An increasingly common internet affliction: adware.
Adware, a type of spyware, is technology that aids in the gathering of information about a person or organisation without their knowledge. To protect customers from this threat, says CyberGuard, it has released a new version of its Webwasher Content Management Suite (CSM), which proactively filters against adware/spyware at the gateway before it ever has a chance to get inside.
What they say
"It is our responsibility to respond to the growing threats facing our customers everyday," explains Dr Horst Joepen, CEO of CyberGuard’s Webwasher subsidiary. "While this threat often operates behind the scenes, it still consumes bandwidth, raises privacy and security concerns, causes stability and performance problems and distracts employees – all issues that directly affect the bottom line."
Unlike the traditional URL filter that only blocks access to a page but cannot fully read and understand its content, Webwasher’s next generation adware offers two-pronged protection, the firm claims. First, it proactively strips content and code that enables adware to be downloaded, installed and executed at the gateway and, second, it disrupts adware already inside from sending or receiving information.
In fact, most employees who are allowed to surf the web freely probably have some form of spyware or adware on their workstation. The bandwidth consumption alone is enormous, the firm says, as adware can account for up to 50 per cent or more of a company’s network traffic. Beyond consuming bandwidth, adware poses a security threat to corporate networks. If employees download a file from a spoofed website, they may be downloading malicious code that has been scrambled to avoid traditional anti-virus detection, the firm claims.
"With today’s adware and spyware mutations, a new generation of gateway level adware filtering is needed that goes far beyond just doing URL blocking of special categories of adware links or URLs," said Peter Firstbrook, security analyst with industry research firm, the META Group. "It should offer several lines of defense, including proactive malicious mobile code filtering. This will raise the bar to be state of the art in the industry."
Webwasher CSM 5.1 has also added a filter against mobile code attacks and expanded its reporting capabilities to pinpoint infected machines in the company network. The release is available now in software-only versions and pre-installed on CyberGuard’s recently announced WW1000 security appliance. More information about Webwasher CSM 5.1 is available:
