McAfee boosts momentum of updates

McAfee released its new internet-based security service which it claims is an industry first technology that shields PCs on the fly.

McAfee’s in-the-cloud Artemis Technology protects PCs from attacks as they happen, without requiring a traditional, scheduled update of threat signatures, the vendor claimed.

According to McAfee, when a suspicious file is detected on a computer, the Artemis technology calls home in real time to determine whether the file is malicious or not.

“McAfee Avert Labs projects a true malware onslaught this year with 300 percent more malicious programs in 2008 compared to 2007,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs.

“Clearly today’s threat landscape requires a different approach to malware detection. Artemis is the first protection mechanism that works in Internet time, providing unprecedented protection,” he said.

McAfee is touting its Artemis Technology as a breakthrough that redefines internet security and dramatically increases the level of protection against viruses, worms and malicious programs.

Traditionally, malware detection has relied on databases with threat signatures that need to be updated.

The service hosted by McAfee Avert Labs is available today for SMBs and later this month for enterprise customers at no extra cost.