HENGELO, The Netherlands — Computer users assume that the popular anti-virus programs will protect them against malware (viruses, spyware, trojans, etc.). But research by SurfRight shows this is not correct. Over 100,000 computers were scanned using their award-winning product, Hitman Pro 3, and almost 32 percent of the users that have an up-to-date anti-virus program installed were still infected with malware.
“Our research shows that traditional anti-virus programs cannot keep up with the cyber criminals,” according to CEO Mark Loman. “Despite all their efforts, suppliers of anti-virus programs release a solution days, sometimes weeks, after a new malware instance is released.”
Mark Loman continues: “Our research also shows that not all anti-virus programs detect the same threats. A combination of different anti-virus programs would reduce the number of infections dramatically.”
* 107,435 computer users have used the free version of Hitman Pro 3 for the first time in the period from October 10 to December 4.
* 78,828 users had an up-to-date anti-virus program installed. 28,607 users had not.
* 25,038 (32 percent) of the 78,828 users with up-to-date anti-virus program were infected with malware.
See http://files.surfright.nl/reports/HitmanPro3-RealWorldStatistics-OctNov2009.pdf for a detailed description of the results and the methodology.
These 107,435 users have scanned their computer using the Behavioral Scan in Hitman Pro 3. Hitman Pro 3 can scan a computer in only a few minutes from a USB Flash Drive, CD/DVD, local or network attached hard drive and will quickly reveal the presence of any malware using a Behavioral Scan. The actual verification of these potential malware files is then done on the Hitman Pro servers, the “Scan Cloud,” which incorporates a hosted multi-vendor scanning service. Hitman Pro 3 uses 7 different anti-virus programs to analyze the suspicious files.
Hitman Pro 3 can be used in addition to an existing anti-virus program. Scanning a PC is free so Hitman Pro 3 is an ideal solution to check if the current anti-virus program offers sufficient protection. A free version can be downloaded from www.hitmanpro.com .
About SurfRight:
SurfRight B.V. (www.surfright.nl) was founded in 2008, based on the freeware project Hitman Pro 1 and 2 with a user base of more than 1.5 million users. SurfRight is dedicated to the development of smart and efficient security solutions for the average computer user. Hitman Pro 3 and the Caretaker product family include solutions against unsolicited mail (spam), online fraud (phishing), viruses, malware, and content filtering.
