vendors, while others have already defected, reports analyst Jim Hurley, vice president of security and privacy at Boston-based Aberdeen Group. Security Strategies spoke with him about anti-virus tools today, and whether they're still the medicine companies need.

More at http://www.esj.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=844

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