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Press Release
FaceTime Announces the First Integrated Gateway-to-Desktop Spyware Prevention
System
Patent-Pending Technology Instantly Pinpoints Infected PCs and Performs
Clientless Targeted Remediation to Disarm Spyware Applications
FOSTER CITY, CALIF - August 29, 2005 - FaceTime Communications today
announced the FaceTime Enterprise Spyware Prevention Suite, the first and only
integrated, anti-spyware solution that detects, prevents and automatically
remediates spyware on infected PCs - without having to deploy desktop software.
Powered by new patent-pending technology and the Greynets Research Database,
the Enterprise Spyware Prevention Suite enables organizations to protect
business assets, significantly reduce help desk and clean up costs, improve
desktop productivity, and prevent information theft associated with spyware and
adware.
"Businesses consider spyware to be a major nuisance," said Peter Firstbrook,
Research Director, at Gartner. "A PC can be infected with spyware to the point
where pop-up ads and malicious programs can severely interfere with user
productivity and business operations. Gartner estimates that 20 percent to 40
percent of enterprise help desk calls are related to infestations of unwanted
'adware' and 'spyware' programs."
Spyware, IM and P2P applications are part of a category of networked
applications that FaceTime calls 'greynets.' Greynets are network enabled
applications that are installed on an end user's system without permission from
IT and are highly evasive at the network level. Spyware, in particular, creates
significant productivity and monetary losses for enterprises today. According
to a July 2005 survey published by NewDiligence, IT managers at large
enterprises reported an average of 277 spyware attacks per month. This
translates into nearly $130,000 spent per month in IT resources. In addition,
because spyware can open up a communication channel outside the network through
its "phone home" activities, sensitive data and regulatory compliance can be
compromised.
Calyon Financial is a global brokerage firm providing institutional clients
with efficient access to financial and commodity markets around the world. "In
a regulated industry, we need to be able to ensure all electronic
communications comply with company policy and are logged and archived," said
John Takemura, FVP Head of IT Production, at Calyon Financial. "Greynet
applications like spyware pose a significant risk to confidential data.
FaceTime has a long heritage in helping financial institutions with their
compliance needs and their anti-spyware solution will help ensure we continue
to meet regulatory requirements."
About FaceTime Enterprise Spyware Prevention Suite
Effective spyware prevention requires the intelligent harnessing and deployment
of both gateway and desktop components. Utilizing patent-pending capabilities
obtained through the XBlock Systems acquisition, the FaceTime Enterprise
Spyware Prevention Suite delivers a multi-layered defense against spyware
applications from the Internet gateway to the PC endpoint using a single
management framework. The Enterprise Spyware Prevention Suite consists of two
key components:
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The recently announced RTGuardian 3.0 anti-spyware gateway appliance at the
perimeter, and
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The FaceTime Enterprise Spyware Manager (ESM) - a centralized management,
reporting and control server in the LAN.
The suite provides organizations a range of capabilities for defending against
spyware - from preventing installations and detecting activity at the gateway,
to "pushing" spyware remediation and inoculation components in real-time to
targeted desktops and laptops in the LAN. Both components receive automated
threat updates from FaceTime Security Labs' Greynets Research Database,
providing customers with rapid response and documented countermeasures to the
latest IM, P2P and spyware threats.
Gateway Detection and Prevention
The RTG 3.0 appliance delivers advanced gateway-based spyware detection and
prevention to protect organizations from spyware - before it infects the
network.
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Monitors all possible channels - HTTP, IM, P2P, and more -for spyware activity.
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Blocks attempts by previously installed spyware to 'phone home' with
unauthorized data, thus preserving the integrity of corporate information
assets.
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Reports 'phone home' activity identifying both the infected PC and the specific
spyware application. This allows for targeted remediation of the infected PCs,
dramatically reducing the possibility of false positives.
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Blocks user access to known spyware sites, preventing accidental infections.
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Stops "drive-by" installations of known and unknown spyware applications
distributed through Web, P2P and IM communications.
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Prevents unintentional downloads of spyware hidden within or co-opted by a
seemingly helpful application using multiple behavioral factors.
Targeted Desktop Remediation and Inoculation
The Enterprise Spyware Manager provides centralized control and management of
client scanning, remediation and inoculation and is completely transparent to
the user avoiding any impact on productivity.
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Detections reported by RTG can be used to initiate a targeted scan of any
managed PC or group of PCs based on custom policies set by the administrator.
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Patent-pending inoculation hardens PC operating systems to block new spyware
installations and "freeze in place" existing installations, without the need to
deploy any client software. This mitigates the need for continuous rescanning
of PCs and helps to ensure that mobile users won't get re-infected when outside
the LAN.
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Optional, "headless" (no user interface) anti-spyware client can be pushed out
'hands-free' to PCs for removal and cleansing of targeted spyware applications
and can be configured to stay resident or be removed from the PC. Enterprises
can also choose to utilize their existing desktop software of choice.
Crowe Chizek and Company LLC is one of the top 10 public accounting and
consulting firms in the United States, serving clients worldwide as a leading
member of the Horwath International network of public accounting and consulting
firms. "At Crowe, we have a large mobile workforce and it is important that we
safeguard these laptops from adware and spyware infections," said Rex Voorheis,
Senior Manager of Network Infrastructure for Crowe. "FaceTime's end-to-end
solution for preventing spyware gives us immediate visibility on all spyware
infections, prevents the spyware from connecting to the internet and quickly
identifies infected PCs. We believe this will help us reduce the time our staff
spends dealing with these problems and protect confidential customer data."
"Greynet applications such as adware/spyware are growing increasingly evasive
and are entering the network through the browser and other vectors," said
Jonathan Christensen, CTO of FaceTime Communications. "Whether spyware
piggybacks on trusted applications or is distributed through an IM worm or
within a P2P payload, organizations need to have a multi-pronged approach to be
effective. With FaceTime's patent-pending technology, comprehensive
architecture and industry leading security research team, our customers can
achieve the highest efficacy against spyware."
Pricing and Availability
The FaceTime Enterprise Spyware Prevention Suite, including RTG and ESM, starts
at $5,000.00 and will be available in 30 days. The RTG gateway appliance is
available immediately and can be deployed separately starting at $3,995. The
products are available worldwide through authorized FaceTime distributors and
partners.
About FaceTime Communications
FaceTime Communications enables the safe and productive use of instant
messaging, Web usage and Unified Communications platforms. Ranked number one by
IDC for four consecutive years, FaceTime's award-winning solutions are used by
more than 900 customers – including nine of the 10 largest U.S. banks – for
security, management and compliance of real-time communications. FaceTime
supports or has strategic partnerships with all leading public and enterprise
IM network providers, including AOL, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Skype, IBM,
Reuters and Jabber.
FaceTime is headquartered in Belmont, California. For more information visit
http://www.facetime.com or call 888-349-FACE.
The FaceForward blog, at http://blog.facetime.com,
offers thoughts and opinions about the changing nature of Internet communications.
PR Contact:
Emily Chamberlin
650-762-2945
echamberlin@ar-edelman.com
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