Major AntiVirus Software Developers

Some of the leading players in the antivirus software market in the U.S. are Symantec (Norton Antivirus), Computer Associates (CA - eTrust), McAfee and Trend Micro (PC-cillin). These companies have major share of the US antivirus software market. Microsoft is also planning to enter the market in a big way. In this connection it acquired the IP (Intellectual Property) rights and technology from a Romanian company called GeCad software based in Bucharest in 2003. It also bought Pelican software who have developed behaviour based computer security, Giant Company Software who have developed solutions for spyware and Sybari Software for antivirus, filtering of spam and phishing.

Industry watchers are anticipating Microsoft to attain a dominant position in the antivirus software market by bundling its software along with its operating system free of cost. This technique has already been applied by it for word processors and internet browsers.

Worldwide there are many antivirus software vendors with some having regional domination and slowly increasing their presence. Some of them are GriSoft and Alwil Software of Czech Republic, Avira of Germany, Sophos of UK, Panda Software of Spain, Kaspersky of Russia, F-Secure of Finland, AhnLab of South Korea, SoftWin of Romania, Norman of Norway, VirusBuster of Hungary, Aladdin (eSafe) of Israel, Proland Software (Protector Plus) of India and Arcabit of Poland. Many of these companies have got their antivirus software tested by independent industry standard testers like Virus Bulletin (VB), ICSA Labs, West Coast Labs Checkmark services etc. Some of these vendors offer their antivirus software as freeware for personal use while some are offered as shareware.

The future of antivirus software market is not clear and the landscape is changing fast. Enormous effort is required to meet the challenges of the ever increasing number of viruses appearing everyday. Not only is the quantity increasing but also the viruses are becoming more and more complex. All companies may not have the necessary resources required to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Literally hundreds of new samples of viruses are arriving at these companies everyday. It is estimated that the no. of new viruses is increasing at the rate of 11% each year. They are also smarter as they spread quickly and lay hidden by renaming themselves in order to escape detection.

Even though antivirus software may not be able to protect your computer from 100% of the risk out there due to the new viruses that are released regularly, you should still take steps to protect your computer and your files from invasion. Antivirus software is very effective against known viruses and could just save your computer when you are attacked. Most importantly, make sure you update your antivirus software often to keep on top of the newest threats to your security.

How to Protect Yourself From the "Here You Have" Virus - FOXNews

CBC.ca

How to Protect Yourself From the "Here You Have" Virus FOXNews DO keep your computer protected with an antivirus or a security suite," he wrote in an entry on the Security Watch blog. "That way if you click the wrong ... 'Here you Have' Virus Tries to Delete Your Security SoftwarePC World Global computer virus attacks through e-mailabc7.com 'Here You Have' Virus Exposes Security HolesCIO Today Popular Fidelity (blog) -Associated Content -NZ City all 201 news articles »

Trend Micro Shares Rise in Tokyo After DigiTimes Reports Takeover Approach - Bloomberg

Digitimes

Trend Micro Shares Rise in Tokyo After DigiTimes Reports Takeover Approach Bloomberg “The pace of acquisitions in the antivirus-software industry is picking up as companies face slower growth and increased price competition,” Hidemasa ... Trend Micro shares jump, says no takeover bids nowReuters Trend Micro shares jump, says no takeover bids nowFOXBusiness Trend Micro: No Truth To Report That Approached For TakeoverAutomated Trader Digitimes all 21 news articles »

Norton and Trend Micro Simplify Security with New Releases - PC World

The Hindu

Norton and Trend Micro Simplify Security with New Releases PC World Plain-jane AntiVirus 2011 costs $39.99 for a version that covers up to three PCs for one year. Norton Internet Security, which adds a firewall, antispam, ... Symantec Unwraps Norton 2011 SuiteSci-Tech Today Symantec releases Norton Internet Security 2011 and Norton Antivirus 2011BetaNews Norton unveils Norton 2011 suiteComputer Business Review CNET (blog) -RTT News -USANewsWeek.com all 263 news articles »

Antivirus isn't dead--it's growing up - CNET

CNET	Antivirus isn't dead--it's growing up CNET We've been hearing it for years: antivirus software is dead. But is it really? If so, it seems to have more lives than Richard Nixon. ... Norton AntiVirus 2011PC Magazine all 3 news articles »

Fact or Fiction? Top 8 Linux Myths Debunked - ITworld.com

Fact or Fiction? Top 8 Linux Myths Debunked ITworld.com Neither is antivirus software. Strange but true. True, there may be very few viruses that can attack Linux, if at all, however, you DO still need Anti-Virus ... Fact or Fiction? Top 8 Linux Myths DebunkedPC World all 21 news articles »