Kaspersky Lab launches Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014
Kaspersky Lab recently announced the release of the latest versions of its award-winning security solutions for home computer users. Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014 boast enhancements to existing protection technologies. These flagship consumer products also bring a host of brand new features to ensure the highest levels of security for users' PCs and their digital valuables.
According to the cloud-based Kaspersky Security Network, about 200,000 new malware samples emerge every day, compared to 125,000 just a year ago. Cybercriminals make millions of dollars by using malware, including sophisticated Trojans and phishing scams that hijack online bank accounts and social networking profiles.
The price of poor-quality protection against these cyber threats is not merely a daily bombardment of spam emails, or sluggish performance from a virus-ridden PC – the costs hit regular users squarely in their wallets.
Based from data reported by the Kaspersky Security Network, at least 7.5 million Kaspersky Lab customers worldwide were targeted by phishing attacks between April 2012 and May 2013.
These scams, commonly sent through carefully crafted email designed to appear legitimate, attempted to steal online banking credentials and other critical financial details. However, since the Kaspersky Security Network only tracks Kaspersky Lab customers, the total number of Internet users worldwide who were targeted by phishing attacks is likely in the hundreds of millions.
A consumer survey conducted by B2B International in July 2013 showed 62% of Internet users experienced at least one attack related to online banking, shopping or payment services during the last 12 months.
Though even after the fraud was identified, 41% of these victims failed to get their money back. To put those percentages into real numbers – according to various industry sources, approximately 700 million people around the world regularly use online banking.
Even if each of the 41% of defrauded victims only lost a small sum of money, the stolen funds could easily total US$5 billion to US$10 billion.
In the fight against modern cybercrime, security solutions face a clearly-defined challenge: prevent these financial losses.
The new versions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, like their highly regarded predecessors, were specially developed with that requirement in mind.
“The online threats to our customers’ financial data and personal information are real, they’re here and they continue to evolve really fast. The most advanced versions of Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Anti Virus now available in the Philippines were beefed up with proactive technologies like ZETA Shield and Automatic Exploit Prevention to prevent the most sophisticated and money-threatening cyberattacks users can encounter while the Trusted Applications Mode feature will make it easy for users and their social networking profiles to remain completely protected,” Jimmy Fong, Kaspersky Lab Southeast Asia Channel Sales Director said.
“The breakthrough technologies embedded in the newest flagship consumer suite from Kaspersky Lab clearly demonstrates our relentless mission to safeguard the digital assets of our customers and everything that they value,” Fong added.
Bryan Sat, Kaspersky Lab Business Development Manager for the Philippines, believes having a local 7-million-strong active credit card user base and the Filipinos' growing inclination towards patronizing online transactions over the traditional payment system has both its upsides and downsides.
“I see that making online transactions for banking and shopping is encouraged here. Users do it even through mobile devices now, albeit slowly. I think it is good news because Filipino consumers are given a lot of convenience, efficiency and flexibility by doing so," said Sat.
"However, this puts them at a high risk of becoming victims of online fraud and their social networking profile might be prone to hijacking, if online safety is not prioritized. There may not be a grand incident of a phishing scam or online fraud case yet in the Philippines, but there is no reason to let our guards down," he warned.
High-quality protection technologies
Several innovative antivirus technologies have been added to Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, which significantly improve user protection.
Both products now include Kaspersky Lab’s proprietary ZETA Shield antivirus technology, which performs an in-depth scan of files and applications running on the computer to identify malware that may hide deep within individual components of each program.
Kaspersky Lab offers further protection from emerging threats through its improved Automatic Exploit Prevention technology, which scans programs for behavior typically found in exploits – a type of malware that infects the PC through vulnerabilities in legitimate software.
Automatic Exploit Prevention closely monitors programs that are most frequently targeted by cybercriminals – such as Java and Adobe Reader – to block cybercriminals from using unknown gaps in legitimate software to penetrate a computer’s defenses. By looking for suspicious behavior, Automatic Exploit Prevention technology can detect the most recent and dangerous threats, including threats so new that they haven’t yet been identified by antivirus vendors.
But threats don’t have to be new or sophisticated to pose a risk. Familiar threats like Trojan ransomware can block access to computers and demand payments to “unblock” the victims’ machines, sometimes even when an antivirus solution is installed on the system.
In many cases, users ignore the security warnings of their security programs and willfully install a program that imitates a legitimate music file, document, or other legitimate program, only to realize too late that the program was in fact malicious.
Now, thanks to the new Anti-Blocker technology implemented in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, this ransomware is no longer a threat. If users of the new Kaspersky Lab solutions face a demand for payment to unblock their computer, they only have to press one simple key combination and Anti-Blocker will find and remove the malware completely.
Extended protection with Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
Blockers are not the only technique used by cybercriminals to extract illegal profits from innocent computer users. Phishing attacks and Trojan programs designed to steal credentials for online banking systems are also among the most popular malicious tools.
Kaspersky Lab’s Safe Money technology - first introduced in the previous version of Kaspersky Internet Security - has already proved to be an extremely reliable additional layer of protection for online financial operations.
The technology has been improved in Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, including support for more web browsers, and a significantly expanded list of trusted online banking sites, payment services, and online stores.
Another major innovation in Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 is the unique Trusted Applications mode. This protects the computer by only allowing the launch of applications that are identified as safe to use.
Thanks to the multi-level system which checks the legitimacy of programs and an intelligent system that can adapt to a particular user, this mode is capable of providing a very high level of security.
The Trusted Applications feature is based on the extensive and constantly updated Kaspersky Lab Whitelisting database of legitimate applications.
The database contains over 700 million unique entries with thorough descriptions of all popular applications including operating systems, browsers, image viewers, video players, games, and more.
For users with children, Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 offers improved Parental Control capabilities, which provide flexible controls over all possible scenarios in which a child might use the computer.
This mode includes a set of default profiles that contain computer-use scenarios appropriate for different age groups, while still giving parents the freedom to modify these settings at their discretion.
Parental Control allows parents to determine when and how long children can use the computer, which applications can or cannot be launched, and what information – such as credit card numbers and home addresses – should be blocked from being shared on social networks.
In addition to their numerous technological improvements, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2014 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 have been optimized to ensure minimal consumption of PC resources.
At the same time, thanks to improvements to the user interface, Kaspersky Lab protection solutions have become even easier to use. For the first time, Kaspersky Lab products have integrated socialization functions, allowing users to help their friends on social networking sites to make their computers more secure.
Pricing and Availability
The 1-user, 3-user and 5-user of Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 retails for P1,160, P1,980 and P3,080, respectively. Meanwhile, the 1-user, 3-user and 5-user of Kaspersky Anti Virus 2014 retails for P760, P1,420 and P2,120, respectively.
These top security software solutions from Kaspersky Lab are now available in all leading IT stores nationwide beginning this October. A special sale promo is currently ongoing where specially-marked KIS and KAV 2014 boxes will come with extra license for free, which are each valid for one year.
To learn more about Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Kaspersky Anti Virus 2014, please visit www.kaspersky.com.
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