America Online Blocks More Than One Billion Virus-Infected Emails In Past Year.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2004 America Online See AOL. , Inc.
Average AOL Member Protected from Roughly 30 Virus Attacks on
Their Computer -- or One Virus Attack Every Ten Days
Automatic E-mail Screening and Premium Anti-Virus Services Offered
Through Partnership with McAfee
America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, announced today that it has blocked more than a billion virus attachments from reaching its members since it launched automatic e-mail attachment A file that rides along with an e-mail message. The attached file can be of any type. E-mail programs make it easy to attach a file. For example, in Eudora, all you do is select Attach from the Message menu, browse through the folder hierarchy to find the file you want and then double screening and premium anti-virus protection roughly a year ago. Since the anti-virus services were launched, AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. has protected each of its members from an average of 30 different virus attacks, or an attack every ten days. "As we move into a high-speed world, anti-virus protection becomes even more critical because a basic broadband connection See broadband and wireless broadband. can leave you defenseless against hackers and virus attacks on your home computer," said Tatiana Gau, Chief Trust Officer and Senior Vice President for Integrity Assurance for America Online. "With automatic anti-virus screening, a customized firewall, award-winning Parental Controls This article is about computer options. For the television show, see Parental Control (TV series). Parental controls are options, typically included in digital television services, computer and video games, or computer software used to access the Internet, that , aggressive spam E-mail that is not requested. Also known as "unsolicited commercial e-mail" (UCE), "unsolicited bulk e-mail" (UBE), "gray mail" and just plain "junk mail," the term is both a noun (the e-mail message) and a verb (to send it). blocking, and new AOL Spyware Protection, AOL makes it easy for members to help protect their families and their sensitive personal information. Nothing is more important than peace of mind, and AOL will continue to provide members with a suite of security solutions that helps keep them safe online, no matter what connection they're using." Last April, at no additional charge to AOL members, America Online began automatically scanning all incoming and outgoing attachments to members' e-mail each day for known viruses through the use of McAfee(R) VirusScan(R). If a virus is detected, the attachment is automatically cleaned of the virus, or, if the virus cannot be fixed or quarantined quar·an·tine n. 1. a. A period of time during which a vehicle, person, or material suspected of carrying a contagious disease is detained at a port of entry under enforced isolation to prevent disease from entering a country. , the e-mail is returned without the infected attachment to the original sender with a notice that their attachment contained a virus. The virus definitions are regularly updated and provided by the McAfee AVERT(TM) (Anti-virus and Vulnerability Emergency Response Team), whose virus and malware (MALicious softWARE) Software designed to destroy, aggravate and otherwise make life unhappy. See crimeware, virus, worm, logic bomb, macro virus and Trojan. definition database protects against users against over 90,000 known viruses and other malware, and McAfee AVERT identifies an additional 300 new viruses per month. In conjunction with Network Associates, AOL also launched McAfee(R) VirusScan(R) Online brought to you by AOL last spring, a premium anti-virus service that not only scans e-mail but also offers comprehensive, PC-based protection for a member's entire machine, guarding against existing viruses on the PC, CD or floppy disk-based infections, hostile web page scripts, and other potential online and offline threats. The premium service also includes automatic updates with the latest virus protection software to ensure protection from known viruses, especially during virus outbreaks. McAfee VirusScan Online brought to you by AOL is available to members for an additional $2.95 per month. For more details, visit AOL Keyword: VirusScan. During the peak of the Sobig.f outbreak in August 2003, AOL hit a record high of viruses blocked in a single day -- 24 million in just 24 hours. Sobig.f also led the list of the five most pervasive viruses over the last year, followed by Mydoom, Netsky.a, Netsky.d and Swen. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a study released last year by the National Cyber Security Alliance, many PCs are vulnerable to cyber assailants. Nearly two-thirds of the broadband households analyzed in the study (62%) did not have recently updated anti-virus protection. About America Online, Inc. America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia Dulles, Virginia is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Loudoun County, Virginia, part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. The headquarters of AOL, Orbital Sciences Corporation and ODIN technologies and the former headquarters of MCI Inc. are located in Dulles. , America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services. |
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